engine AUDI R8 SPYDER 2011 Owner's Guide

80 On the road
The parking brake warning light_
(USA)/ . (CON) illuminates when the parking
brake is set and you switch on the ignition.
A WARNING
-
Always release the parking brake com­
pletely. A partially engaged brake will
overheat the rear brakes, reduce their ef­
fectiveness and cause excessive wear. This could lead to brake failure and an accident .
(D Note
Only after the vehicle has come to com­
plete stop, should you firmly set the park­
ing brake and
move the gearshift lever into
a gear.
Parking
To prevent a parked vehicle from rolling
away, there are a few things you should do .
.. Stop the vehicle using the brake pedal.
.. Set the parking brake firmly .
.. Switch off the engine.
.. Engage a gear
q ,&. .
What else you should do when parking
your vehicle on an incline or decline
Turn the steering wheel so that if the vehicle
should start to roll, it will roll into the curb.
A WARNING
This is how you can reduce the risk of in­
jury when leaving your vehicle.
- Never park the vehicle where it can come
in contact with dry grass, spilled fuel or
any other flammable materials.
- Never allow anyone - especially small
children - to remain in the vehicle when
it is locked. Locked doors make it more
difficult for rescuers to access the pas­
senger compartment in the event of an
emergency. Danger to life!
- Never leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle. Children could release the park­
ing brake or
move the gearshift lever out
-
of gear. The vehicle could start to roll
away and cause an accident.
- No matter what the season is, the tem­
perature in a parked vehicle can reach
dangerous levels.
Starting on hills
Applies to vehicles: with hill hold assist
Hill hold assist makes it easier to start on
hills .
The system is activated when the brake pedal
is depressed
for a few seconds.
After releasing the brake pedal, the brake
power is held for a
brief moment to prevent
the vehicle from rolling back when starting.
During this time, you can easily begin to
move
your vehicle.
A WARNING
-- If you did not begin moving immediately
after releasing the brake pedal, the vehi­
cle could begin to roll backward under
certain circumstances. Depress the brake
pedal immediately or engage the parking
brake.
- If the engine stalls, depress the brake
pedal immediately or engage the parking
brake.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
unintentionally when starting in stop­
and-go traffic, keep the brake pedal de­
pressed for a few seconds before driving
off.
(D Tips
You can find out if your vehicle is equipped
with "hill hold assist" at an authorized Au­
di dealer.

Cruise control
Introduction
The cruise control system keeps the speed
constant .
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed over 20 mph (US
model) or 30 km/h (Canadian model). This is
true only to the extent that engine power or
engine braking effect allow . Using the system
takes the strain off the "gas peda l foot" -es­
pec ial ly on long tr ips.
In the control mode, the indicator light in the
instrument cluster is lit
(Dj;(i )~i~ (US model) ,111
(Canadian model).
The cruise control system automatically
switches itself off imm ed iately under the fol­
lowing cond itions:
- Pressing the brake pedal.
- Pressing the clutch pedal.
A WARNING
-Always pay attention to traffic even when
the cruise control system is switched on.
You are always responsible for your
speed and the distance between your ve­ hicle and other vehicles.
- For safety reasons, the cruise control sys­ tem shou ld not be used in the city, in
stop-and-go traffic, on twisting roads
and when road conditions are poo r (such
as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydro­
planing) -risk of accident.
- Turn off the cr uise control system tem­
porarily when entering turn lanes, high­
way exit lanes or in construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently "rest ing"
your foot on the accelerator peda l causes
the cruise control system not to brake .
This is because the cruise contro l system
is overridden by the driver's acceleration.
(D Note
On manual transmission vehicles: If you
shift into neutral with the cruise contro l
On th e road 81
system switched on, always depress the
clutch pedal! Otherwise the engine will
race and could be damaged as a result .
(D Tips
When driving on steep downward grades,
the cruise control system cannot keep the
speed constant. The vehicle's own weight
increases the speed. Shift into a lower gear
i n plenty of t ime or brake the vehicle with
the foot brake .
Saving the speed
The desired speed must be saved.
Fig. 87 C ruise control system controls
.,. Dr ive at the speed you w ish to set.
.,. Pull the lever to position
(D c:> fig. 87 to
sw itch the system on.
.,. Briefly press button @.
After the button @is released, the current ve­
hicle speed is sto red and maintai ned, i.e. you
are driv ing in control mode.
Changing speed
The desired speed can be changed.
Fas ter
.,. Press lever up towards the 0 c:> page 81,
fig. 87.
.,. Release the lever to store the current speed .
Slower
.. Press lever down towards the O c:> page 81,
fig. 87.
.,. Release the lever to store the current speed. IJJl-

