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Uniform Tire Quality Grading
The following information relates to the system
developed
by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance. (This
applies only to vehicles
sold
in the United States.) The
grades are molded on the sidewalls of most passenger
car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading system
does not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow tires,
space-saver or temporary use spare tires, tires with
nominal
rim
diameters of 10 to 12 inches
(25
to 30 cm),
or to some
limited-production
tires.
While the tires available on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must
also
conform to Federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.
Peadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on
the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified government test course. For
example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and a half
(1 1/2) times as well on the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions
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, fi-om
highest to lowest,
are A, B,
and
C, and they represent the tire's ability to stop on wet
pavement as measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C may have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based
on braking (straightahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.
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