Consumer Information - Mercedes-Benz E 320 1994 Owner's Manual

Consumer Information

This has been prepared as
required of all manufactures of
passenger cars under Title 49,
Code of U. S. Federal Regula­
tions, Part 575 pursuant to the
'' National Traffic and Motor
Vehicle Safety Act of 1966" .
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Refer to the tire sidewall for the
specific tire grades for the tires
with which this vehicle is
equipped.
All passenger car tires must con­
form to federal safety require­
ments in addition to these grades.
Tread wear
The treadwear grade is a com­
parative rating based on the wear
rate of the tire when tested under
controlled conditions on a speci­
fied government test course. For
example, a tire graded 150 would
wear one and one-half (1
times as well on the government
course as a tire graded 100. The
relative performance of tires
depends upon the actual condi­
tions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics
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 wet pavement as
measured under controlled con­
ditions on specified government
test surfaces of asphalt and con­
crete. 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 corner­
ing (turning) traction.
Temperature " A " , " B" , " C "
/ )
1 2
The temperature grades are " A "
(the highest), " B" and " C " , re­
presenting the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its
ability to dissipate heat when
tested under controlled conditions
on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high tempe­
rature can cause the material of
the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive tempera­
ture can lead to sudden tire fail­
ure. The grade " C " corresponds
to a level of performance which all
passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 109. Grades
" B" and " A " represent higher
levels of performance on the
laboratory test wheel than the
minimum required by law.
Warning!
The temperature grade for this
tire is established for a tire
that is properly inflated and
not overloaded. Excessive
speed, underinflation, or ex­
cessive loading, either sepa­
rately or in combination, can
cause excessive heat build up
and possible tire failure.
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