tires AUDI S8 2016 User Guide

Care and cleaning
Care and cleaning
General information
Regular, proper care helps to maintain your vehi­
cle's value.
It can also be a requirement when
submitting warranty claims for corrosion damage
and paint defects on the body.
The required cleaning and care products can be
obtained from your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Read and follow the instruc­
tions for use on the packaging.
A WARNING
-Using cleaning and care products incorrectly
can be dangerous to your health .
- Always store cleaning and care products out
of reach of children to reduce the risk of poi­
soning.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Preferably use environmentally-friendly
products when buying cleaning agents.
- Do not dispose of leftover cleaning and care
products with household trash.
Car washes
The longer deposits remain on the vehicle, the
more the surface can be damaged. High temper­
atures such as those caused by sunlight increase
the damaging effects .
Before washing, wet heavy deposits with plenty
of water.
Stubborn deposits such as bird droppings or tree
sap are best removed with plenty of water and a
microfiber cloth.
Also, wash the underside of your vehicle once
road salt stops being used for the season.
Pressure washers
When washing your vehicles with a pressure
washer, always follow the operating instructions
provided with the pressure washer. This is espe­
cially important in regard to the pressure and
spraying distance . Do not aim the spray directly
at seals on side windows, doors, the hood, the
206
rear lid or the sunroof* or at tires, rubber hoses,
insulating material, sensors* or camera lenses*.
Keep a distance of at least 16 inches (40 cm) .
Do not remove snow and ice with a pressure
washer.
Never use rotary nozzles or high pressure noz­
zles.
The water temperature must not be above 140 °F
(60 °C).
Automatic car washes
Spray off the vehicle before washing.
Make sure that the windows and roof* are closed
and the windshield wipers are
off . Follow instruc­
tions from the car wash operator, especially if
there are accessories attached to your vehicle.
If possible, use car washes that do not have
brushes.
Only use car washes where the vehicle remains
stationary and the washing equipment moves
around the vehicle when washing and drying. Car
washes that move the vehicle through the car
wash using a chain are not recommended.
Washing by hand
Clean the vehicle starting from the top and work­
ing down using a soft sponge or cleaning brush.
Use solvent-free cleaning products.
Washing vehicles with matte finish paint by
hand
To avoid damaging the paint when washing, first
remove dust and large particles from your vehi­
cle. Insects, grease spots and fingerprints are
best removed with a special cleaner for matte
finish paint.
Apply the product using a microfiber cloth. To
avoid damaging the paint surface, do not use too
much pressure.
Rinse the vehicle thoroughly with water. Then
clean using a neutral shampoo and a soft micro­
fiber cloth .
Rinse the vehicle thoroughly again and let it air
dry. Remove any water residue using a sham my. ..,..

Wheels
Wheels
Wheels and Tires
General information
~check your tires regularly for
damage (punctures, cuts, cracks
and bulges). Remove foreign ob­
jects from the tire tread.
~ If driving over curbs or similar
obstacles, drive slowly and ap ­
proach the curb at an angle.
~ Have faulty tires or rims re­
placed immediately.
~ Protect your tires from oil,
grease and fuel.
~ Mark tires before removing
them so that the same running direction can be maintained if
they are reinstalled .
~ Lay tires flat when storing and
store them in a cool, dry location
with as little exposure to light as possible.
(i}) Note
-Please note that summer and
winter tires are designed for
the conditions that are typical i n those seasons. Audi recom­
mends using winter tires dur­
i ng the winter months. Low
temperatures significantly de­ crease the elasticity of summ­
er tires, which affects traction
236
and braking ability. If summer
tires are used in very cold
temperatures, cracks can form on the tread bars, resulting in
permanent tire damage that
can cause loud driving noise
and unbalanced tires.
-Burnished, polished or chromed rims must not be used in winter driving condi­
tions. The surface of the r ims
does not have sufficient corro­
sion protection for th is and
could be permanently dam­
aged by road salt or similar
substances.
Tire designations
Fig. 205 Tire specifi cation codes on the
sidewall of a tire .,._

