Tire VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PLUS 2006 Service Manual

Tire and wheel handling
Fig. 160 Tire rotation diagram.
and note the
mtroductory mformation
and heed the WARNINGS on
page 276.
Tires may be the least appreciated
and most abused parts of a motor
vehicle. Tires are very important,
since their small patches of rubber
are the only contact between your
vehicle and the road.
Maintaining
correct tire pressure,
making sure that your vehicle and
its tires do not have to carry more
weight than they can safe ly
handle, and regularly inspecting
tires for damage (such as cuts,
s la sh es, irregular
wear, and overall
condition) are the
most important
things that you can do to help
avoid
sudden tire failure , in­
cluding tread separation and
blowout.
The tires and wheels are essential
parts of the vehicl e's design. The
tires and wheels approved by Yolk-
If you must drive over a curb or
other obstacle, drive very slowly
and as much as possible at a right
angle to
the curb.
Regularly check tires for
damage,
such as punctures, cuts,
tears
and blisters .
Remove embedded material in
the tread profile that has not yet
penetrated the inside of the
page 286.
Heed all warning messages from
the Tir e
Rep lace worn or damaged tires
immediately=> page 286.
Damage to tires and wheels is
often not readily visible. If you no­
tice unusual vibration or the ve­
hicl e pulls
to one side, this may in­
dicate
that one of the tires is dam­
aged. The tires must be checked
immediate ly for hidden damage
by an authorized Volkswagen
dealer or an authorized Volk­
swagen Service Facility.
Never exceed the load and per­
missible maximum speed rating of
the tires=> page

Always keep aggressive chemi­
cals including grease, oil , gaso line
and brak e fluid off the tires, in­
clud ing the
spare tire
Rep lace missing valve caps im­
m
ediate ly .
Unidirectional tires
Unidirection al tires are des ig n ed
to rotat e only in one direction.
Unidirectional tires have arrows
o n
the s idewall s that show the di­
rection
of page
Unidirection al tires must alway s
b e
moun ted acco rding to the spec­
ifi ed direct io n
of rotation in order
to deliver thei r bes t grip, braking
performance, low
road noise, and
good wear as well as good hydro­
p l
aning res ista nce .
If yo u have to
mount a tire oppo­
sit e to its proper direction of rot a­
t i
on, you must drive more care­
full
y, s ince th e tir e is no longer
b ein g used
as des igned. Thi s is
parti c
ularly important on wet
road s. must replace or re­
mount the tir e as soon as poss ibl e
in
orde r to restore the co rrect di­
r ect ion
of rotat ion.
Rotating tires
To h elp en sure eve n wea r on all
tires, regu la r tir e rotation ac­
cord ing to
the diagram
278, fig. is recom­
mended. In thi s way all tires can
have about the sa me service life.
Fa ­
cility.
Tires more than 6 years old
Tires age even if they are not being
used. Physical and ch emical pro­
cesses
reduce tire strength and
perform ance and cause them to
h ard en a
nd become brittle.
The age of eac h tir e ca n be deter­
m ined w
ith the manufacturing
date that is part of the tire identifi­
ca tion
number (TIN)
Tire storage
Mark tires b efor e re m oving them
to h elp make sure that the previous
l
ocation (left, rig h t, front, rear) and
rollin g dir ection can be m ain ­
t ai ned wh
en remounting the m.
tir es in a coo l, dry and prefer­
ably dark place. Donot store tires
mounted on wheels standin g up.
T ires
not mounted on wheels
s
hould b e covere d to help protect
them from dirt and s tor ed verti-
cal ly (sitting
on the tread).
278 279

Aggressive fluids and materials
can cause visible and invisibl e
tire
damage that can cause tire
blowouts .
Always keep chemicals, oils,
grease, fuels, braking fluids
and
other aggressive substances
away from tires.
read and note the introductory inform ation and heed the on page 276.
The desig n of the w heel b o lt s is matc h ed to the fac­
tor y-install ed wheels. If different wheels are in ­
s tall ed, wh
eel b o lts the ri ght length and bolt
head sh ap e must b e used. Thi s helps to e nsure that
w heels can b e m ounted securely and that the
brakes will work page
In mos t yo u cannot use w heel bolt s from diff erent ve hicl e. Even wheel rims from the same m od el m ay not properly.
Tires and w heel rim s approved by Volkswag en
h ave been matched precise ly to your ve hicl e
m od el and cont ribut e consid erabl y to good han­
dlin g and safe ve hicl e performance.
Tight ening
torque
bolt s must alway s be install ed with the co r­
rect tightenin g page The required
tight enin g torqu e for the wheel bolts is 88 ft-lb s Nm). After changing
torqu e wre n ch b y an authorize d Volksw age n
d eal er or a uthorized Volk swagen Facility.
Care, maintenance
Tires age even if they are not
being used and can fail suddenly,
especially
at high speeds,
causing loss
of vehicle control,
accidents,
and severe personal
injuries.
Tires that are more than 6
years old
can be used only in an
emergency and then only with
special care
and at low speed.
Wheel rims with bolted rim rings
run true and safe ly . Damage d wheel rim s must b e re­
to repair them yourself. Ha ve an authorized
Facility re pai r them for you
Wheel rims with bolted decorative covers
Ligh t-allo y wheels may have interc h angeable d ec­
o rativ e cove rs attac h ed t o th e rim with self-locki ng
screws. If yo u want to replace damaged wheel
cove rs. contact your authorize d Volkswa gen deale r or authorize d Volk swa gen Fac ilit y
improper or damaged wheel rim s can af­fect driving cause accidents and serious personal injury.
only wheel rim s approved for the ve­
hicl e.

