Quality grades can be found ,w here applicable,
on the tire sidewall between tread shoulde ra nd
maximum sectio nw id th.
Example: R
Treadwear grade: 200R
Tractio ng rade: AAR
Temperature grade: A
All passenge rc ar tires must conform to the stat-
utory safety requirements in additio ntot hese
grades.
i The actua lv alues for tires are vehicle-spe-
cific and may deviate from the values in the
illustration.
Treadwear The treadwea rg rad eisac omparativ er ating
based on the wea rr ate of the tire whe nt ested
unde rc ontrolled conditions on as pecified U.S.
government course. For example, at ire graded
150 would wea ro ne and one-half times as well
on the government test track as at ire graded
100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon
the actua lc onditions of their use ,h owever, and
may depart significantly from the norm du et o
variations in driving habits, service practices
and differences in road characteristics and cli-
mate.
Traction
G WARNING
The tractio ng rad ea ssigne dtot his tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and doe sn ot include acceleration, cor-
nering, hydroplaning ,orp ea kt ractio nc har-
acteristics.
! Avoid wheelspin. Thi sc an lea dtod amage to
the driv et rain.
The tractio ng rades –f rom highest to lowest –
are AA, A, Ba nd C. Thos eg rades represent the
tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as meas-
ure du nde rc ontrolled conditions on specified
government test surfaces of asphal ta nd con-
crete. At ire marked Cm ay have poo rt raction
performance.
The safe spee donaw et, snow covere dori cy
road is always lower than on dry road surfaces. You should pay specia la ttentio ntor oa dc ondi-
tions whe nt emperatures are around freezing
point.
Mercedes-Benz recommends am inimum tread
depth of
An electronic speed limite rp revents your vehi-
cle from exceeding as peed of 130 mph
(21 0k m/h).
The speed rating of tire sm ounted at the factory
ma ybeh ig he rt ha nt he maximu ms peed tha tt he
electronic speed limite rp er mits.
Make sure tha ty ou rt ire sh av et he required
speed rating ,e .g .w he nb uyin gn ew tires. The
required speed rating for your vehicl ec an be
found in the "tires "s ectio n( Y
page 278).
Further informatio na bout reading tire data can
be obtained from any qualified specialist work-
shop.
Load index
In additio ntot he load-bearing index, load
index C ma ya ls obei mprinte dont he sidewall
of the tire .Y ou will find thi sa fte rt he letter that
identifie st he speed rating ( Y
page 269).R
If no specification is given: no text (a sint he
exampl ea bo ve), represents as tandard load
(SL) tire R
XL or Extra Load: represents ar einforced tireR
Light Load: represents al ig ht load tireR
C, D, E: represents al oa dr an ge tha td epen ds
on the maximu ml oa dt ha tt he tire can carry at
ac ertain pressure
i Tire data is vehicle-specific and ma yd ev iate
from the data in the example. Maximum load rating
Maximu mt ire load C is the maximu mp er mis-
sibl ew eigh tf or which the tire is approved.
Do not overload the tire sbye xceeding the
specified load limit. The maximu mp er missible
load can be found on the vehicle's Tire and
Loading Informatio np la card on the B-pillar on
the driver's side ( Y
page 265).
i The actual values for tire sa re vehicle-spe-
cifi ca nd ma yd ev iate from the values in the
illustration.
DOT, Tire Identificatio nN umbe r( TIN)US tire regulations stipulate tha te very tire man-
ufacturer or retreader must imprint aT IN in or on
the sidewall of each tire produced.
The TIN is au niqu ei de ntificatio nn umber. The
TIN enables the tire manufacturer sorr etreaders
to inform purchaser sofr ecall sa nd othe rs af ety-
relevant matters .Itm ak es it possibl ef or the
purchaser to easily identify the affecte dt ires.
The TIN is made up of manufacturer identifica-
tio nc ode D ,t ire size