(D Tires for passenger vehicles
(if applicable)
P indicat es a tir e for a p asse ng er
vehi cle. T indi cates a tire de sig­
nated for tempor ary us e.
@ Nominal width
Nominal width of the tire be­
tween the sidew alls in millime­
ters. In general: the larger the number, the wider the tire.
@ Aspect ratio
Height /width ratio expressed as a
percentage.
@ Tire construction
R indicates a radial tire.
® Rim diameter
Siz e of the rim diameter in inches.
@ Load index and speed rating
The load ind ex indi cates the tire' s
lo ad-ca rry in g ca pacity.
The speed rating indicates the maximum permitted speed¢.&
in
W inter tires o n page 251 .
"EXTRA LOAD", "xl" or "RF" indi­
cate s that the tire i s reinfor ced or
is an Extra Load tire.
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
ing
p
up t o 93 mph ( 150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (160 km/ h)
Wheels
Speed rat- Maximum permitted speed
ing
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
s u p to 11 0 mph ( 180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
u u p to 124 mph ( 200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 14 9 mph (2 40 km/h)al
z above 149 mph (240 km/h)al
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)al
y up to 186 mph (300 km/h)al
a) For tir es ab ove 149 mph (2 40 km/h),
t ir e man ufact ure rs sometimes use the
co de "Z R".
(j) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
The m anufac ture date i s listed on
the tire sidewall (it ma y only ap­
pear on the inner side of the tire):
DOT ... 2215 ...
means, for example , that the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of
the year 2015.
@ Audi Original equipment
tires
Audi Original equipment tire s
with th e designation "AO " or "RO"
have been sp ec ially matched to
your Audi. When used correct ly,
these t ires meet th e highest
s tandar ds of safety and h andling.
Your authorized Audi dealer will
be happy to provide more infor­
mation .
237

Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tir e pressure recom­
mended by the vehic le manufac­
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for
more than a couple of miles (kilo­
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire pressure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve ­
hicle with standard equipment in­
c luding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oi l, and coolant, a ir condi­
tioning and add itional weight of
optional equipment.
E xtra load ti re
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in -
Wheels
flation pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
" xl", "EXTRA LOAD", o r "RF" on
the sidewal l.
Gross Axle Weight Rating
( " GAWR")
means the load -carrying capacity
of a single axle system, measured
at the tire-ground interfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR ")
means the max imum total loaded
weight of the vehic le.
Groove
means the space between two ad­
jacent tr ead ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the max im um load tha t a
tire is rated to carry fo r a g iven in­
flat ion pressure . You may not find
this informat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not requ ired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum pe rmissible infla­
tion pressure for that tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum o f:
239
..

Wheels
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible )
inflation pressure
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a tire may be inflated. Also called "maxi­
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to­
ta l seating capacity of your vehi­
c le .
Occupant distribution
means distribut ion of occupan ts
in a vehic le .
Outer diameter
means the overall diamete r of an
inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the l inear distance be ­
tween the exter iors of the side­
walls of an infla ted tire , including
elevations due to labeling , deco­
rations, or protective bands or
r ibs.
2 4 0
Ply
means a layer of rubber -coated
pa rallel cords.
Production options weight
means t he comb ined we ight of
those insta lled regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs . (2 .3
kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace , not pre­
viously considered in curb weight or accessory weight, inc luding
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rack, heavy duty battery, and
special trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply co rds that extend to the
beads are laid at subs tantially 90
deg rees to the centerline o f the
tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see~ page 239, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at highe r loads and at h igher in­
flat ion pressures than t he corre­
spond ing standa rd tire . R ein ­
forced tires may be identified as .,.

-
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" ' ' '
on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur­
chase new tires to match the new
rim d iameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance between
r im flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be ­
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code )
means the speed at wh ich a tire is
designed to be driven for exten d­
ed periods of t ime . The ratings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 237.
Yo u may not find
ci this information on all tires be-:c
; cause it is not required by law. V,
-"' -
Wheels
T he speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
maximum pe rmissible road
speeds
¢ & in Winter tires on
page 251 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system*
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's
tires are underin flated and illum i­
na tes a low tire pressure wa rning
telltale.
Tread
means that port ion of a tire that
comes into contact with the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visua l indication of t he degrees
of wear of the tread . See
¢ page 245, Treadwear indicator
for mo re info rma tion on measu r-
ing tire wear. .,.
241

