ESP AUDI TT ROADSTER 2015 Workshop Manual

164 Checking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 126 Driver' s side footwe ll: e ngin e hood release
lever
.. Open the driver's door .
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
instrument panel
c> fig . 126 in the direction
of the arrow .
The hood pops up slight ly under spring pres­
sure.
Opening the engine hood
Fig . 127 Re lease lever under the engine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make sure
that the windshie ld wipers are flat against the
windshie ld. Otherwise, they cou ld damage the
pain t on the hood.
.. Lift the hood slight ly
c> .&, .
.. Pull up on the release under the hood
c> fig . 12 7. This releases the catch .
.. Open the hood all the way.
A WARNING
-Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the eng ine
compartment . Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fu lly opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
.. Let the hood
drop down and latch in p lace.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en­
gage
c> .&, .
A WARNING
--
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv­
i ng.
- When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has proper­
ly engaged . The hood should be flush
with the surrounding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while dr iv ing that the hood
is not secured properly, stop at once and
close it .
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment!
Whene ve r y ou must pe rform any wo rk in th e
eng ine compartment, for e xample chec king
and filling the diff ere nt fluids, ther e is a risk
of injury , burn s and accident s. To prevent
p ers onal injury alwa ys obs erv e the follo win g
WARNING S. Th e engin e c ompartm ent of an y
v e hicl e is a hazardou s area!
c> .&.
A WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Sw itch off the engine .
- Remove the ignition key.

@ For the sake of the environment
-Before changing your oil, first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always dispose of used engine oil proper­
l y. Do not dump it on garden soi l, wood­
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in your
area, or contact a service station .
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­ tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sea led and generally re­
q uir es lit tle atten tion .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac ­
tory with a pe rmanent coo lant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture o f spec ial ly conditioned water and the
manuf acturer 's glyco l-basedcoolan t addi -
tiv e G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi ­
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els) . This mixture both assures the neces­
sary
frost protection and p rotects metal com ­
ponents in the engine's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil­
i ng point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration o f the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add it ive must be at
l e a st 50 % but not mor e than 60 %
to main­
tain antifreeze protection and coo ling efficien­
cy .
If the coolant frost protect io n is too low,
the coolant cou ld free ze and dam age the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for tempera tures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada.
Checkin g and fillin g 171
If you must add coo lant, use a mixture of wa ­
ter and coolant additive . Mix ing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
_& WARNING
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
c> .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 164.
Q) Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­ mate condi tions. This is especi ally impor­
tan t if you live i n a region wher e th e win­
ter is ex treme ly co ld . If necessary, i n­
crease t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60% .
- Whe n ad ding coolant additive t o yo ur
c ooling sys tem, reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad­
d itive G12++ or G13 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is availab le at au­
thor ized Audi dealers . O ther types of
a ntifreeze can s ignifica ntly reduc e cor­
rosion prote ction. The result ing cor ro­
sion can cau se a loss o f coolan t and se­
rio us engine d amage .
- Do not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal­
a nt to yo ur vehicle 's engine c oolant .
A dd ing radia tor repair fl uid may adverse ­
ly affect the f unction and pe rformance of
your coolin g system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by your New Ve hicle
L imited Warranty.
-
•
•

176 Check ing and filling
must not be replace with a conventional
battery .
- Make sure the ventilat ion hose on the
side of the battery is connected, other­
wise fumes or battery acid can leak out.
- Battery ho lder and terminals a lways
have to be secured cor rectly.
- Befo re a ll work on the battery fo llow the
warning s below c::, & in Working on the
battery on page 176.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l
of a battery, we recommend your author ­
ized Au di dealer change the battery for
you. Batter ies contain su lf u ric ac id and
lead and m ust always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance w ith all environmental
regulations . D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat­
t ery cannot overbalan ce, o therw ise sulfu­
r ic acid mig ht escape!
Q Tips
If you r vehicle is left standing for severa l
weeks at extremely low tempe rat ures, t he
veh icle b attery should be remove d and
sto red whe re it will not freeze . This w ill
prevent it from being damage d and hav ing
to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery!
T he ba tte ry is loca ted in the luggage compart ­
men t under the floor . Before yo u work on or
near the battery,
read and heed all WARN­
INGS
c::, ,& .
Always heed the sa fet y warning s, when wor k­
ing on the vehicle battery o r the ve hicle elec ­
trica l system to preve nt injury.
The following WARNINGS are very
i mportant when working on the battery :
Alway s heed the followin g WARNING SYM·
BOLS and safety precaution s when working
on the battery.
®
Always wear eye protection .
~
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Al-
ways w ear glov es and eye prot ection.
@
No
- spa rks
- flames
- smo king.
~
When a batter y is charged, it produ ce s
hydrogen gas which is ex plosive and
could cau se pe rsonal injury.
®
Always keep the batt ery well out of
reach of childr en.
& WARNING ~ -
Wheneve r working on t he battery o r on
the electrical system, there is t he risk of
injury, accident and even fire . Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery ac id or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing. Shield you r eyes.
Exp losive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
- Battery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can ca use blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear g loves and eye prote ction.
Do no t tilt the ba ttery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open ­
ings .
- If you get battery ac id in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
med ica l attent ion.
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately .
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, e lectr ic sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke .

