wheel size AUDI S8 2009 User Guide

-~_T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_d _ w_ h_ e_e _l_s _________________________________________________ _
& WARN ING (continued )
• Never drive fa ster than the speed for which the winter or other
tires in stalled on your vehi cle a re rated.
& WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and t raffic condit ions .
Never let the good acceleration of the winter tires and all -wheel
drive tempt you into tak ing extra risks. Always remember :
• When braking , an all -wheel drive vehicle handles in the same
way as a front drive vehicle .
• Drive carefully and reduce your speed on icy and slippery ro ads ,
even winter tires cannot help under bla ck ice conditions.
c£> For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather conditions permit. They are
quieter, d o not wea r as qu ick ly a nd r educe fuel cons ump tio n.•
Snow chains
Sn ow chains may be fitte d only to th e fron t w hee ls, and o nly t o
certain tire sizes . Ask your authorized Audi dealer on which tire
s iz es snow c hains can be used .
If you are going to use snow cha ins , then you must instal l them on
the front wheels at least.
The snow chains must have low-pro file l inks and mus t n ot be thicker
than 0.53 inch ( 13.5 mm), including the lock.
Remove wheel cen ter c ove rs a nd trim discs be fore putti ng snow
chains on your vehic le~
0 . For safety reasons cover caps must
then be fitted ove r the wheel bo lts . These are avai lable from autho ­
rized Audi dealers.
& WARNING
Using the wrong snow chain s for your vehicle or installing them
incorrectly can in crease the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury .
• Snow chains are available in different size s. Alway s make sure
to follo w the instructions pro vided by the snow chain manufac ­
turer.
• When dr iving with snow ch ains never drive faster than the
speed permitted for your specific snow chains .
• Always observe local regulations .
0 Note
• Remove snow chains before driving on roads not covered with
snow to av oid da maging t ires a nd weari ng the snow cha ins dow n
unnecessari ly.
• Snow cha ins, wh ic h come into d irect contact wit h the wheel rim ,
can scratch or damage it. Therefore, make sure that the snow chains
a re suitab ly cove red. Check the p osit io n of the snow cha ins a fter
driving a few yards and correct if neccessary. Follow the instructions
from t he s now cha in manufac turer w he n do ing so .
• I f the Adaptive Air Suspension should malfunction , do not
mo unt or us e snow chains becaus e th e veh icle will be extre m ely
l ow . If you do drive with snow chains on while the vehicle is at this
l evel, the s now c hai ns mig ht s ever ely da mag e th e wheel house and
other parts of the vehicle.
[ i ] Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain roads, this norma lly
a lso app lies to veh ic les wi th A ll Wheel Drive .•

Tires and wheels 1111111 ________________________________ ::..:..:....::.=.....::.:..:..:..::..:___:__ _ ___:,___
•
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts mus t alwa ys be tighte ned to t he correct
to rq ue .
The design of wheel bo lts is matched to the factory installed rims. If
di fferent r ims are fitted , th e cor rect whe el bo lts wi th the rig ht l ength
and c orrec tly shaped bolt heads must be used . This ens ures that
w he els a re fitted se cur ely and th at the bra ke syste m functi ons
correctl y.
In cer ta in c ircums tances, yo u ma y not use w hee l bolts fr om a
differ ent vehicle - even if it is the same model~
page 384 .
& WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel bolts can become loose
causing loss of control, a collision and serious personal injury.
• Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs
clean so the wheel bolts can turn easily and be properly tightened .
• Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel
hubs. They can become loose while driving if greased or oiled,
even if tightened to the specified torque .
• Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed .
• Never use different wheels bolts on your vehicle.
• Always maintain the correct tightening torque for the wheel
bolts to reduce the risk of a wheel loss .
If the tightening torque of
the wheel bolts is too low, they can loosen and come out when the
vehicle is moving . If the tightening torque is too high, the wheel
bolts and threads can be damaged and the wheel can become
loose .
0 Note
The s pecified torque for the wheel bolts is 90 ft lb ( 120 N m) with a
to lerance o f± 7,4 ft lb(± 1 0 Nm). Torque whee l bolt s diago nally.
After chang ing a whee l, the torque must be checked as soon as possible with a torque wrench
-preferably by an authorized Audi
d e aler o r qua lifi ed wo rksho p.•
Low aspect ratio tires
You r A ud i is fac tory-eq uippe d w ith low aspect ra tio tire s. T hese tire s
have been thorough ly t ested and b een se lected specifica lly for your
mod el for thei r su p erb pe rf or manc e, r oad f eel an d ha nd ling under
a variety of driving con ditions . As k your authorized Audi d ealer for
m ore de ta ils.
The low aspect rat io o f th ese t ires is indicated by a numer al of 55 or
less in the t ire's size designation. The numeral rep resents the ratio
o f t he t ire's s idewa ll he ig ht in rel ati on to it s tread w idt h ex pressed
in percentage . Conventiona l tires have a height/width ratio of 60 or
mo re.
The performan ce of low -aspe ct-ratio tires is particularly sensitive to
improper inflation pressure . It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure and that the
inflat ion pressure is regularly checked and ma intained. Tire pres­
sures should be checked at least once a month and always before a
long trip~
page 333, "Checking tire pressure" .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim damage L ow aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re easily by impact with
po tho les, cu rbs, gull ies o r rid ges o n th e road, particular ly if the t ire
is underinf lated .
I n or der to mini mize th e occurrence of i mpac t da mag e to t he tires
of your vehicle, we recommend that you observe the fol lowing
pr ecaut ions :
• Always ma intain recom mended inflatio n pr essu res . C heck you r
ti re p ressu re eve ry 2,000 mi les (3,000 k m) and add a ir if neces sary .
• D rive carefully on roads with potho les, deep gullies or ridges.
T he impact from d riving th rough or ove r such obstac les can
da mage y our tires. I mpact with a cu rb m ay a lso cause damage to
your tire s. ..,
Vehicle care
I t •