5-48
Driving your vehicle
The more severe weather conditions
of winter result in greater wear and
other problems. To minimize the
problems of winter driving, you
should follow these suggestions:Snowy or Icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
If snow tires are needed, it is neces-
sary to select tires equivalent in size
and type of the original equipment
tires. Failure to do so may adversely
affect the safety and handling of your
vehicle. Furthermore, speeding,
rapid acceleration, sudden brake
applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine
braking to the fullest extent. Sudden
brake applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause skids to occur. You
need to keep sufficient distance
between the vehicle in operation in
front and your vehicle. Also, apply
the brake gently. It should be notedthat installing tire chains on the tire
will provide a greater driving force,
but will not prevent side skids.Information
Tire chains are not legal in all coun-
tries. Check the country laws before
fitting tire chains.
Snow tires
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure they are radial tires of
the same size and load range as the
original tires. Mount snow tires on all
four wheels to balance your vehicle’s
handling in all weather conditions.
Keep in mind that the traction provid-
ed by snow tires on dry roads may
not be as high as your vehicle's orig-
inal equipment tires. You should drive
cautiously even when the roads are
clear. Check with the tire dealer for
maximum speed recommendations.
Do not install studded tires without first checking local, state and munic-ipal regulations for possible restric-tions against their use.i
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Snow tire size
Snow tires should be equivalent
in size and type to the vehicle's
standard tires. Otherwise, the
safety and handling of your
vehicle may be adversely affect-ed.
WARNING
7-47
7
Maintenance
Wheel replacement
When replacing the metal wheels for
any reason, make sure the new
wheels are equivalent to the original
factory units in diameter, rim widthand offset.
Tire traction
Tire traction can be reduced if you
drive on worn tires, tires that are
improperly inflated or on slippery
road surfaces. Tires should be
replaced when tread wear indicators
appear. To reduce the possibility of
losing control, slow down whenever
there is rain, snow or ice on the road.
Tire maintenance
In addition to proper inflation, correct wheel alignment helps to decrease
tire wear. If you find a tire is worn
unevenly, have your dealer or otherrepair shops that use qualified tech-
nicians check the wheel alignment.
When you have new tires installed,
make sure they are balanced. This
will increase vehicle ride comfort and
tire life. Additionally, a tire should
always be rebalanced if it is removedfrom the wheel.
A wheel that is not the correct
size may adversely affect wheel
and bearing life, braking and
stopping abilities, handling
characteristics, ground clear-
ance, body-to-tire clearance,
snow chain clearance,speedometer and odometer cal-
ibration, headlight aim and
bumper height.
WARNING
(Continued)
The use of any other tire size
or type may seriously affect
ride, handling, ground clear-
ance, stopping distance, body
to tire clearance, snow tire
clearance, and speedometer
reliability.
It is best to replace all four
tires at the same time. If that
is not possible, or necessary,
then replace the two front or
two rear tires as a pair.Replacing just one tire can
seriously affect your vehicle’shandling.
The ABS works by comparing
the speed of the wheels. Tire
size can affect wheel speed.
When replacing tires, all 4
tires must use the same size
originally supplied with the
vehicle. Using tires of a differ-
ent size can cause the ABS
(Anti-lock Brake System) and
ESP (Electronic Stability
Program) (if equipped) to
work irregularly.