180 Tire s and wheel s
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle . Tires are,
however, one of the most important parts of a
vehicle, particularly considering the compara­
tive ly small patch of rubber on each tire that
assures that a ll-impo rtant contact between
you, your vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire pressure, mak ing
sure that your vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry mo re weight than they can safe ly han­
d le, avoiding damage from road hazards and
reg ularly inspecting t ires for damage includ­
ing cuts, slashes irregu la r wear and ove rall
condition are the most important things that
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire failure in­
cluding tread separation and blowouts.
Avoiding damage I f you have to drive over a curb or similar ob­
stacle, drive very s low ly and as close as possi ­
b le at a right angle to the curb.
A lways keep chem ica ls includ ing gre ase, o il,
gasoline and b rake fluid off the ti res .
Inspect the t ires regularly for damage (cuts,
cracks or b listers, etc.). Remove any fo reign
bod ies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires Mark tires when you remove them to indicate
the direction of rotation . Th is ensures you to
be ab le to mount them correctly when you re­
install t hem.
When removed, the whee ls or t ires should be
stored in a cool, d ry and preferably dark place .
Store tires in a vertical pos ition if they are not
mounted on rims, in a horizontal pos it ion if
they are mounted on rims. New tire
s
New t ires have to be broken in¢&,. .
T he tread depth of new t ires may vary, accord­
ing to the type a nd make of t ire and the tread
pa tte rn .
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and r ims is ofte n not readily
vis ible . If you notice unusual v ibrat ion or the
vehicle p ulls to one side, th is may ind icate
t h at one of the t ires has been damaged . Th e
t ir es m ust be checked immed iate ly by an au ­
tho rized Aud i dea le r or q uali fied wor ks hop.
Unidirectional t ires
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar­
rows on the sid ewa ll, that po int in the direc­
t ion the t ire is desig ned to rotate. You mus t
f ol low the specified d irection of rotation . This
is necessary so that these tires can develop
their optimum characterist ics regarding grip,
road no ise, wear and hyd rop laning resistance.
For more information
¢page 211.
A WARNING
-New tires or tires that are old, worn or
damaged cannot provide maximum con­
trol and braking ability .
-
-New tires tend to be slippery and must
be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing
control, a co llision and ser ious personal
in jur ies, d rive w ith special ca re fo r the
fi rst 350 m iles (560 km).
- Driving with worn or damaged tires can
le ad to loss of control, sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de­
fl ation, c rashes and seriou s personal in­
juries . Have wo rn or damaged t ires re­
p laced immediate ly .
- T ires age even if they are not being used
an d can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith specia l care and at low
speed.

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when d riving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age .
(D Note
-Please note that summer and winter
tires are designed for the cond itions that
are typ ic al in those seasons. Aud i recom­
mends using w inter t ires du ring the win-
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items which may be replaced)
of automatic tra nsmission, power steering,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that these
items are availab le as factory-installed equip­
ment (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 in­
d icate a low sidewall for improved steering re­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement .
Bead
means the pa rt of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead s eparation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Tire s an d wheel s 181
ter months . Low temperatu res signifi­
cantly decrease the elastic ity of summer
t ires, which affects traction and braking
ability. If summer tires are used in very
co ld temperatures, cracks can form on
the tread bars, res ulting in permanent
ti re damage that can cause loud drivi ng
noise and unbalanced tires. Aud i is not
responsib le for this type of damage.
- Burn ished, polished or chromed rims
must not be used in winter weather. Th e
surfa ce of the rims does not have suffi­
c ien t cor rosion pro te cti on for this and
c o ul d be pe rmanen tly damaged by road
salt or similar substances. This damage
is not covered by warranty.
Cold tir e inflation pressure
me ans the t ire press ure re commended by the
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire o f a des igna ted
size that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilomete rs) at low speeds in
the three hour pe riod before the tire press ure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight o f a motor vehicle with
standard equipment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, o il, and coolant, air cond i­
tion ing and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
E xtra load tire
means a tire designed to operate at higher
l oads and at higher inflation press ures than
the corresponding standard tire. Extra load
tires my be ident ified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-carrying capacity of a single
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in-
ter~ces.
~
•
•

