tire type AUDI A7 2015 Owners Manual

240 Tires and wheels
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle.
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle. Tires are, how­
ever, one of the most important
parts of a vehicle, particularly
considering the comparatively
small patch of rubber on each
tire that assures that all-impor­
tant contact between you, your
vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire
pressure, making sure that your
vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry more weight than they can safely handle, avoiding
damage from road hazards and
regularly inspecting tires for
damage including cuts, slashes
irregular wear and overall con­
dition are the most important
things that you can do to help avoid sudden tire failure includ­
ing tread separation and blow­
outs.
Avoiding damage
If you have to drive over a curb
or similar obstacle, drive very
slowly and as close as possible
at a right angle to the curb.
Always keep chemicals includ­
ing grease, oil, gasoline and
brake fluid off the tires.
Inspect the tires regularly for
damage (cuts, cracks or blis­
ters, etc.). Remove any foreign
bodies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires
Mark tires when you remove
them to indicate the direction
of rotation. This ensures you to
be able to mount them correct­
ly when you reinstall them.
When removed, the wheels or
tires should be stored in a cool,
dry and preferably dark place.
Store tires in a vertical position if they are not mounted on
rims, in a horizontal position if
they are mounted on rims.
New tires
New tires have to be broken in
¢ &.
The tread depth of new tires
may vary, according to the type .,.

242 Tires and wheels
-If you notice unusual vibra­
tion or if the vehicle pulls to
one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is
safe to do so and check the
wheels and tires for dam­
age.
0 Note
-Please note that summer and winter tires are de­
signed for the conditions
that are typical in those sea­
sons. Audi recommends us­
ing winter tires during the
winter months. Low tem­ peratures significantly de­
crease the elasticity of
summer tires, which affects
traction and braking ability. If summer tires are used
in
very cold temperatures, cracks can form on the tread
bars, resulting in perma­
nent tire damage that can
cause loud driving noise and
unbalanced tires. Audi is not
responsible for this type of
damage.
-Burnished, polished or chromed rims must not be used in winter road condi­
tions. The surface of the
rims does not have suffi­
cient corrosion protection
for this and could be perma­
nently damaged by road salt
or similar substances.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­ matic transmission, power
steering, power brakes, power
windows, power seats, radio, and heater, to the extent that
these items are available as fac­
tory-installed equipment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent.
Numbers of 55 or lower indi­
cate a low sidewall for im­
proved steering response and
better overall handling on dry
pavement.
...

M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Driving style
Driving fast around curves,
heavy acceleration and hard
braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even
wear
For all four tires on your vehicle
to have the same service life,
we recommend that the front
and rear tires are rotated ac­
cording to the tire manufactur­
er's suggested tire rotation in­
tervals. Please remember the
following:
-Tire rotation intervals may dif­ fer from the vehicle service in­tervals outlined in your War­ranty
& Maintenance booklet .
-The longer one tire is used in one location on the vehicle,
the more it wears at certain points; therefore, we recom­
mend that you follow the tire
manufacturer's suggested tire
rotation intervals.
-Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience more tread
wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all-wheel drive (quat­
tro).
-Please rotate ti res as shown
¢ fig. 203.
Tires and wheels 259
-Extra care must be taken when rotating direction-specific
tires ¢ page
280.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are
balanced. However, various sit­
uations during everyday driving
can cause them to become un­ balanced, resulting in vibra­
tions you can usually feel
through the steering wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be re­
balanced to avoid excessive
wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced when a new tire is
installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can
cause excessive tire wear, im­pairing the safety of the vehi­
cle. If tires show excessive
wear, have the wheel alignment checked by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must al­
ways have tires of the same size, construction and tread
type . For details see
¢ page
200.
•
•
'