84 Manual transmission
Manual transmission
Launch Control
Program
Applies to vehicles: with VlO engi ne and manua l trans­
mission
The Launch Control Program enables maxi­
mum acceleration.
Requirement : The engine must be at operat­
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned.
• With the engine runn ing, press the
[!I but­
ton one time. The ESP indicator light
fi in
the Driver Information System display illu­
minates and the message
ESP sport· Warn­
ing! Restricted stability
appears.
• Press the clutch and hold it down.
• Engage the first gear.
• Press the accelerator peda l all the way down
until the engine speed remains steady at
6500 RPM.
• Release the clutch carefully~.&_ .
.&_ WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow.
- Only use Launch Control when road and
traffic conditions a llow it and other driv­
ers wi ll not be endangered or annoyed by
your driv ing and the vehicle's accelera­
tion.
- Please note that the driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when ESP is sw itched off, especially
when the road is slippery.
- Once you have accelerated, you should
switch the ESP back on by pressing the
l:m
button.
(D Tips
- When accelerating using the Launch
Control program, all vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads. This can result in
i ncreased wear.
- The Launch Control Program only func­
tions when the parking brake is released and
the vehicle speed is less than 3 mph
(5 km/h).

Automated manual transmission
Description
App lies to vehicles: with R tro nic
Fig . 89 S hift pattern
F ig. 90 Display : Gear s engaged
R tronic is an au tomated manua l transm iss ion
in which the function of the cl utch and shift­
ing is controlled by an electronic system.
The gears are engaged manua lly, sim ilarly to
a manual transmission. The gears ca n also be
shifted automatica lly. The engine can be
started and switched off in all gears .
The selected mode of operation, the gear en­ gaged and the spor t funct ion are shown in the
Driver Information Sys tem display ¢
fig. 90.
M · Manual operation
In th is operating mode, you shift the forward
gears us ing the selecto r lever
¢ page 86 or
the shift paddles on the multifunction steer­ i ng whee l
¢page 87.
A - Automati c operation
In th is operating mode, the forward gears are
shifted up or down depending on engine load
and vehicle speed ¢
page 87.
Autom ated manual tr an sm iss ion 85
R -Rever se g ear
Reve rse gear m ust only be engaged when the
vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running
at id le speed
~ ,1. .
To engage reverse gear, you have to press the
brake pedal, move the selec to r lever to the
right and tip it towards R. In reverse gear, the
back up lights ill uminate when the ignition is
on .
N -Neutral
To engage neu tral, yo u have to move these­
lector lever to the left or to the right .
If re­
verse gear is engaged, move the selector lever
to the left . If a forward gear is engaged , move
the selector lever to the right.
Sport function
T he sport function is sw itched on by pressing
the
I SPORT I b utton. The engine's power re­
serves can be used fully by upshifts later. Shift
t ime is decreased and acce lerator pedal re­
sponse is improved . In addition, in manua l op­
eration the eng ine does
not sh ift a utomat ical­
ly into the next gear before it has reached the
maximum perm iss ible engine speed . In auto ­
matic operat io n, upsh ifting cont inues auto­
matically .
_&. WARNING
- If a gear is engaged when the veh icle is
stat ionary, the accelera to r must not be
pressed inadvertent ly under any circum ­
stances . Otherwise the vehicle wi ll im­
mediately start to move· sometimes
even if the park ing brake is firmly ap­
plied.
- Before you or other persons open the en ­
gine compartment lid and work on a run­ ning engine, select neutral pos ition N
a nd firmly app ly the handbrake . Follow
the warning notes.
(!} Tips
If you accidenta lly shifted into N w hile
driving, you can engage a gear in the nor­ mal way us ing the selecto r lever.

