Consumer Information - Mercedes-Benz 300 SE 1989 Owner's Manual

Consumer Information

This has been prepared as required of
all manufacturers of passenger cars
under Title 49, Code of U.S. Federal
Regulations, Part 575 pursuant to the
" National Traffic and M otor Vehicle
Safety A ct of 1966" .
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Relevant tire grade inform ation on tire
sidewalls.
All passenger car tires m ust conform
to federal safety requirements. In
addition, consum er inform ation on
treadwear, traction and tem perature
must be provided.
104
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative
rating based on the wear rate of the
tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified governm ent
te st course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and a half
(11 /2) tim es as well on the governm ent
course as a tire graded 100. The rela­
tive perform ance o f tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their
use, however, and may depart signifi­
cantly from the norm due to variations
in driving habits, service practices
and differences in road characteris­
tics and climate.
Traction " A " , " B " , " C "
The traction grades, from highest to
lowest, are " A " , " B " and " C " and
they represent the tire 's ability to stop
on w et pavement as measured under
controlled conditions on specified
governm ent te st surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked " C " may
have poor traction performance.
Warning!
The traction grade assigned to
this tire is based on braking
(straight ahead) traction tests
and does not include cornering
(turning) traction.
Tem perature " A " , " B " , " C "
The tem perature grades of " A " (the
highest). " B " and " C " representing
the tire 's resistance to the generation
of heat and its ability to dissipate heat
when tested under controlled condi­
tions on a specified indoor laboratory
te s t wheel. Sustained high tem pera­
ture can cause the material of the tire
to degenerate and reduce tire life, and
excessive tem perature can lead to
sudden tire failure. The grade " C"
corresponds to a level of perform ­
ance w hich all passenger car tires
must meet under the Federal M otor
Vehicle Safety Standard No. 109.
Grades " B " and " A " represent higher
levels of perform ance in the labora­
tory te st than the minimum required
by law.
Warning!
The tem perature grade for this
tire is established for a tire that is
properly inflated and not over­
loaded. Excessive speed, under­
inflation, or excessive loading,
either separately or in combina­
tion, can cause excessive heat
build up and possible tire failure.