150 Int e llig e nt t echnolog y
Snow chains
Where t ire cha ins are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally a lso applies to vehicles
with a LL-wheel drive
¢ page 204, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels/ t ires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must a lways
have tires of the same size. Also avoid t ires
with different tread depths. For details see
page
¢ page 199, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
Your Aud i does not have enough ground clear-
ance to be used as an off-road veh icle .
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un -
even terrain as much as possible . Also refer to
¢ page 153.
A WARNING
- Always adjust your driving to road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the extra
safety afforded by all-wheel drive tempt
you into taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel dr ive is very ef-
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by t ire traction . You
should the refore not dr ive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road su rfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
dr ive too fast because the front wheels
cou ld beg in to s lide on top of the wat er
(aquaplaning) .
If this sho uld occ ur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in-
crease in engine speed as with a front-
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds wh ich are suited to the road con-
ditions. - risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long per iod of t ime, the bat-
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e .g. immobilize r). In certa in circumstances it
can resu lt in the re be ing insufficient energy
available to start the engine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi-
cle ha ndles the distribution of e lectr ical ene r-
gy. Start ing ability is ma rkedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Bas ica lly, energy management consists of
batt ery diagnosis, idlin g current manage -
ment
and dynamic energy manag ement .
Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery cu rrent and battery
tempe rature. This determines the current
state of charge and the power of t he battery .
Idling current managem ent
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing .
With the ig nition sw itched off, it controls the
energy supply to t he various electri cal compo -
nents. Dat a from ba ttery diagnos is is cons id-
ered.
Depend ing on the batte ry's state of cha rge,
individual cons ume rs a re g radually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and th us maintain starting capability.
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being d riven, dynamic en-
ergy ma nagement distr ibutes the energy gen-
era t ed a ccord ing to t he needs of the individ u-
al components .
It regula t es consumption, so
t hat more electrical energy is not being used ..,.