86 Automated manual transmi ssion
Manual operation
Appl ies to vehicles: with R tronic
R tronic allows the driver to shift gears man­
ually.
Starting from a s top
,,. Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
,,. Move the selector lever to the left.
,,. Tap the se lector lever forward
G) .
,,. Re lease the brake pedal and accelerate
c:> & .
Shifting
,,. To shift up, tap the selector lever forward
G) .
,,. To shift down, tap the selector lever to the
rear Q.
Stopping t empor arily
,,. Prevent the vehicle from moving by using
the foot brake, e.g. at traffic signals .
,,. Do not acce lerate. If you do not press either
the brake pedal or the acce lerator pedal for
some time when stationary, neutra l position
N is engaged automatically and a chime
sounds.
P ark ing
,,. Press and ho ld the brake pedal c:> A .
,,. Apply the hand brake firm ly.
,,. Engage a gear.
,,. Switch the ignition
off.
St opping on an incline
,,. Always keep the veh icle stationary using the
foot brake to prevent it from "rolling back"
c:> A . Do not try to prevent the vehicle from
"rolling back" when a gear is engaged by in­
creasing engine speed.
,,. Apply the hand brake firmly.
St arting on a h ill
,,. With a gear engaged, remove your foot from
the brake, accelerate and s low ly release the
hand brake.
When acce lerating, R tronic shifts into the
next gear in gears 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 shortly be- fore the maximum permissible engine speed
is reached. Exception: You have activated the
sport funct ion
r::!) page 85 .
If you have se lected a lower gear than the c ur­
rent one, R tronic will shift down only when
the engine wi ll not be over-revved .
You can swi tch to a utoma tic operation at any
t ime
<:!)page 87.
& WARNING ~
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
r u nning while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle with the engine running, set the park ing brake f irm ly and engage neu­
tral N.
- With the engine r unning and a gear en­
gaged, you have to hold the veh icle w ith
the foot brake .
- Do not accelerate when you sh ift gears
with the vehicle stationary and the en­
g ine runn ing.
- Before driving down a steep slope, re­
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with R tronic .
- Do not ride the brakes or apply the brake
pedal too often or too long . Constant
brak ing causes the brakes to overheat
and substantially reduces braking per­
formance, increases braking d istance or
causes complete failure of the brake sys­
tem .
(D Note
If you must stop on an incline, always ho ld
the veh icle in place with the foot b rake to
prevent it from rolling back. Neve r ho ld
the veh icle on an incline with a slipping
clutch. The clutch was overloaded if
C lutch
overheat ing! If po ssible ple ase stop vehi­
cle appears in the Driver Informat ion Sys­
tem d isplay.

Automatic operation
Applies to vehicles: with R tronic
The forward gears are shi~ed up or down au­
tomatically.
S tartin g from a stop
.. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.. Tap the se lector lever towards A.
.. Release the brake pedal and acce lerate
c::, A.
in Manual operation on page 86.
Under certain circumstances (driving in the
mounta ins for example), it can be beneficial
to switch temporarily to the manua l shift pro­
gram
c::> page 86 in order to adjust the gear ra­
tios to driving conditions manually.
Kick-down
Applies to vehicles : with R tronic
When you depress the accelerator pedal be­
yond the resistance point, R tronic downshifts
into a lower gear, depending on vehicle speed
and engine rpm . The ups hift into the next
h igher gear takes place once the max imum
specified engine speed is reached. Exception:
You have activated the sport funct ion.
A WARNING
Please note that the d rive whee ls can spin
if kick -down is used on a smooth slippery
road - there is a risk of skidding .
Launch Control
Program
Applies to vehicles : with R tronic
The Launch Control Program enables maxi­
mum acceleration.
Requirement: The engine must be at operat­
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
.. With the engine running, press the
[!I but­
ton one t ime. The ESP indicator light
fi in
the Driver Information System display illu­ minates and the message
ESP sp ort -W arn­
in g! Re str icte d s tab ility
appears .
Autom ated manual tr an sm iss ion 8 7
.. Press the brake pedal with your left foot and
hold it down.
.. Engage a gear.
.. Press the
ISPORT I button on the selector lev­
er cover.
.. Press the accelerator pedal w ith your right
foot simultaneously unt il the eng ine has
reached a constant speed .
.,. Remove your left foot from the brake
c::, ,& .
A WARNING
-Always adapt your dr iv ing to the traffic
f low.
- On ly use La unch Control when road and
traffic conditions allow it and other driv­
ers will not be endangered or annoyed by
your driving and the vehicle's accelera­
tion.
- Please note that t he driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when ESP is switched off, especially
when the road is slippery .
- Once the starting procedure is complete,
you should sw itch ESP on again by press­
ing the
[!I switch.
(D Tips
When accelerat ing using the Launch Con­
trol program, all vehicle parts are sub ject
to heavy loads. This can result in increased
wear.
Steering wheel with
shift paddles
Applies to veh icles: with R tronic
The shi~ paddles allow you to select gears
manually at the steering wheel.
F ig . 91 Sport steering wheel: S hift padd les