Tires and wheels 265
sure of their "previous histo-and sudden deflation and •
ry." Old used tires may have loss of control. • '
been damaged even though -Temperature grades apply
the damage cannot be seen to tires that are properly in-
that can lead to sudden tire flated and not over or un-
failure and loss of vehicle derinflated.
control. -For technical reasons it is
-All four wheels must be fit- not always possible to use
ted with radial tires of the wheels from other vehicles -
same type , size (rolling cir-
in some cases not even
cumference) and the same wheels from the same vehi-
tread pattern. Driving with cle model.
different tires reduces vehi- -If you install wheel trim
cle handling and can lead to discs on the vehicle wheels,
a loss of control. make sure that the air flow
-If the spare tire is not the to the brakes is not blocked.
same as the tires that are Reduced airflow to the
mounted on the vehicle - for brakes can them to over-
example with winter tires - heat, increasing stopping
only use the spare tire for a distances and causing a col-
short period of time and lision.
drive with extra ca re. Refit -Run flat tires may only be
the normal road wheel as used on vehicles that were
soon as safely possible. equipped with them at the
-Never drive faster than the factory. The vehicle must
maximum speed for which have a chassis designed for
the tires on your vehicle are run flat tires. Incorrect use
rated because tires that are of run flat tires can lead to
driven faster than their rat- vehicle damage or acci-
ed speed can fail suddenly. dents. Check with an au-
M -Overloading tires cause heat thorized Audi dealer or tire N <(
build-up, sudden tire fail- specialist to see if your vehi-(.J
'SI: ,....,
ure, including a blowout cle can be equipped with ... \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,

266 Tire s and wheel s
run flat tires. If run flat tire s
are u sed , they mu st be in­
stalled on all four wheel s.
Mixing tire types is not per­
mitted.
@) Note
-For technical reasons, it is
not generally possible to
use the wheel rims from
other vehicles. This can hold
true for wheels of the same
vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different
from the tires that you have mounted on your vehicle
(for example winter tires or
wide prof ile tires), then use
the spare tire for a short pe­
riod of time only and drive
with extra care. Replace the
flat tire with the tire match­ ing the others on your vehi­
cle as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the
valve stem cap . The valves
could get damaged.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accord­
ance w ith the local require­
ments.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality g rades can be foun d where applicab le
on the t ire s ide wall between t read sho ulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 260,
fig . 204 .
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car t ires must con fo rm to Feder ­
al Safety Req uirements in ad dition to these
grades.
Tread wear
T he tread we ar g rade is a c omp arative r ati ng
based on the wea r ra te of the t ire when tes ted
u nder con tro lled cond itions o n a specifie d
government test course .
F or example, a tire gr aded 1S 0 wo uld wear
o n e and one h alf ( 11/ 2) times as well on the
government course as a ti re g raded 100.
T he re lative per formance of tires depends
u pon the actu al conditions of their use, how­
ever, and m ay depart s ignificantly from the
no rm due to va ria tions i n driving hab its, se rv ­
ice p ractices and differences in road character­
ist ics and cl imate.
Traction
T he trac tio n gr ad es, fro m highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Ban d
C. Those grades represent t he
ti re 's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under cont rolled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of aspha lt
and concrete. A t ire mar ked C may have poor
traction performance
¢ A .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, represe nting the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ab ility to dissi­
pate heat when tested unde r controlled condi­
t ions on a specif ied ind oor laborato ry test
whee l.

