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C onsum er Inform ation
This has been pre p a re d as re q u ire d o f
all m a n u fa ctu re rs o f p a s s e n g e r cars
u n d e r Title 49, C ode o f U. S. Federal
R e gu latio ns, Part 575 p u rs u a n t to the
''N ational Traffic and M o to r V ehicle
S afe ty A c t o f 1966" .
94
Uniform Tire Q uality G rading
R elevant tire gra de in fo rm a tio n on tire
flan ks.
A ll p a sse n g e r car tire s m u st co n fo rm
to fed eral sa fe ty re q u ire m e n ts in
a d d itio n to th e s e grades.
T read w e ar
The tre a d w e a r grade is a co m p a ra tive
ra tin g based on th e w e a r rate o f the
tire w h en te s te d un d e r c o n tro lle d
c o n d itio n s on a sp e cifie d g o ve rn m e n t
te s t c o u rs e . F or exam ple, a tire
g ra d e d 150 w o u ld w e ar one and a half
(
11
/
2
) tim e s as w ell on th e g o ve rn m e n t
c o u rs e as a tire g ra de d 100. The
relative p e rfo rm a n ce of tire s d e p e n d s
u p o n th e actual c o n d itio n s o f th e ir
use, ho w e ver, and may d e p a rt s ig n ifi
ca n tly fro m the no rm due to va ria tio n s
in d rivin g habits, se rvice p ra c tic e s
and d iffe re n c e s in road c h a ra c te ris
tic s and clim ate.
T ra ctio n ''A " , " B " , " C "
The tra c tio n gra de s, fro m h ig h e s t to
lo w e st, are " A " , " B " and " C " and
th e y re p re s e n t th e tir e 's a b ility to s to p
on w e t pa vem e nt as m ea sure d un de r
c o n tro lle d c o n d itio n s on sp e c ifie d
g o ve rn m e n t te s t su rfa ce s o f a sphalt
and c o n c re te . A tire m a rke t " C " may
have p o o r tra c tio n pe rfo rm a n ce .
W arning : The tra c tio n gra de assign ed
to th is tire is based on bra kin g
(straig htah ea d) tra c tio n te s ts and
d o e s n o t in clu d e c o rn e rin g (turning )
tra c tio n .
T e m pe rature " A " , ''B " , " C "
The te m p e ra tu re g ra d e s o f " A " (the
h ig h e st). " B " and ''C " re p re se n tin g
th e tir e 's re s ista n ce to th e ge ne ration
o f heat and its a b ility to d is s ip a te heat
w h en te s te d un d e r c o n tro lle d c o n d i
tio n s on a s p e c ifie d in d o o r la b o ra to ry
te s t w heel. S usta ine d high te m p e ra
tu re can cause th e m aterial o f the tire
to d e g e n e ra te and re d u ce tire life, and
ex ce ssive te m p e ra tu re can lead to
su d d e n tire failure. The grade " C "
c o rre s p o n d s to a level of p e rfo rm
ance w h ic h all p a ss e n g e r car tire s
m u s t m ee t un d e r the Federal M o to r
V eh icle S afe ty S tan dard No. 109.
G rade s " B " and " A " re p re s e n t h ig h e r
levels o f p e rfo rm a n c e on the la bo ra
to ry te s t w h e e l than th e m inim um
re q u ire d by law. W arning : The te m
p e ra tu re grade fo r th is tire is e s ta b
lished fo r a tire th a t is p ro p e rly
in flated and n o t ove rlo a d e d . E xce s
sive spe ed , u n d e rin fla tio n , o r e x c e s
sive loading, e ith e r sep ara te ly o r in
co m b in a tio n , can cau se heat b u ild up
and p o ssib le tire failure.
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