co co .... N
" N .... 0
00
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use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for your vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to
~ page 22 7 for more deta iled i nfo rma
tion rega rding win ter tires.
Uniform t ire quality grading
- Tread wear
- T raction AA A B C
- T emperatu re ABC
Quality grades ca n be found where applicable on
the ti re side wall between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
¢ page 211, fig. 190.
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA, Tem
perature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades.
Tread wea r
The
tr ead w ear grade is a comparat ive rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov
ernment test course.
F or examp le, a t ire graded 150 would wear one
and one ha lf
( 1 1/2) times as well on the govern
ment course as a tire graded
100 .
The relative perfo rmance of tires depends u po n
the actua l conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significant ly from the norm due to
va riations i n driving habits, service practices and
d ifferences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction
The
traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, Band
C. T hose grades represent the tire's
ab ility to stop on wet pavement as measured un
de r contro lled conditions on specified gove rn
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete . A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
¢ _& .
Temperatur e
The
temperature grades are A (the highest), B ,
and C, representing the tire's resistanc e to the
generation of heat and its ability to diss ipate
Wh eel s
heat when tested under cont rolled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperat ure can cause the mate
r ia l of the tire to degenerate and reduce t ire life ,
and excessive tempera ture can lead to s udden
tire failure ¢,& .
T he grade
C corresponds to a level of perfo rm
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Sa fety Standa rd
No.
109. Grades Band A represent higher levels
of pe rformance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minim um req uired by law.
A WARNING
-
The tract ion grade assigned to this t ire is
based o n straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does no t include acceleration, co r
n ering, hyd roplaning or pea k traction cha rac
t erist ic s .
A WARNING
The temperature grade fo r this tire is estab
lished for a tire that is properly infl,;1ted and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfl a
tion, o r excessive loading, either separately or
i n comb inat ion, can cause heat bu ildup and
possib le tire fai lure .
A WARNING
-
-Temperature grades apply to tires that are
p roperly inf lated and not ove r or under inflat
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(l) General notes
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 manufacture r on the veh icle placard or
t ir e infla tion p ressure labe l. (If your ve hicle has
t ir es of a diffe re nt si ze t han t he si ze ind icated on
t h e ve hicl e p lacard or tire inflat io n pres sure la
bel, you sho uld dete rm ine the proper tire in fla-
t ion press ure for those tires) . ..,.
229
