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In o rder to minimize the oc currence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom mend that you observe the fo llow ing
precautions:
- Always maintain recommended inflation pres
sures. Check your tire pressure every 2,000
miles (3,000 km) and add a ir if necessary .
- Drive carefully on roads with potho les, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires . Impact w ith a curb may also cause
damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest au
thorized Aud i dealer . Replace a damaged tire as
soon as poss ible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2 ,000 miles (3,000 km)
for damage and wear . Damage is not always
easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of a ir and
underinflation , which cou ld eventually cause
t ir e failure. If you be lieve tha t a tire may have
been damaged, replace the t ire as soon as pos
s ible.
= T hese tires may wear more q uick ly than othe rs.
- Please a lso remember that, while these tires
deliver responsive hand ling, they may r ide less
comfortab ly and ma ke more no ise th an other
cho ices .
Reduced performance in winter /cold season
condit ions
All t ires are desig ned fo r ce rtain pur poses. The
l ow aspect ratio, ul tra high performance t ires
originally insta lled on you r vehicle a re intended
for maximum dry and wet road performance and handling. They are not s uitable for cold, snowy or
icy weather cond it ions. If you dr ive under those
circumstances, you shou ld equ ip your ve hicle
with a ll-season or winter tires, wh ic h offer better
traction under those condit ions . We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified fo r you r vehicle , or the ir equivalent.
Refer to¢
page 225 for more detailed informa
tion rega rding winter tires .
Uniform tire quality grading
8 -Tread wea r '
Wheel s
-Traction AA ABC
- Tempe ra tu re ABC
Quali ty g rades can be found where applicable o n
the tire side wall be tween tread shoulder and
max imum sec tion width
¢ page 210, fig . 188.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA, Tem
perature
A .
All passenger car ti res must conform to Federal
Safety Requiremen ts in addit io n to these grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wea r rate of the tire when tested
u nder controlled cond it ions on a specif ied gov
ernment test course.
F or example , a tire graded 1 50 wou ld wear one
and one half (1 1/2) times as we ll on the govern
ment course as a t ire graded 100 .
T he re lative performance of tires depends upon
t h e actual conditions of thei r use, however, and
may depa rt sig nificantly from the norm due to
variations in driv ing habits , service practices and
differences in road character istics and cli mate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, a re
AA , A, Band
C. Those grades represent t he tire 's
ability to stop o n we t pavement as measured un
der controlled cond itions on specified govern
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
¢ ,&. .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B,
and C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generat ion of heat and its abi lity to dissipate
heat when tested u nder cont rolled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained h igh temperatu re can cause the mate
rial of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life,
and excessive tempe rature can lead to s udden
t ire failure ¢,&. . .,.
227
