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use the recommended
snow or all -season tires
specified for your vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to
~
page
22 7 for more deta iled i nfo rma-
tion rega rding win t er ti res.
Uniform t ire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperatu re ABC
Quality grades ca n be found where applicable on
the ti re side wall between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
¢ page 211, fig. 190.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA, Tem-
perature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements
in addition to these grades.
Tread wea r
The
tread wear
grade is a comparat ive rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov-
ernment test course.
For examp le, a t ire graded 150 would wear one
and one ha lf (1 1/2) times as well on the govern -
ment course as a tire graded 100 .
The relative perfo rmance of t ires depends upon
the actua l conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significant ly from the norm due to
va riations in driving habits, service practices and
d ifferences in road characteristics
and climate.
Traction
The
traction
grades, from highest to lowest, a re
AA, A, Band C. Those grades represent the t ire's
ab ility to stop on wet pavement as measured un-
de r contro lled conditions on specified gove rn-
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete . A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
¢ _&.
Temperatur e
The
temperature
grades are A (the highest), B,
and C, representing
the tire's resistanc e to the
generation of heat and its ability to diss ipate
Wh e el s
heat when tested under cont rolled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperat ur e can cause the mate-
rial of the ti re t o degenerate
and reduce t ire life ,
and excessive tempera t ure can lead to sudden
tire failure ¢ ,& .
The grade
C
corresponds to a level of perfo rm-
ance which all passenger car ti res must meet un-
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd
No. 109. Grades Band A represent higher levels
of pe rformance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minim um req uired by law.
A
WARNING
-
The tract ion grade assigned to this t ire is
based o n straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does no t include acceleration,
co r-
nering, hyd roplaning or pea k t raction cha rac-
t erist ics .
A
WARNING
The t emperature
grade fo r th is tire is estab-
lished for a tire that is properly infl,;1ted and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfl a-
tion, o r excessive loading, either separately or
in comb inat ion, can cause heat bu ildup and
possib le tire fai lure .
A
WARNING
-
-
Temperature
grades apply to tires that are
properly inf lated and not ove r or under inflat-
ed.
Tire pressure
monitoring
system
(l)
General notes
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly when cold and inflat-
ed to the inflat io n pressure recommended
by the
vehicle manufacture r on the veh icle placard or
t ire infla t ion pressure labe l. (If your ve hicle has
t ires of a diffe re nt size t han t he size ind icated on
t he ve hicle placard or tire inflat io n pres su re la-
bel, you sho uld dete rm ine the proper tir e infla -
t ion press ure for those tires) .
..,.
229
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