the curb weight and the weight of the acces-
sories.
TIN (Tire Identificatio nNumber)
This is auniqu eide ntifier which can be used
by atirem anufacturer to identify tires ,for
exampl efor ap roduct recall, and thu side ntify
the purchasers. Th eTIN is made up of the
manufacturer's identity code, tir esize, tire
typ ecodea nd the manufacturing date.
Load bearin gind ex
Th eloa db eari ng index (als oloa dindex) is a
cod etha tcontains the maximum load bearing
capacity of atire.
Traction
Tractio nist he resul toffrictio nbetween the
tires and the roa dsurface.
Treadwea rind icators
This is indicated by narrow bars (treadwear
bars) tha tare distributed ove rthe tir etread. If
the tir etrea disl evel with the bars, the wear
limi tof 1
/ 16 in (1.
6mm) ha sbeenr eached.
Occupant distribution
Th ed istributio nofoccupants in avehicl eat
their designated seating positions.
Tota lloa dl im it
Rated cargo and luggag eloa dp lus68k ilo-
grams (15 0lb) times the vehicle' sdesig nated
seating capacity. Changin
gawheel Flat tire
Th e" Breakdown assistance" section
(Y page 235 )contains information and notes
on ho wtod ealw ithaf latt ire. Rotatin
gthe wheels G
WARNING
Interchanging the front and rea rwheel smay
severel yimpair the driving characteristics if
the wheels or tires have different dimensions. Th ew heel brakes or suspensio ncomponents
ma yalsobed amaged .The re is ariskofa cci-
dent.
Rotate front and rea rwheel sonlyift he wheels
and tires ar eofthe same dimensions.
! On vehicles equipped with
atirep ressure
monitor, electroni ccomponents are
locate dinthe wheel.
Tire-mounting tools shoul dnot be used
nea rthe valve. This could damage the elec-
troni ccomponents.
Onl yhavet ires change dataqualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Alway spayattentio ntothe instructions and
safety note swhenc hanging awheel
( Y page 271).
Th ew earp atterns on the front and rea rtires
differ, depending on the operating conditions.
Rotate the wheels befor eaclear wear pattern
ha sformed on the tires .Front tires typically
wear mor eonthe shoulders and the rea rtires
in the center.
If your vehicle' stirec onfiguration allows ,you
can change the wheels according to the inter-
vals in the tir emanufacturer's warranty book
in your vehicl edocum ents.Ifnow arranty
book is available, the tires shoul dberotated
every 3,000 to 6,000 mile s(5,000 to
10,000 km), or earlie riftirew earrequires .Do
not change the directio nofwheelrotation.
Clea nthe contact surfaces of the whee land
the brake disc thoroughly every tim eawheel
is rotated .Check the tir epressure and reac-
tivate the tir epressure monitor if necessary. Directio
nofrotation
Tires with aspecified directio nofrotation
have additional benefits, e.g .ifthere is arisk 270
Changin
gawheelWheels an dtires