Wheels and tires — check (Audi A6 C5)

It is very important to keep your tires in good condition and with the right pressure - a tire failure at any speed is very dangerous. Driving style has a great impact on tire wear: sharp braking and acceleration, fast cornering. As a rule, the front tires wear out faster than the rear ones.

• a) Check tires regularly for wear and damage.
• b) Remove the wheels from the car from time to time and clean their inner and outer surfaces from dirt.
• c) Check the inner areas of the wheel rim for rust, corrosion and other damage.
• d) If a wheel is seriously damaged, the old wheel should be replaced with a new one.
• d) When installing new tires, as well as after their repair, it is necessary to balance the wheels, because as a result of tire wear and repair, the distribution of the weight of the tire material changes.

Serially produced wheels are balanced at the factory. Balancing is necessary to equalize different weight distributions and material errors. During movement, unbalanced wheels manifest themselves through jolts and shaking. The steering wheel begins to shake at high speed. As a rule, this shaking occurs only in a certain speed range and stops when the speed increases or decreases.

Over time, wheel imbalance can lead to suspension and steering problems and improper tread wear.

It is important to maintain the correct tire pressure. When using winter tires, you should also maintain the recommended pressure. Maintaining the prescribed tire pressure is of great importance for ensuring driving safety, as well as for the service life of the tires. For this reason, it is recommended to check the tire pressure at least once every two weeks, as well as before each long trip (including on the spare wheel).



The spare tire pressure must be maintained at 2.5 bar.

The pressure should only be checked when the tyres are cold. Increased tyre pressure resulting from long-term driving must not be released. During long-term driving, the tyre pressure increases by approximately 0.2-0.4 bar. Winter tyres are generally operated with excess pressure, i.e. approximately 0.2 bar higher than summer tyres. The values recommended by the winter tyre manufacturer must be observed. If winter tyres have a speed limit, the corresponding maximum permissible speed must be indicated on a sticker that must be visible to the driver.

Wheel rotation

It is not advisable to change the direction of rotation of the tires when rotating the wheels, since the tires are adjusted to the new direction of rotation only after significant wear. On some tire models, the direction of movement is indicated by an arrow on the sidewall of the tire. In these cases, the indicated direction of movement must be strictly observed.

If the front wheels are noticeably more worn, it is recommended to swap them with the rear wheels. This ensures approximately equal service life for all 4 wheels.

Attention! Do not change tires individually, but at least the tires of both wheels of one axle. In this case, tires with a greater residual tread depth should always be installed in front, on the front wheels. Only tires of the same type and, if possible, with the same tread pattern and the same manufacturer should be installed on all 4 wheels. Tires that have been manufactured for more than 6 years should only be installed in cases of extreme necessity and, in doing so, exercise extreme caution when driving; never install used tires whose origin is unknown. When replacing rims and tires, be sure to also change the valve.



Tyres with the prescribed direction of rotation, which can be identified by an arrow on the sidewall indicating the direction of travel, must always be installed in the direction of travel. This ensures optimal tyre qualities regarding aquaplaning, road grip, noise during movement and wear. If it is necessary to install a spare tyre with the prescribed direction of rotation instead of a flat tyre, but the prescribed direction will not be maintained, then such a replacement should be temporary. In this case, it is recommended, especially on a wet road, to observe the speed limit.

Some recommendations for tire care

Tires have a kind of "memory", and improper handling of them, and this includes, for example, fast or frequent driving over curbs or rails, often results in their failure. Moreover, this happens only some time later and at the most inopportune moment.

Tire cleaning

Do not wash your tires with a steam jet. If the nozzle of this device is held too close to the tire, its rubber layer will be irreversibly destroyed within a few seconds, which cannot be corrected even with cold water. Tires cleaned in this way must be replaced for safety reasons.

Tires that have been in contact with oil or grease for a long time are also subject to replacement. In this case, the tire first swells and then takes its normal shape and looks undamaged, but the load-bearing capacity of the tire is reduced.

Tire storage

Tires should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. They should not come into contact with lubricants, oils or fuel.



Store wheels lying down or hanging on wheel rims in the garage or basement. If the tires are not mounted on rims, they should be stored standing up.

Before removing the wheels, increase the tire pressure slightly (approximately 0.3-0.5 bar). For winter tires, use your own rims, since remounting tires to summer rims is not justified in terms of savings.

Tire running-in

New tires have a particularly smooth surface. This is due to the manufacturing process. For this reason, new tires, including a new spare tire, must be run in. During the running in process, as a result of the wear that has begun, the smooth surface becomes rough.

Until the first 300 km have been driven with new tires, the driver should be especially careful when driving on wet roads.

Tires on balanced wheels, when the prescribed pressure is maintained, the wheel alignment angles are adjusted correctly and the shock absorbers operate flawlessly, wear out approximately evenly across the entire tread. It is not possible to say anything definite about the service life of tires from different manufacturers, since this period depends on various factors, namely:

• road surface;
• tire pressure;
• driving style;
• weather conditions.

Rapid wear of the treads is primarily caused by sporty driving, rapid acceleration and sharp braking.

The article was copied from the website AUDImanual.ru