Service & Appearance Care
performance. (This applies only to
vehicles sold in the United States.)
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative
rating based on the wear rate of the tire
when tested under controlled conditions
on a specified government test course.
For example, a tire graded
150 would
wear one and a half
(1 1/2) times as
well on the government course as a tire
graded
100. The relative performance of
tires depends upon the actual conditions
of their use, however, and may depart
significantly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service
practices and differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction - A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to
lowest are:
A, B, and C. They represent
the tire’s ability to stop on wet pavement
as measured under controlled conditions
on specified government test surfaces of
asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C
may have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to
this tire is based on braking
(straight-ahead) traction tests and does
not include cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature - A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the
highest),
B, and C, representing the
tire’s resistance to the generation of heat and
its ability to dissipate heat when
tested under controlled conditions on a
specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the
material
of the tire to degenerate and
reduce tire life, and excessive
temperature can lead
to sudden tire
failure. The grade
C corresponds to a
level of performance which all passenger
car tires must meet under the Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109.
Grades B and A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the minimum required by
law.
Warning: The temperature grade for this
tire is established for a tire that is
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