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Uniform tire quality grading
- T read wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Qua lity grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
c:> page 234, fig. 204.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA, Tem
perature
A .
All passenge r ca r tires m ust conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in add ition to these grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparat ive rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
under cont ro lled conditions o n a specified gov
e rnment test course.
For example, a t ire graded
1 50 would wear one
and one ha lf
( 1 1/2) times as well on the gove rn
men t course as a tire g raded
100.
The relative performance of t ires depends upo n
the actual conditions of their use, howeve r, and
may depart significant ly from the norm due to
va ria tions in driving ha bits, serv ice practices and
d ifferences in road cha racteristics and climate .
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and
C. T hose grades represent the t ire's
ab il ity to stop on wet pavement as meas ured un
de r contro lled condi tions on specified gove rn
ment tes t sur faces of asphalt and conc re te. A tire
mar ked C may have poor traction performance
c:> &. .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (t he hi ghest), B ,
a nd C, represent ing the tire's resis tan ce to t he
generation o f heat and its ability to diss ipate
h eat when tested unde r contro lled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test whee l.
Sus ta ined hig h temper ature c an cause t he mate
r ial of the ti re to degenerate and red uce tire life,
and excessive temperatu re can lea d to sud den
tire fai lure
c:> &..
Wh eel s
The grade C cor responds to a level of perform
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 pe rformance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minimum req uired by law .
A WARNING ,-
The tractio n grade assigned to this tire is
based on st raight-a head braking traction
t es ts, and does no t include acceler ation, co r
n eri ng, hy dropla ning or pe ak tra ction charac
terist ics.
A WARNING ,.,___
The tempera ture grade for this tire is estab
lished for a tire that is properly inflated and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfla
tion, or excessive loading, either separate ly or
i n comb inat ion, can cause heat bu ildup and
possib le tire fai lure.
A WARNING
-
Temperature g rades apply to tires that are
p roperly inflated a nd not over o r under inflat
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
ill General notes
App lies to vehicles: wi th tire pressure mo nito rin g syste m
-
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly whe n cold and inflat
ed to the inflat io n pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the veh icle placard or
t ir e infla tion p ressure la be l. (If your ve hicle has
t ir es of a different size than t he si ze ind ic a ted on
the vehi cle placar d or tire in flat ion press ure la
bel, you sho uld dete rmine the proper tire infla
t ion press ure for those tires) .
As an ad ded s afety feat ure, yo ur vehicle has been
equipped with a tire press ure mon itor ing system
( T PMS) t hat illuminates a low tire pressure tell
ta le when one or mo re of your tires is signif icant -
ly under-inf lated. According ly, when the low t ire
pressure telltale i llum inates, you shou ld stop and.,.
251
