2003 SUBARU OUTBACK winter tires

11-38
HB4001CB
Tires and wheels Types of tires
You should be familiar with type of tires present on your vehicle.
All season tires
The factory-installed tires on your new vehicle are all season tires.
All season tires are designed to provide an adequate measure of trac-
tion, handling and braking performance in year-round driving includ-
ing snowy and icy road conditions. However all season tires do not
offer as much traction performance as winter (snow) tires in heavy or
loose snow or on icy roads.
All season tires are identified by “ALL SEASON ” and/or “M+S” (Mud &
Snow) on the tire sidewall. Summer tires
Summer tires are high-speed capability tires best suited for highway
driving under dry conditions.
Summer tires are inadequate for driving on slippery roads such as on
snow-covered or icy roads.
If you drive your vehicle on snow-covered or icy roads, we strongly
recommend the use of winter (snow) tires.
When installing winter tires, be sure to replace all four tires.

11
Maintenance and service11-39
–
CONTINUED –

Winter (snow) tires
Winter tires are best suited for driving on snow-covered and icy
roads. However winter tires do not perform as well as summer tires
and all season tires on roads other than snow-covered and icy roads.
Tire inspection
Check on a daily basis that the tires are free from serious damage, nails,
and stones. At the same time, check the tires for abnormal wear.
Contact your SUBARU dealer immediately if you find any problem. NOTE When the wheels and tires strike curbs or are subjected to harsh
treatment as when the vehicle is driven on a rough surface, they can suffer damage that cannot be seen with the naked eye. This type of
damage does not become evident until time has passed. Try not todrive over curbs, potholes or on other rough surfaces. If doing so is
unavoidable, keep the vehicle ’s speed down to a walking pace or
less, and approach the curbs as squarely as possible. Also, makesure the tires are not pressed against the curb when you park thevehicle. If you feel unusual vibration while driving or find it difficult to
steer the vehicle in a straight line, one of the tires and/or wheelsmay be damaged. Drive slowly to the nearest authorized SUBARUdealer and have the vehicle inspected. Tire pressures and wear
Maintaining the correct tire pressures helps to maximize the tires ’ service
lives and is essential for good running performance. Check and, if nec-
essary, adjust the pressure of each tire (including the spare) at least
once a month (for example, during a fuel stop) and before any long jour-
ney.
Check the tire pressures when the tires are cold. Use a pressure gauge
to adjust the tire pressures to the values shown on the tire placard. The
tire placard is located on the door pillar on the driver ’s side.

13-2For U.S.A.
The following information has been compiled according to Code of Fed-eral Regulations
“Title 49, Part 575 ”.
Uniform tire quality grading standards
This information indicates the relative performance of passenger car tires
in the area of treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance. This is to
aid the consumer in making an informed choice in the purchase of tires.
Quality grades can be found where applicable on the tire sidewall be-
tween tread shoulder and maximum section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The quality grades apply to new pneumatic tires for use on passenger
cars. However, they do not apply to deep tread, winter type snow tires,
space-saver or temporary use spare tires, tires with nominal rim diame-
ters of 12 inches or less, or to some limited production tires.
All passenger car tires must confirm to Federal Safety Requirements in
addition to these grades. Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on the wear rate of
the tire when tested under controlled conditions on a specified govern-
ment test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and one-half (1-1/2)
times as well on the government course as a tire graded 100. The rela-
tive performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of their
use, however, and may depart significantly from the norm due to varia-
tions in driving habits, service practices and differences in road charac-teristics and climate. Traction AA, A, B, 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 as-