2003 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE tire type

Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area
of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not “overdriving”
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose
cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too much
throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot
off
the accelerator pedal.
If you have the Traction Control System, remember:
It helps avoid only the acceleration skid.
If you do not
have this system, or
if the system is off, then an
acceleration skid is also best handled by easing your
foot
off the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough,
your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid
if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material
is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction,
try your best
to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to a
lower gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires
to slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery
until your vehicle
is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
- such as enough water, ice or packed snow
on the road to make
a “mirrored surface” - and slow
down when you have any doubt.
If you have the anti-lock braking system, remember:
It helps avoid only the braking skid.
if you do not have
anti-lock, then in a braking skid (where the wheels
are no longer rolling), release enough pressure on the
brakes to get the wheels rolling again. This restores
steering control. Push the brake pedal down steadily
when you have to stop suddenly.
As long as the wheels
are rolling, you will have steering control.
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If you’re using a weight-carrying or a weight-distributing
hitch, the trailer tongue weight
(A) should be 10 percent
to
15 percent of the total loaded trailer weight (B).
Do not exceed the maximum allowable tongue weight
for your vehicle.
After you’ve loaded your trailer, weigh the trailer and then
the tongue, separately, to see
if the weights are proper.
If they aren’t, you may be able to get them right simply by
moving some items around in the trailer.
Total Weight on Your Vehicle’s Tires
Be sure your vehicle’s tires are inflated to the upper
limit for cold tires. You’ll find these numbers on
the Certification/Tire Label at the rear edge of the
driver’s door, or see
Loading Your Vehicle on page 4-34
Then be sure you don’t go over the GVW limit for
your vehicle, including the weight of the trailer tongue.
Hitches
It’s important to have the correct hitch equipment.
Crosswinds, large trucks going by and rough roads
are a few reasons why you’ll need the right hitch.
Here are some rules to follow:
The bumpers
on your vehicle are not intended
for hitches.
Do not attach rental hitches or other
bumper-type hitches to them. Use only a
frame-mounted hitch that does not attach to
the bumper.
If you’ll be pulling a trailer that, when loaded, will
weigh more than
2,000 Ibs. (900 kg). be sure to
use a properly mounted, weight-carrying hitch and
sway control of the proper size. This equipment
is very important for proper vehicle loading
and good handling when you’re driving.
Will you have to make any holes in the body of
your vehicle when you install a trailer hitch?
If you do, then be sure to seal the holes later when
deadly carbon monoxide (CO) from your exhaust
can get into your vehicle. See
Engine Exhaust
on page
2-43. Dirt and water can, too.
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Inflation - Tire Pressure
The Certificationflire label, which is on the rear edge ot
the driver’s door, shows the correct inflation pressures
for your tires when they’re cold. “Cold” means your
vehicle has been sitting for at least three hours or driven
no more than
1 mile (1.6 km).
Notice: Don’t let anyone tell you that underinflation
or overinflation is all right. It’s not. If your tires
don’t have enough air (underinflation), you can get
the following:
Too much flexing
Too much heat
Tire overloading
Bad wear
Bad handling
Bad fuel economy If your tires have too much air (overinflation),
you can get the following:
Unusual wear
e Bad handling
Rough ride
Needless damage from road hazards
When to Check
Check your tires once a month or more.
Don’t forget your compact spare tire.
It should be at
60 psi (420 kPa).
How to Check
Use a good quality pocket-type gage to check tire
pressure.
You can’t tell if your tires are properly inflated
simply by looking at them. Radial tires may look
properly inflated even when they’re underinflated.
Be sure to put the valve caps back on the valve stems.
moisture.
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Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Certificationflire label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had a
Tire Petformance Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number on each tire’s sidewall. When you get new tires,
get ones with that same TPC Spec number. That way
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
traction, ride and other things during normal service on
your vehicle. If your tires have an all-season tread design,
the TPC number will be followed by an
“MS” (for mud
and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same
size, load range, speed rating and construction type
(bias, bias-belted or radial) as your original tires. Mixing tires coul-.