182 Tires and wheels
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the maximum total loaded weight o f
the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflat 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 t ire at the maxi­
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity we ight, and
(d) Production opt ions weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated . Also called
"maximum inflation press ure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilog rams) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the tota l seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a veh icle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri ­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ­
ing elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubbe r-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production opt ions we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standa rd items
wh ich they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, heavy duty
battery, and specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substa n­
tially 90 deg rees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation pressure
see <=;> page 181, Cold tire inflation pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate at higher
loads and at higher inflation pressures than
the corresponding standard tire. Re inforced
t ir es my be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new r im di­
ameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nom inal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a t ire between the
tread and bead .

184 Tires and wheels
Occupant loading for vehicle normal load (no luggage)
Designated seating capacity, number of occu- Vehicle normal load (no luggage), number of
pants occupants
2 2
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig. 136 Tire pressure label: located on driver's side B­
pillar
Tire pressure genera lly refers to the amount
of air in a tire that it needs it to do its job and
safely carry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents. Tire pressure is
measured in kilopascals (kPa), the interna­
tional measuring unit and in pounds per
square inch (PSI). Tire pressure is based in
part on the vehicle's design and load limit -
the greatest amount of we ight that the vehi­
cle can carry safe ly and the tire size. The prop­
e r tire pressure is freq uent ly referred to as the
"recommended cold tire inflation pressure."
A ir in the tires expands when the tire heats up
because of interna l frict ion when it flexes in
use. The t ire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold." It is the
inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that counts.
Therefore, you shou ld never let air out of a
warm tire to match "cold tire inflation pres­
sure " recommendations. The tires would then
be underi nflated and could fail suddenly .
Maintaining proper tire pressure is one of the
most important things you can do to help
avoid sudden tire failure. Underinflated tires
are a major cause of sudden tire failure . K eep­
ing tires at the rig ht pressure is also impor­
tant for sa fe and responsive vehicle handling,
traction, braking and load carrying.
Tire pres-
-ID
-
-----------------~ ,.
•===~=~~=~~=-= :g
c
==. ~: I = I ::,,. I)@ TI- ........ ....,..,____, ..... _.,....,.._,...... .... _ ... "-.................. ~ ... --................ ..
1N SIZE COlD lWIE MlS5UM. ,..-u .,...,,..... PlillSSION OU flH£US A fllOD ,_,.
AVNff -KPA, a PSI
---KPA, a PSI
-.. _ -KPA, a PSI
Fig. 137 Tire pre ssure label
SEE OW9'Ell"'S MA.HUAlFOI' ADDITIOII IAL lo~FOAMATlON VOIIIU MAMJ(L OU PROf'Wl£TAJRE '°'-'AP\USDf R£NSEIOHEMUITS
sures are particularly important when the
vehicle is being driven at higher speeds, and
then especially when heavily loaded even
within the permissible load-carrying capaci­
ties approved for your vehicle.
The recommended tire pressures for your Audi
depe nd on the kind of tires on your vehicle
and the number of passengers and/or amount
of luggage you will be transporting.
Th e tire pressure label is located on the driv­
er's side B-pillar . The tire pressure labe l lists
the recommended cold tire inflation pressures
for the vehicle at its maximum capac ity
weight and tires that were on your veh icle at
the time it was manufactured .
If you wish to improve comfort when operat­
ing the vehicle at normal load (no luggage)
up to 2 occupants, you can adjust tire pres­
sures to those specified for normal vehicle
load. Before operating the vehicle at maxi­
mum load, you must increase the tire pres­
sures to those specified for maximum vehicle
load ~&. -
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system can only monitor the tire pressures ..,.

