Dodge 2007 Sprinter Owner's Manual page 120

Tire traction
Tire grip is greatly reduced on a wet, snow
covered or icy road. Speed and driving
style must therefore be adapted to suit
road conditions. The safe speed on a wet,
snow covered or icy road is always lower
than on a dry road.
Below a tread depth of 1/8 in (3 mm), tire
grip begins to decrease rapidly on wet
roads.
Pay particular attention to the condition of
the road whenever the outside tempera-
tures is 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.
In winter, install M+S radial tires with a
minimum tread depth of approximately 1/
6 in (4 mm) on all wheels to ensure normal
balanced handling characteristics. On
packed snow, they can reduce your stop-
ping distance compared to summer tires.
Stopping distance, however, is still consid-
erably greater than when the road is not
covered with snow or ice. Exercise appro-
priate caution.
For information on winter tires, see "Winter
tires" ( page 234).
CAUTION
!
Avoid spinning a drive wheel. This may
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cause serious damage to the drive train
which is not covered by the Sprinter
warranty.
Tire speed rating
Regardless of the tire speed rating, local
speed limits should be obeyed. Use pru-
dent driving speeds appropriate to prevail-
ing conditions.
Driving and parking
Warning
Even when permitted by law, never operate
a vehicle at speeds greater than the maxi-
mum speed rating of the tires.
Exceeding the maximum speed for which
tires are rated can lead to sudden tire fail-
ure, causing loss of vehicle control and pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or serious
injury and possible death, for you and for
others.
The vehicles are factory equipped with "L"
(vehicles type 2500 only) or "N"-rated
tires, which have a speed rating of 74 mph
(120 km/h) or 87 mph (140 km/h) re-
spectively.
For information on speed ratings or for ad-
ditional general information on tire speed
markings on the tire side wall, see "Tire
speed rating" ( page 224).
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