Mercedes-Benz 300 SE 1989 Owner's Manual page 19

Tires
Tread wear indicators (TWI) are
required by law. These indicators are
located in six places on the tread cir­
cum ference and become visible at a
depth of approx. 2 mm (V 16 in), at
which point the tire is considered
worn and should be replaced.
The tread wear indicator appears as a
solid band across the tread.
Warning!
Do not allow your tires to wear
down too far. With less than 3 mm
(Vs in) of tread, the adhesion pro­
perties on a w et road are sharply
reduced.
Depending upon the weather
and/or road surface (conditions),
the traction varies widely.
Specified tire pressures m ust be
maintained. This applies particularly if
the tires are subjected to high loads
i s 1801
(e.g. high speeds, heavy loads, high
ambient tem peratures).
Aquaplaning
Depending on the depth of the water
layer on the road, aquaplaning may
occur, even at low speeds and with
new tires. Avoid track grooves in the
road and apply brakes cautiously in
the rain.
Tire traction
The safe speed on a wet, snow cov­
ered o r icy road is always lower than
on a dry road.
You should pay particular attention to
the condition of the road as soon as
the prevailing tem peratures fall close
to the freezing point.
Warning!
If ice has formed on the road, tire
traction will be substantially
reduced. Under such weather
conditions, drive, steer and brake
with extreme caution.
We recom m end M + S radial-ply tires
fo r the w inter season fo r all four
wheels to insure normal balanced
handling characteristics. On packed
snow, they can reduce your stopping
distance as com pared with summer
tires. S topping distance, however, is
still considerably greater than when
the road is w et or dry.
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