204 T ire s and w heel s
snow chains a re suitab ly covered. Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces -
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow chain manufacturer when doing so.
{O) Tips
Where snow cha ins are mandatory oncer-
tain roads, this normally also applies to
vehicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims . If different rims are fit -
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle - even if it
is the same model
Q page 234.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
contro l, a collision and serious persona l in-
jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can t urn easily and be prop -
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts an d
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the correct tightening
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor-
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi-
cle is mov ing. If the tightening torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be-
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bolts diago-
nally. After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench - prefe rably by an author-
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-eq uipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road feel
and handling under a variety of driving condi-
t ions . Ask your author ized Audi dealer for
more de t ails.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
t read width exp ressed in percentage. Conven-
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-a spect-ratio tires is
particularly sensitiv e to improper inflation
press ure. It is ther efore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the s pecified
press ure and that th e inflation pressure is
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pres-
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
Q page 193, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avo id tire and rim
dam age
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact with potholes, curbs, gul lies ..,.
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