Lause you to lose control
while driving. If you mix tires of different sizes
or types (radial and bias-belted tires), the
vehicle may not handle properly, and you
could have a crash. Using tires
of different
sizes may also cause damage to your vehicle.
Be sure to use the same size and type tires on
all wheels. It’s
all right to drive with your
compact spare temporarily,
it was developed
for use on your vehicle. See “Compact Spare
Tire”
in the index.
If you use bias-ply
1 1s on your vehicle, the
wheel rim flanges could develop cracks after
many miles
of driving. A tire and/or wheel
could fail suddenly, causing
a crash. Use only
radial-ply tires with the wheels on your vehicle.
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Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum
section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance.
(This applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type
snow tires, space-saver or temporary use spare tires,
tires with nominal rim diameters of 10 to
12 inches
(25 to 30 cm), or to some limited-production tires.
While the tires available on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to federal safety
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.
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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
5) 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 - AA, A, 9, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A,
B, and C. Those grades 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 straight-ahead braking
traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
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If you need to replace any of your wheels, wheel bolts or
wheel nuts, replace them only with new GM original
equipment parts. This way, you will be sure to have the
Using the wrong replacement wheels, wheel
bolts or wheel nuts on your vehicle can be
dangerous.
It could affect the braking and
handling of your vehicle, make your tires lose
air and make you lose control. You could have
a collision in which you or others could be
injured. Always use the correct wheel, wheel
bolts and wheel nuts for replacement.
I
Notice: The wrong wheel can also cause problems
with bearing life, brake cooling, speedometer or odometer calibration, headlamp aim, bumper height,
vehicle ground clearance and tire or tire chain
clearance to the body and chassis.
See
Changing a Flat Tire on page 5-70 for more
information.
Used Replacement WI els
Putting a used wheel on your vehicle is
dangerous. You can’t know how it’s been used
or how far it’s been driven. It could fail suddenly
and cause a crash. If you have to replace a
wheel, use a new
GM original equipment wheel.
Tire Chains
Notice: Use tire chains only where legal and only
when you must. Use only SAE Class
“S” type chains
that are the proper size for your tires. Install them
on the front tires and tighten them as tightly
as possible with the ends securely fastened.
Drive slowly and follow the chain manufacturer’s
your vehicle, stop and retighten them. If the contact continues, slow down until
it stops. Driving too
fast or spinning the wheels with chains on will
damage your vehicle.
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5-67

Minor repairs to disabled vehicles
Assistance when vehicle is mired in sand,
Trip routing
Trip interruption expense benefits mud
or snow
Dealership locator service
Oldsmobile Roadside Assistance specifically excludes
coverage for mounting, dismounting or changing of snow
tires, chains or other traction devices.
In some cases, where service is impractical, the driver
may be authorized to obtain other service for which
reimbursement is provided.
In many instances, mechanical failures are covered
under Oldsmobile’s comprehensive warranty. However,
when other services are utilized, our Roadside
Assistance Representatives will explain any payment
obligations you might incur. For prompt and
efficient assistance when calling,
please provide the following to the Roadside Assistance
Representative:
Location of vehicle
Telephone number of your location
Vehicle model, year and color
Mileage of vehicle
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
Vehicle license plate number
Oldsmobile reserves the right
to limit services or
reimbursement to an owner or driver when, in
Oldsmobile’s judgement, the claims become excessive
in frequency or type of occurrence.
While we hope you never have the occasion to use
our service, it is added security while traveling for
you and your family. Remember, we’re only a
phone call away. Oldsmobile Roadside Assistance:
1 -800-442-OLDS (6537), text telephone (TTY) users,
call 1-888-889-2438.
Canadian Roadside Assistance
Vehicles purchased in Canada have an extensive
roadside assistance program accessible from anywhere
in Canada or the United States. Please refer to the
Warranty and Owner Assistance Information book.
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