traction under those conditions. We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for your vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to
q page 269 for more detai led info rma
tion regarding winter tires.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tr ead wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wa ll between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
q page 253, fig. 202.
For exampl e: T read wear 2 00 , Traction AA , Tem
perature
A .
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades.
Trea d we ar
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under contro lled conditions on a specified gov
ernment test course.
For examp le, a tire graded
150 would wear one
and one ha lf
(11/2) times as well on the govern
ment course as a tire graded
100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon
the actual conditions of their use, however, and may d epart significant ly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices and d ifferences in road characteris tics and climate.
Tracti on
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and
C. T hose grades represent the tire's
ability to stop on wet pavement as measured un
der controlled conditions on specified govern
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete . A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
q .&. .
,...., Temp eratur e N
0
ii; The temperature grades are A (the h ighest), B,
and C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to diss ipate
Tir es and wheel s
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained h igh temperatu re can cause the mate
ria l of the t ire to degenerate and reduce ti re life ,
and excessive temperature can lead to s udden
tire failure
q .& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perfo rm
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd
No.
109. Grades Band A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minim um requ ired by law.
A WARNING
-
The tract ion grade assigned to this t ire is
based on straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor nering, hyd roplaning or pea k traction cha rac
terist ics.
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is estab
lished for a tire that is properly infl,;1ted and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfla
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or i n combination, can cause heat bui ldup and
possib le tire fai lure .
A WARNING
-
-Temperature grades apply to tires that are
p roperly inf lated and not over or under inflat
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicles: wi th tir e pressure mo nito rin g syste m
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly when cold and inflat-
ed to the inflat io n pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the veh icle placard or
t ir e inflation pressure label. (If your ve hicle has
t ir es of a different size than the si ze ind icated on .,..
271