Homelink®
Universal remote
control
General information
Appl ies to vehicles: with Horne Link® universal rem ote
control
The Homelink ® feature can learn up to three
radio frequency codes for most current trans ­
mitters used for operating garage doors, es­ tate gates, home or outdoor lighting sys­
tems, and other devices.
You must first program the Homelink ® trans­
mitter before you can use the system
¢ page 96, Programming the HomeLink ®
transmitter.
In order to program the Home link ® transmit­
ter for devices utilizing rolling code, a second
person on a ladder who can safe ly reach the
garage door opener motor is recommended.
I t is also necessary to locate the "learn" but­
ton on your garage door opener motor . Refer
to the operat ing instruct ions for the opener,
as the location and color of this button may
vary by manufacturer.
You can still use the origina l remote control
for the device at any time.
A WARNING
-
- Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does
have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
tu re as requ ired by federa l safety stand ­
ards . Th is includes any garage door open­
er mode l manufact ured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
te ct an object, signaling the door to stop
and rever se does no t mee t current feder­
al safety standards. Using a ga rage doo r
opener witho ut these features increases
risk of serious inj ury or death.
- F or sa fety reasons never release the
par king brake or start the engine while
anyone is stand ing in front of the vehicle .
Hom elin k® 95
-A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in mot ion when the
Homelink ® remote control is being pro­
grammed . If the device is repeatedly ac­
tivated, th is can overstrain motor and
damage its e lectrical components -an
overheated moto r is a fire hazard!
- To avo id possib le injuries or property
damage, please always make abso lutely
certain that no persons o r objects are lo­
ca ted in the range of motion of any
equ ipment being ope rated .
(D Tips
-If you would li ke more information on
Homel ink ®, w here to purchase the
Homel ink ® compatib le produc ts, or
would like to purchase the Homelink ®
Home Lighting Package, please ca ll toll­
free: 1-800-355-3515 .
- For Declaration of Compliance to United States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula­
tions ¢
page 212 .

110 Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that comes on could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 113 D river is proper ly restrai ned in a sudden brak­
ing maneuver .
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addit ion, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorb ing" the kine tic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
A lthough these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wear ing safety be lts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident . Prope rly using safety be lts a lso
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
ta l airbags to do their job in a collision. For
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the Un ited States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­ ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . The front air­
bags are not act ivated in all frontal coll is ions,
in sid e and rear collisions , in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
T he same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear yo ur safety belt
and make sure everybody in your veh icle is
proper ly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
descr ibed in th is chapter .
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged .
_&. WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
imprope rly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on
the body.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding sma ll children, into a ny sing le
safety belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­
ting on your lap.

150 Intelligent te chn olog y
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose o f capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down­ loading of data stored by EDR 's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of elect ron­
ic control modules for various v ehicl e systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
sa fety belts .
These electron ic co ntrol modules also record
vehicle-re lated data du ring norma l vehicle op­
er ation for diagno stic and repa ir purposes .
T he recording capacity of the elec tronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re ­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other condition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data t hen stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
syst em use and performanc e in the event of a
c rash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment .
Electronic Stabilization
Program (ESP)
The Electronic Stabilization Program increas­
es driving stability .
Fig . 1 33 Ce nt er conso le wi th~ bu tto n
Intent and purpose
T he Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Elec tronic
D ifferential Lock (EDL) a nd Anti-Slip Regula ­
tion System (ASR) are integrated i n the Elec­
tronic Stabilization Program (ES P).
It increas ­
es control over the vehicle in handling condi­
tions close to the limit of "grip", such as when
acce lerat ing and cornering .
It reduces the r isk
of skidd ing under all road conditions and at
all speeds and improves vehicle stability .
When road condit ions are poor, ES P makes it
easier to start from a complete stop as well as
acce le rate a nd d rive up hills . E S P s witches o n
automatica lly when you start the engine. It
shou ld normally be activated at a ll t imes be ­
cause this ensures optimum veh icle stability .
Critical driving situations
Wi th an oversteering vehi cle ( the vehicle
tu rns too sharply and the rear wheels slide to­
ward the o utside of a cu rve), ESP primari ly
brakes the o utside front wheel, with an
un­
dersteering vehicle (the vehicle does not turn
sharp ly enough and pushes out of a curve) it
brakes the inside rear whee l or other addition­
al wheels. This brake inte rvent ion is accompa­
nied by noises .
If the speed of a wheel s lows down too m uch
rela tive to vehicle speed while braking and i t
starts to lock, brake pressure to this whee l is
reduced . This adjustment process can be felt ..,.