M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1"1 ,...., 1.1"1 ,....,
Sustained high temperature can cause the
materia l of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure<=>,& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of per form­
ance which a ll passenger car tires must meet
under the Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Stand­
ard No. 109. Grades Band A represent higher levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the m inimum required by law.
_&. WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this t ire is
based on stra ight-ahead b raking t raction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydrop lan ing o r peak traction
character istics .
_&. WARNING
The temperature grade for this t ire is es­
tablished for a ti re that is properly inflated
and not overloaded . Excessive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separately or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire fa ilure.
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice. At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires .
In some heavy snow areas, loca l governments
may require true winter or "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. These tires shou ld
only be used in pa irs and be installed on all
four wheels. Make sure you pu rchase snow
tires that are the same size and const ruct ion
type as t he other tires on your ve hicle.
Your veh icle is equipped w ith all -wheel drive,
this will improve tract io n during w inte r dr iv­
in g, even with the standard tires. Howeve r, we
strongly recommend that you a lways eq uip a ll
four whee ls o n your ve hicle with correctly fit­
ted winter tires or all -season tires, when w in ­
ter road conditions a re expected. This also im-
Tire s an d wheel s 267
proves the veh icle's b rak ing performance and
reduces stopping dista nces.
Summe r ti res prov ide les s gr ip on i ce and
snow.
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
o n all fo ur whee ls.
Ask your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop for permitted winter tire sizes. Use
o nl y rad ial winter t ires.
Winter tires lose their effectiveness whe n the
tread is worn down to a depth of0 .157 inch
(4 mm) .
Only drive w ith w inter t ires under w inter con­
dit ions. Summer t ires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °() .
If you have a flat tire, see notes on replace­
ment wheel¢
page 260 .
Please always remember that winter tires may
have a lower speed rating t han the tires o rigi­
nally installed on your vehicle at the time it
was manufactured. P lease see¢
page 263,
Speed rating (letter code)
for a listing of the
speed rating le tter codes and the max imum
speed at which the tires can be d rive n.
The speed rating letter code(¢
page 245) is
o n the side wall of the tire ¢
page 260.
_&. WARNING
Winter t ires have maximum speed limits
that may b e lower than yo ur vehicle's max­
imum speed. Always know the max imum
speed before dr iv ing off. Never dr ive faster
than the speed permitted for yo ur spe cific
win ter tires . This wi ll ca use damage to the
tires leading to an accident and ser ious
personal injury to you and your passen­
gers.
_&. WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your ve hicle
were designed can cause t ire failure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden d eflation,
-
•
•

274 What do I do no w?
-Never use the jack s upplied with your
Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a heavier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came w ith.
- Some of the on board items listed above
are provided on certain mode ls only or
are optiona l extras.
- Before you can raise your vehicle using
the jack, you must activate the jack ing
mode
Qpage 277.
Space-saving spare tire (compact spare
tire)
The spare tire/wheel is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover. It
is intended for short-term use only.
Taking out the sp are tire
,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle.
,. Turn the large screw
Q page 2 73, fig. 208
counter-clockw ise .
,. Take out the spare tire .
,. Always store the vehicle tool ki t, the jack*
and the replaced t ire in the l uggage com­
partment
Q page 134.
Using the spare tire (compact spare tire )
The compact spare tire is only intended for
emergenc ies until you can reach a repair shop.
Replace it as quickly as poss ible with a s tand­
a rd wheel and tire.
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare t ire. Th e compact spare t ire
has been des igned specifically fo r your type of
ve hicle . It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare ti re from another type of vehicle .
Snow chains
For technica l reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not p ermitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha ins and a
front tire fails, mo unt the spare wheel w ith
tire instead of a rear t ire. I nstall the snow chains on the rear tire and use it to rep
lace
the defective front tire.
A WARNING
-- Never use the spare t ire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
d icators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years old, use it only in an emergency and with ex­
treme caution and careful driv ing.
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­ porary and short-term use. It s hou ld be
replaced as soo n as poss ible with the
normal wheel and tire.
- After mounting t he compact spare tire,
the t ire pressure must be checked as
soon as possible . The tire pressure of the
compact spare t ire must be 4. 2 ba r; oth­
erwise, you risk having an a cc iden t.
- Do not dr ive faste r th an
50 mph (80 km/
h). Yo u ris k having a n accident.
- Avoid full-throttle acceleration, heavy
b rak ing, and fast corne ring. You risk hav­
ing
('I n accident.
- N ever d rive using more than one spa re
wheel and ti re. You r is k having an ac ci­
dent.
- Normal summer or winter t ires must not
be mounted on t he compa ct spare w heel
r im.
- For technica l reasons, the use of tire
ch ain s on the sp are tire is not permitted.
If i t is necessary to drive with tir e c hains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
f ront ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front whee l
m ust then be insta lled in place of the
rear whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the t ire chain before mounting the whee l
a nd tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause se rious personal injury
du ring hard b rak ing or in a n accident.
Never store the i nflatable spa re tire or
jack and tool s in the passenge r compart­
men t.