Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balanc ing, correct tire pressure and driv-
ing style.
Fig. 142 Tire tread: t read wear indicat ors (TWI)
\.'------- ../
Fig. 14 3 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"
c::> fig . 142 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 count ries
c::> & .
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
c::> page 193.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Tires and wheels 197
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recomme nd that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rota-
tion inte rvals. Please remember the follow -
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service inte rvals outlined in your
Warranty & Maintenance 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
c::> fig. 143.
- Extra care must be taken when rotat ing di-
rection-specific tires c::> page 218 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unba l-
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 wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is insta ll ed.
Incorrect wheel alignm ent
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces-
sive tire wear, impai ring the safety of the vehi-
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authori zed
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 see
c::>page 153.
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