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202
Tires
and wheels
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig. 150 Tire pressure label: located on driver's side B·
pillar
Tire pressure generally refers to the amount
of air in a t ire that it needs it to do its job and
safely carry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents. Tire pressure is
measured in kilopasca ls (kPa), the interna·
tional measuring unit and in pounds per
square inch (PSI). Tire pressure is based in
part on the vehicle's design and load limit-
the greatest amount of weight that the vehi·
cle can carry safe ly and the t ire size. The prop·
er tire pressure is freq uently referred to as the
"recommended
cold tire inflation pressure."
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
because of internal frict ion when it flexes in
use . The t ire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold ." It is the
inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that counts.
Therefore, you shou ld never let air out of a
warm tire to match "cold tir e inflat ion pres-
sure" recommendations.
The tires wo uld then
be underinflated and could fail suddenly.
Maintaining proper tire pressure is one of the
most impor tan t things you can do to he lp
avoid sudden tire failure. Underinflated ti res
are a major cause of sudden tire failure. Keep-
ing tires at the right pressure is also impor-
tant for safe and responsive vehicle handling,
traction, braking and load carrying .
Tire pres-
sures are particularly important when the
vehicle is being driven at higher speeds, and
then especially when heavily loaded even
within the permissible load- carrying capaci-
ties approved for your vehicle.
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Fig. 151 Tire pressure labe l
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The recommended tire pressures for your Audi
depend on the kind of tires on your veh icle
and the nu mber of passengers and/or amount
of luggage you will be transporting .
The tire pressure label is located on the driv-
er's side B-pillar . The tire pressure label lists
the recommended cold t ire inflation pressures
for the vehicle at its maxim um capac ity
we ight and tires that were on your veh icle at
t he time it was manufa ctured.
If you wish to improve comfort when operat-
ing the vehicle at normal load (up to 2 occu-
pants), you can adjust tire pressures to those
specified for normal vehicle load. Before op-
erating the vehicle at maximum load, you
must increase the tire pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle load
c::>
.&,.
Bear in mind that the tire pressure mon itor ing
system can only monitor the tire pressures
yo u have stored. The syst em does not recog-
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor-
ing system will be impaired if you store nor-
mal load pressu res but then operate the veh i-
cle at its maximum loa d
c::>
.&. .
See the illustration
c::>
fig. 150 fo r the locat ion
of the label on d river's side B-pillar (color of
the actua l lab el and exa ct locati on on the ve-
hicle will vary sligh tl y).
Note that the following table is accur ate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
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