Wheels
Uniform Tire Quality Gr ading
is a tire information system devel ­
oped by the United States Nation­
al Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make relative com­ parisons among tires. The UTQG
is not a safety rating and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescr ibed number of miles
(kilometers) or perform in acer­
tain way. It simply gives tire buy­
ers additional information to
combine with other considera­
tions, such as price, brand loya lty
and dealer recommendations. Un­
der UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas:
treadwear , traction, and tempera­
ture resistance . The UTQG in for­
mation on the tires, molded into
the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number" .
It begins with the letters "DOT"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standards. The next
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac ­
tured, and the last four numbers represent the
week and year of
manufacture . For example,
24 2
DOT ... 2215 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week of 201 5. The
other numbers are marketing co­
des that may o r may not be used
by the tire manufacturer . This in­
formation is used to contact con­ sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Veh icle capac ity weight
means the rated ca rgo and lug­
gage load pl us 150 lbs . (68 k ilo­
grams) times the vehicle's desig ­
nated seating capacity .
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that load on an ind ividual
tire that is determined by distrib ­
uting to each axle its sha re of the
maximum loaded veh ic le we ight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determi ned by distrib­
uting to each axle its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupan t weight (dis­
tributed in accordance with
c::> ta ­
ble on page 248) and dividing by
two .
~

Occupant loading and distri­
but ion for vehicle normal load
for various design ated se ating
c a pa cit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pres­
sure label ¢
page 246, fig. 208
for the number of seating posi­
tions. Refer to the table ¢
table
on page 248
for the number of
people that correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized repair facility. These fa ­
cilities have the proper knowl ­
edge and are equipped with the
required tools and replacement
parts .
.,,. New tires do not yet have the
opt imum adhesion properties.
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 m iles
(500 km) with new tires .
... use tires of the same construc­
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread pattern as possible on all four
;:::; wheels.
ci :c ": ....
'° V, ....
'° ....
Wheels
.,,.Do not replace tires individually.
At least replace both tires on the same axle at the same time.
.,,. Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original equipment tires. If
you would like to use different
tires, please note that the tires may perform differently even if
they are the same size¢,&..
.,,. If you would like to equip your
vehicle w ith a tire/r im combina­
tion that is different from what
was installed at the factory, con ­
sult w ith an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized repair facili­
ty before making a purchase
~ .&. -
The spare tire* is diffe rent from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle - for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
then only use the spare tire* tem­
porarily in case of emergency and
drive carefully while it is in use . It
should be replaced with a regular
tire as soon as possible.
All four whee ls must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand
and have the same construction
and tread pattern so that the
drive system is not damaged by different tire speeds. For this rea-
son , in case of emergency, only .,.
24 3

Wheels
use a spare tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular
tires .
A WARNING
-Only use tire/rim combina­
tions and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident
could result.
-For technical reasons, it is not
possible to use tires from oth­
er vehicles -in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from the same vehicle model.
-Make sure that the tires you select have enough clearance
to the vehicle. Replacement
tires should not be chosen
simply based on the nominal
size, because tires with a dif­
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of an accident.
-Only use tires that are more than 6 years old when abso-
244
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-Do not use run-flat tires on
your vehicle. Using them when not permitted can lead to ve­
hicle damage or accidents.
-If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al­
low enough air circulation to
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 206 Tire profile: treadwear indica­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
-Inflation pressure that is too low or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves, rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear.
-Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized repair facility
i.

Wheels
check the wheel alignment if have approximately the same
there is unusual wear. length of service life.
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an
For unidirectional tires, make
imbalance is causing noticeable
sure the tires are installed accord-
vibration in the steering wheel. ing to the running direction indi-
If you do not, the tires and other cated on the tire sidewall
vehicle components could wear
¢ page 264.
more quickly.
Hidden damage
Treadwear indicator
Damage to tires and rims can of-
The original tires on your vehicle ten occur in locations that are
have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high hidden. Unusual vibrations in the
"wear indicators" ¢
fig. 206 run-
vehicle or pulling to one side may
ning across the tread . Marks on
indicate that there is tire damage.
the tire sidewall (for example Reduce your speed immediately.
"TWI" or other symbols) indicate
Check the tires for damage. If no
the positions of the tread wear in- damage is visible from the out-
dicators. side, drive slowly and carefully to
The tires have reached the mini- the nearest authorized Audi deal-
mum tread depth
l) when they er or authorized
repair facility to
have worn down to the treadwear have the vehicle inspected
.
indicators. Replace the tires with
_& WARNING
new ones ¢&. -
Tread that has worn too low or
Wheel rotation different tread depths on the
Rotating the wheels regularly is tires can reduce driving safety.
recommended to ensure the tires This
can especially have a nega-
wear evenly. To rotate wheels, in- tive effect on handling, on the
stall the wheels from the rear risk aquaplaning when driving
axle on the front axle and vice through water, when driving
versa. This will allow the tires to through curves and when
..
.... N ci :c ": .... l) Obey
any applicable regulations in your '° "? .... country. '° ....
245