as a pulsing motion of the brake pedal, ac­
companied by some noises. In order for ABS
to be able to operate optimally in th is range,
you must keep the brake pedal depressed -
never "pump the brakes" . You should not ex­
pect that braking d istances w ill be
shortened
under all circumstances with ABS . Braking dis­
tance may even be slightly
longer, for exam­
p le on gravel or wi th fresh snow on a slippery
surface .
If a sign ificant
speed differential between the
d rive wheels on one axle is determined (for
examp le, on a su rface that is s lippery
on one
side),
the EDS brakes the spinn ing whee l and
transfers power to the other drive whee ls.
This is done up to a speed of about 60 mph (100 km/h) . Noises from the brake system
signal that whee l spin is being controlled.
I f one whee l spins when starting from a com­
p lete stop because o f a different grip (for ex­
ample , one wheel o n ice), keep your foot
hard
on the accelerator until the veh icle starts to
move.
If the wheels spin , ASR wi ll automatically re­
duce engine torque and match power to road
surface conditions .
Switching on Sport mod e
In specific driving situations (e.g. Launch Con ­
trol), you swi tch ASR and ESP to Sport mode
by pressing the
[!I button once . The indicator
light
11 illuminates and ESP sport -Wa rni ng!
Restric ted stab ility
appears . "Slip" is matched
to the speed. You should do this only if your
driving skill and traffic cond it ions permit .
Switching ASR /ESP off
In certain sit uations (e .g . in deep snow, on a
l oose surface, o r when rocking the vehicle
free), switch ASR and ESP off by pressing the
[ill button for more than 3 seconds. The ind ica­
tor light
I) illuminates and ES P sw itc hed off -
Warning! R estricted stability
appears . You
should do th is only if your driving skill and
traffic cond itions pe rmit .
Int ellig ent technolog y 151
Switching ASR /ESP on
Activate ASR/ ESP by p ressing the [!I button
again. The message
ESP on appears in the d is­
play briefly.
Brake overheating
So that the disc b rake on a b raked wheel does
not overheat, the EDS switches off automati­
ca lly if there is un usua lly severe loa ding at
th is wheel. The vehicle is st ill drivable and has
the same properties as a vehicle wit hout EDS .
As soon as the brake has cooled down, EDS
swi tches on aga in automatically.
A WARNING
- Even ESP, ABS, EDS and ASR cannot over ­
come the laws of physics . You should
keep this in m ind in particular on an icy
or wet road. If the systems intervene,
you shou ld adjust your speed immediate­
ly to road and traff ic conditions . Do not
be tempted by the increased safety pro­
vided to take risks -you risk having an
accident.
- Please keep in mind that the r isk of an
accident is i ncreased by driving too fast,
pa rti cularly in corners and on icy or wet
ro ads, and by drivi ng too close to the ve­
hicle ahead . Even ES P, ABS, E DS and ASR
cannot eliminate the increased risk of
having an accident.
-Apply the throttle ca re fully when accel ­
erating on a consistently s lippery sur­
face, e.g. on ice and snow . The drive
wheels can spin in spite of the EDS and thereby affect vehicle stability -you risk
having an accident .
- Please note that when ASR or ESP/ASR is
deactivated, the drive wheels can spin on
icy and slippery roads and the veh icle can
break away -the re is a risk of skidd ing!
(D Tips
- In the event of a defect in the rear spoil-
er system or in Audi magnet ic ride, it can
happen that ASR and ASR/ESP cannot be .,.
•
•