Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv-
ing style.
Fig. 210 Tire tread: tread wear indicators (TWI)
___ __,J.)
Fig. 211 Rotat ing t ires fo r more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l ti res on your vehicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
r::!;> fig . 210 run ning across the tread. Depend-
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the t ire. Marks on
the t ire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other countries
r::!) & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premat ure wear
and can cause sudden t ire blow-out. For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
r::!;>page 253.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Tires and wheels 25 7
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota-
tion intervals. Please remember the follow-
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service inte rvals outlined in your
Maintenance and Warranty Booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufactu rer's suggested
tire rotation intervals.
- Vehicles w ith front-wheel dr ive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com-
pared to all-wheel drive (quattro ®) .
- Please rotate tires as shown
r::!;> fig. 211.
- Extra care must be taken when rotat ing di-
rection-specific tires r::!;> page 274.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal-
anced, resulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is insta ll ed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces-
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi-
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles wit h quattro ® must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details
seer::!) page 205.
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