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198
Tir es and whe e ls
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle .
Fig. 14 6
Tire press ure labe l: 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
squa re inch (PSI). Tire pressure is based in
part o n 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
inflat ion pressure in a "cold " tire that counts.
Therefore, you shou ld neve r let air out of a
warm tire t o match "co ld tir e infla t ion pres-
sure" recommendations . The tires wo uld then
be underinflated and could fail su ddenly .
Maintaining p roper t ire press ure is one of the
most impo rt an t things you can do t o 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 part icularly important wh en th e
vehicl e is being driven at higher speeds, and
then especially wh en heavily loaded even
w ithin th e permissible load- carrying capaci-
tie s approv ed for your vehi cle.
,;
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-
KPA.
a
PSI
-
KP A.
a
PSI
-
KPA.
a
PSI
Fig. 14 7
Tire pressure labe l
SEE OWNER'S
MANUAl FOR
ADOMlONAL
T10N
VOl!ILEMANU£1.
DU _,...,
POUR P\.US DE
REHSEKiloiEMENTS
The recommended tire pressures for your Audi
depend on the kind of tires on your veh icle
and the number of passengers and/or amount
of luggage you w ill 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 inflat io n pressures
for the vehicle at its maxim um capac ity
we ight and tires that were on your veh icle at
the time it was manufa ctu red .
I f you wish to impro ve comfort when operat-
ing the vehicle at normal load (no luggag e)
up to 2 occupants, you can adju st ti re pres-
sures to tho se specified f or normal vehi cle
load. Before oper ating th e vehicl e at maxi-
mum load, you must increase the tire pres-
sures t o tho se specified f or ma ximum vehicle
load ~ .&..
Bear in mind that the t ire pressure mon itor ing
system ca n only moni to r the tire pressu res
you have stored. The sys t em does not recog-
nize the load condition of your veh icle.
The effec tiveness of the t ire press ure monitor-
ing system will be impaire d if you store nor-
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi -
cle at its maximum load
~
.&. .
See the illustration
~
fig. 146 fo r the locat io n
of the label on d river's side B-pillar (colo r of
the actual label and exact location on the ve-
hicle will vary slight ly).
IJi,,
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