Tires an d wheel s 185
you have stored. The system does not
recognize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the ti re pressu re monitor­
ing sys tem w ill be impaired if you store no r­
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi ­
cle at its maximum load¢,&.
See the illustration¢
fig. 136 for the location
of the label on dr iver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual labe l and exact location on the ve­
hicle wi ll vary slig htly) .
Note that the fo llowing tab le is accurate at
the t ime o f go ing to press and is subject to change. In the
event of discrepancies, the ti re
pressure label (on driver's side B-pi llar) always
takes precedence .
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi­
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal­
led on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Model/ Tire designation Tire pressure front Tire pre ssure rear
Engine full load full load
normal load condition normal load
condition
condition
(2 occupants condition
(2 occu-
( upto 2 oc-
plus lug- (
up to 2 oc-
pants plus
cupants) gage ) cupants)
luggage)
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
TT /TI S: 225 /50 Rl 7 94H All Sea -
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200 2.0 liter son
4-cyl in-
225/50 Rl 7 94W XL Hi gh
d er
Perf or man ce
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
24 5/ 45 Rl 7 95 H All S ea-
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200 son
245 /45 R1 7 95YX L High
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200 Performance
245 /40 R18 93H All S ea-
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200 son
2 45 /40 R18 93Y XL High
32 220 33 230 29 200 30 210 Perf or mance
255 /35 R19 96 Y XL High
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
Perfo rmance
X L= r einf orced or extra lo ad tire. It ma y al so app ear a s xl, EX TR A LO AD, or RF on the tir e side-
wa ll.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment during the model year, al­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the
tires on your vehicle. Ma ke sure that the tire
size information on the veh icle label is the same
as the size of the tires on the veh icle.
Th is is espec ially important if the veh icle be­
longs to someone else o r you boug ht the vehi­
cle w ith diffe rent rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a prev iously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas-
sengers also depends on making sure that
IJll,
•
•

forget the spare tire. If the press ure in any tire
is too high when the tire is "cold," let air out
of the tire slowly with the edge of the t ire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
you reach the pressure that is correct for the
load (passengers and luggage) and kind of
driving you plan to do .
If the pressure in any tire is too low, note the
d ifference between the pressure in the cold
tire and the pressure you need and add the a ir
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the veh icle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your veh icle as listed on the on
your ve hicle and in this manua l and the kind
of dr iving you p lan to do .
Never exce ed the ma ximum inflation pres ­
s ur e listed on t he tire s idewall for any re a­
s on.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer , not
the t ire manufacturer , determ ines the correct
tire pressure for the tires on your veh icle .
It is important to check the tire pressure when
the t ires a re cold .
- Read the req uired tire press ure from the tire
pressure label located on driver's s ide B-pil­
l ar .
- Turn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve .
- Place the air pressure ga uge on the valve.
- The tire pressures sho uld on ly be checked
and adjusted when the tires are cold . The
s light ly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying.
- Re insta ll the va lve stem cap on the valve .
When should I check the tire pressure?
The correct tire pressure is espec ially impo r­
tant at high speeds . The pressure sho uld
therefore be checked at least once a month
and a lways befo re starting a journey.
When should I adjust the tire pressures?
Adj ust the tire pressu re to the load you are
carry ing . After changi ng a wheel
or replacing
Tire s an d wheel s 187
whee ls yo u have to adjust the ti re p ressu res
o n all whee ls. In addition, yo u m ust then initi­
a lize the new tire pressu res in the t ire pres­
s u re monitoring system
Q page 198.
A WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serio us pe rsonal injury
or even death.
- When the warning symbol
It] appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Inco rrect tire pressure and/or underinfla­
tion can cause increased tire wea r and
can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or unde rin­
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and su dden de­
flation, caus ing loss of veh icle cont ro l.
- Th e drive r is responsib le for the co rrec t
tire pressures for all tires on the veh icle.
The applicable pressure values a re locat ­
ed on a sticke r on the driver's side B-pil­
lar.
- On ly when all tires on the vehicle are fil ­
led to the correct pressure, the t ire pres­
sure mon itor ing system can work cor­
rectly.
- The use of incorrect tire pressu re va lues
can lead to acc idents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver
observe the spec ified t ire pressure val ues
for the tires and the correct pressures for
the function of the t i re p ress ure monito r­
ing system.
- Always inf late t ires to the recommended
and correct t ire p ress ure before dr iv ing
off.
- Driving with unde rinflated tir es bend
mo re, lett ing t hem get too hot resulting
in tre ad separ ation, sudden tire failure
and loss of cont rol.
- Excessive speed and/overloading can
cause he at bu ild- up, sudden tire failure
an d loss of cont rol. •
•

A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds . Tir es that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not sure of their" previous histo ­
ry ." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Tires and wheels 191
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 140 Tir e specificat ion codes on t he s idewall o f a
tire
No. Description
@ Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in millimeters
@ Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
0 U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and mater ials used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac­
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major
contribution to good road holding and safe .,.