wheel size AUDI A8 2011 User Guide
[x] Cancel search | Manufacturer: AUDI, Model Year: 2011, Model line: A8, Model: AUDI A8 2011Pages: 302, PDF Size: 76.07 MB
Page 256 of 302

254 Tir es and whe els
The s peed ra ting le tter code( ¢ page 24 0) is
on the side wall of the tire¢ page
249.
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum s peed limits
that may be lower t han your vehicle's max
imum speed . Always know the maximum
speed before driving off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
w inter t ires. This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
pe rsonal inj ury to you and your passen
gers .
A WARNING I>=
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your vehicle
were designed can cause tire fai lure in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflat ion,
loss of control, crashes and serious per
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
rep laced immed iate ly .
- Winter tires have maximum speed rat ing
that may be lower than your veh icle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
w hich the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your d rivi ng to the road and
tr affic conditions. Neve r let the good ac
celeration of the wi nte r t ir es and all-whee l
dr ive temp t you in to taking extr a ris ks . A l
ways remember :
- Whe n bra ki ng , an a ll-wheel d rive vehicle
hand les in the s ame way as a front drive
vehicle.
- Drive caref ully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
cannot he lp under black ice conditions.
@) For the sake of the environment
Use summe r ti res when weathe r cond i
tions perm it. They are quieter, do not we ar
as quickly and red uce fue l consumption.
Snow chains
S now cha ins may be fitted only to the front
whee ls, and o nly to cer tain ti re si zes . As k your
a uthorized Aud i dea ler on whi ch tire sizes
snow chains can be used.
If you a re go ing to use snow cha ins, then you
mus t install t hem on the front whee ls a t
l east.
T he snow chains must have low-p rofile links
and mus t not be t hicker than 0.4 inch
(10,S mm) , in cl ud ing t he loc k.
Remove whee l center cove rs and trim discs
before putt ing snow chains on your vehicle
¢ (!) . For safety reasons cove r caps must then
be fi tted over the wheel bo lts. These are ava il
able from authorized Aud i dea lers .
A WARNING
=
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi -
cle or insta lling them incorrect ly can in
crease the risk of loss of contro l leading to
serious pe rsonal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes . Always make sure to follow the in
structions prov ided by the snow chain
manufacturer .
- W hen driving with snow cha ins never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
(D Note
- Remove snow chains before dr iving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily .
- Snow chains, which come into direct con
tact with the whee l rim, ca n scratch or
damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are s uitably covered. Check
the pos ition of the snow chains afte r
dr iving a few yards and co rrect if necces
sary. Follow the inst ruct io ns from the
snow chain m an uf actur er when do ing so.
- If the Ada ptive Ai r Suspe nsio n should
m alfu nction, do not mount o r use snow
11-
Page 257 of 302

chains because t he vehicle will be ex
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev
el, the snow chains might severe ly dam
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
@ Tips
Where snow cha ins are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve
hicles with All Wheel Drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used . This ensures that wheels are fitted
secure ly and that the brake system f unctions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a d iffe rent vehicle -even if it
i s the same mode l
¢page 285.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tig hte ned or maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose causing loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
jury .
- Alw ays keep the w heel bolts and the
th reads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the w heel h ubs. They can
become loose wh ile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintai n the co rrect tightening
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
Tire s an d wheel s 255
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor
que of t he wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is mov ing. If the tighte ning torque is
too h igh, the wheel bol ts and threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
(I) Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb ( 120 Nm) wi th a tole rance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torq ue whee l bolts diago
nally. Afte r cha nging a whee l, the torq ue
must be checked as soon as possible wi th a
torque w rench -prefe rably by an au thor
ized Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is facto ry-eq uipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and handling u nder a variety of driving cond i
tions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size
designation . The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewall height in relation to its
t read width ex pressed in pe rce ntage. Conven
tiona l tires have a he igh t/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-aspe ct-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitiv e to improper infla tion
pres sure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s·
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 244, Checking tire pressure.
What you can d o to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w it h potholes , curbs, gul lies ..,.
•
•
Page 258 of 302

256 Tires and wheels
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated.
I n o rder to minim ize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom
mend that you observe the following precau
tions:
- Always maintain recommended inflation
pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000
km) and add air if neces
sary.
- Drive carefully on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Audi dealer. Replace a damaged
tire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your tires every 2,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al
ways easy to see. Damage can lead to loss of
air and underinflation, wh ich could eventu
ally cause tire failure . If you be lieve that a
t ir e may have been damaged, replace the
t ir e as soon as possible.
- T hese tires may wear mo re quick ly than oth
ers.
- Please also remember that, while these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make more no ise than
other choices.
Reduced performance in winter/cold
season conditions
All tires are designed for certain purposes.
The low aspect ratio, ultra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in
tended for maximum dry and wet road per
formance and handling. They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather condit ions. If
you drive under those circumstances, you should equip your vehicle with all -season or
winter tires, which offer better traction under
those cond it ions. We suggest you use the rec
ommended snow or all-season tires specified
for your vehicle, or their equivalent. Refer
to
q page 253 for more detailed infor
mation regarding winter tires.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(D General notes
Applies to veh icles: w ith tire pressure monitoring system
Each tire, including the spare ( if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly when co ld and in
flated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the veh icle manufacturer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in
flation pressure label, you should dete rmine
the proper tire inflation p ressure fo r those
t i res).
As an added safety feature, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire pressure mon itoring
system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure tel ltale when one or more of your
tires is significant ly under-inflated. According
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale illumi
nates, you should stop and check your tires as
soon as possible, and inflate them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a sign ificantly un
der-inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire failure . Under-inflation al
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle 's handling and
stopp ing ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the driv
er's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to trigger illuminat ion of the
TPMS low tire pressu re tellta le .
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is combined with
the low tire pressure telltale. When the sys
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will
flash for approximately one minute and then ..,_