Audi RS 7 Sportback 2016 Owner's Manual page 236

Wh e els
(D
Tips
When using snow chains, it may be useful to
switch on sport mode
¢ page
181.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect ra-
tio tires. These tires have been thoroughly tested
and been selected specifically for your model for
thei r supe rb perfo rmance, road feel and handling
unde r a variety of driving conditions . Ask your au-
thor ized Audi dealer for more det ails.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is indicated by
a nume ral of
55 or less
in the tire's size desig na-
tion . The nume ral rep resents the rat io of t he
tire ' s sidewall height in relat ion t o its tread width
expresse d in percent age. Convention al ti res have
a height/w idt h ratio of 60 or more .
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is par-
ticularly sensitive to improper inflation pres-
sure. It is therefore important that low aspect
ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure
and that the inflation pressure is regularly
checked and maintained. Tire pressures should
be checked at least once a month and always
before a long trip ¢ page 228.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect rat io tires can be damaged more easi-
ly by impact with potholes, curbs, gullies or
ridges on the road, pa rt icularly if the t ire is un-
de rinflated.
In order to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the t ires of your vehicle, we recom-
mend that you observe the following precau-
tions:
- Always maintain recommended inflation pres -
su res . Check your tire pressure every 2,000
miles (3,000 km) and add air if necessary .
- Drive caref ully on roads with potho les, deep
gullies or ridges . The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your t ires. Impact with a curb may also cause
damage to your tires .
234
- After any impact, immed iate ly inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest au-
thorized Audi dealer. Replace a damaged tire as
soon as possible.
- Ins pect your tires every 2,000 miles (3,000 km)
for damage and wear . Damage is not always
easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of air and
underinfla t ion, which could event ually cause
tire fa ilure . If you believe that a tire may have
been damaged, replace the tire as soon as pos-
sible.
- These tires may wear more quickly than others .
- Please also remember that, while t hese tires
deliver responsive hand ling, they may ride less
comforta bly and make more noise than ot her
choices.
Reduced performance in winter/cold season
conditions
All ti res are des igned for certain purposes. The
low aspect ratio, ultra high performance t ires
originally inst alled on your vehicle are inten ded
for maximum dry and wet road perfo rmance and
handling . They are not suit able for cold, snowy or
icy weather conditions . If you drive under those
circumstances, you should equip your vehicle
with all-season or winter tires, which offer better
tract ion under t hose conditions. We suggest you
use t he recommended snow or all-season tires
spec ified for your vehicle, or t heir equivalent .
Refer to
c:>
page
233 for more detailed informa-
tion regard ing winter tires.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Tract ion AA AB C
- Tempe rature ABC
Qualit y grades can be found whe re applicable on
t he tire side wall between tread shou lder and
maximum section width
¢ page
218,
fig.
190 .
For example :
Tread wear
200 ,
Traction
AA,
Tem-
peratu re
A.
All passenge r car t ires mus t conform to Federal
Safety Requiremen t s in add it ion to these grades . ..,.