Improper loosen ing and tightening of the bolts on wheel rim s with bolted rim rings can ca use accident s and serious personal injury.
Never loosen bolted connections on wheel
rim s with bo lt ed rim rings.
New and
Please first read and note the
introductory information
and h ee d the on
page 276.
New tires
Drive a ve hicle with new tires es­
pecially carefully for
the first
miles km) because the tires
must first be broken in. Tires that
a re not broken in have reduce d
traction
and brakin g perfo r­
In stall radial tires only of same
make , same dimensions (rollin g
circumference),
and s imil ar tread
profil e
onto all four wheels.
The tread depth of new tir es can
diff er
between tir e models and
manufacturers b eca use of dif­
f e re
nt d esig n feature s and trea d
design.
Replacing tires
Tires should be replaced in pairs
a
nd not indi viduall y (both front
Have all work on wheel rim s with bolted rim rings performed by an authorized Volkswage n
dealer or autho ri ze d Volkswage n Facility.
tires or both rear tires at the same
Replace tires only with tires that
have the same s pecif ica tions , in­
cluding width
and diameter, load
a
nd top sp ee d rating as the tires
a
pproved by Volkswagen for your
vehicle and model.
Never use tires that are larg er or
wider
than the dim ension s of the
t ir es appro ved b y Volkswagen for
your vehicl e and model. Larger
t ir es co
uld scrape and rub on the
vehicle body or other parts of the
veh icle.
N ew tires must be broken in be­
cause new tires do not have full
traction and braking perfor­
mance.
miles km) to
h elp
reduce the risk of losing
control, a collision, and serious
personal injuries.
280

Tires must have the required
clearance. Tires
that do not have
enough clearance can rub
against parts of the vehicle body,
suspension,
and brake system,
causing brake system failure,
tread delamination, and sudden
blowouts.
Note
Never drive without valve stem
caps. The valves and sensors of the
Tire Pressure Monitoring
could be damaged.
Care, maintenance
(continued)
The sensors must be replaced at
scheduled intervals Booklet
Warranty and Maintenance
booklet.
Always dispose of old tires in
accordance with l
egal require­
ments.
Replace it a tir e matchin g th e others on your ve hicle as soon as possible.
Although tire siz e specifica-
tions
can be the same, the ac­
tual dimension s may differ from
those nominal values for different
tir e makes,
or the tire contours
may be significantly different.

Tire
first read and note the
introduc to ry in
formation
a
nd h ee d the WARNINGS on
page 276.
T he c orr ec t tir e infl atio n
pressure
f o r f ac
tory-install ed tires is lis te d
o n a la b el a
nd a ppli es to summer
and wint er tir es. T he la b el
fig. 161 is on the dri ver door
pillar
Chec k tir e infl ati on pressure
r eg ula
rly a nd on cold tires . C heck
al l
the tir es, includin g th e s pare. In
co l
der clim ates tire pressure
s h ould be c hec k
ed more o ften , but
only w hen th e tir es are c old . Al­
w ays use an a cc
urate tir e pressure
ga uge .
Afte r adju stin g tl1e tire inflation
pressures, make sure th at the valve
ca ps a re i
nsta ll ed and please read
informati on and m essages about
programming/rese ttin g th e Tir e
282

page220.
Remember that the vehi cle
manufacturer, not the tire manu­
facturer, determines the correct
tire
pressu re for the tires on your
ve hicl
e. Never exceed the max­
imum inflation pressure listed on
the tire s idewa ll for any reaso n.
Inflat e a
spare wheel to the pres­
sure specif i
ed for the vehicle's
road whee ls
on the tire pressure
label; inflate a
compact spare
wheel to the pressure specified for
the compact spare on the tire pres­
sure label
or on a separate label for
the compact spare, if there is one.
Incorrect tire pressure can cause
a
sudden tire failure or blowout,
loss
of control, collision, serious
personal injury, and even death.
Always inflate tires to the rec­
ommended and correct cold tire
pressure before driving off.
Excessive speed and/or over­
loading
can cause heat build-up ,
sudden tire failure including a
blowout
and tread separation
and loss of control.
maintenance
If the tire pressure is too low or
too high, the tires will wear pre­
maturely and the vehicle will not
handle well.
Regularly check tire inflation
pressure, at least once a month,
and also especially before a long
trip.
Note
increases fuel
There may be differences be-
tween the pressure readings
from a tire pressure gauge
and the
pressures registered by the Tir e
Monitoring System. The
e lec tronic Tire
Moni-
toring System
is more accurate .

When the Tire
first read and note the introductory information and heed
the on page 276.
Model Engine Tire dimensions Tire pressure
R 16 91 H 34 238
(125 kW)
225145 R
17 91 H 34 238
Golf
l -
The Tire is confi gured at the factory with
the correct tir e inflation pressure applicabl e for the ve hicl e model, en-
g in e
and factory-install ed tire s. This t ire inflation pressure is also listed
on the sticke r insid e the driver page 283 . The tire inflation pres -
s
ure a re listed for all tires and the compact spare wheel. If diff ere n t
tires are
installed, the Tire Monitoring cannot properly
monitor tir e inflation pressures unl ess the is reset to the new tire
page
Informatio n n ot availa b le at t ime o f printing.
Vehicle core and maintenance 284 285

Tread depth and tread wear indicators
Fig . 162 Tread pattern : Wear indica tor .
first read and note the introducto ry information and heed the on page 276.
Tread d e pth
Most driving situations re quire much tread d ep th tread depth for the
tire s on the front and rear wheels. Thi s is tru e when driv ing in w in ter low
perature s
In m ost countries th e permis s ib le imum t read depth is in in; measure d in tread groove s next to the be sure to obey country-s pecific legal
require m ent s.
Win t
er tires arc no longer sui tabl e for win ter
mm)
Tire wear and damage
first read and note the
introductory
information
and hee d the on
page 276.
Wheel rim and ti re damage is often
di fficu lt
to see. vibrations
or pulling to one-side can be an in­
dication
of tire
maint enanc e
The tread depth of new tire s ca n difTerbetw ee n tire
mode ls and m anufacturers because of the fere nt desig n features a n d tread patterns.
Tread wear indicator (TWI) in the lir e
The in mm) hi gh wea r indi ca to rs are
molded into th e bottom of the tread grooves o f the orig inal tires running acros s th e fig. 162.
S evera l w ear indicato rs
ample or sy mbols ) show the positio n of the wear indica tors.
Wear indicato rs s
how when the tire s arc worn down. The tir es mu st b e replace d no la te r th an
w hen th e tread patt ern is wo rn down to th e wea r
ind icators.
Worn tir
es are dangero us can ca use loss of vehicle control including serious personal ries.
Neve r drive tire is worn down to the wear indi cator s, re place them soo ner.
Worn tire s do not increasing your risk of loss of control.
Worn tires reduce the ability of your veh icle
t o handle in normal difficult driving uations and increase braking di sta nces th e
ri sk of
C heck tires and whee l rims for
d amage.
drivin g if a tire is dama ged
and get expert ass istance.
If no exte rnal damage is vis ible,
slo wly and carefully driv e to the
neares t authorized Volkswage n
deal
er o r authori zed Volksw agen
Serv ice Facility
or other qualified
works
hop and h ave the vehicl e
c h ecked.

Objects embedded in the tire
If embedded objects have pene­
trated to the inside tire, do not re­
move them!
Get help immediat ely .
Tire wear
T ir e wear depends on severa l fac ­
tors, includin
g:
Driving style.
Unbalanced wheels.
Wheel alignment.
Driving style-Fast cornering, hard
acceleration and braking increase
tire wear. If yo u expe rience in­
creased tire
wear under normal
driving conditions, have the ve­
hicle suspensio n checked by
an
authori zed Volkswagen dealer or
authorized Volkswagen Service Fa­
cility.
Unbalanced wheels-The wheels
on a new vehicl e are balanc ed.
When driving, however, various
conditions
can cause a w hee l to
b
ecome unbalance d. Unbalan ced
whee ls ca n cause wear to th e
steeri ng
and suspension systems.
Have a
ll wheels rebalanced. A
Check tires and wheel rims for
damage.
286 287