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208
Tires and wheels
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the whee l rims from oth-
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve-
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare t ire for a
short period of time only and drive with
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire match ing the others on your vehicle
as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap.
The valves could get damaged.
@
For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old t ires in accordance with the
local requ irements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B (
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum sect ion width ¢ page 205,
fig. 150 .
For example:
Tread wear
200,
Traction
AA,
Temperature
A .
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder-
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear 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 one half (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relat ive performance of tires depends
upon the actua l conditions of their use, how-
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, serv-
ice practices and differences in road character-
istics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C.
Those grades represent the
tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under contro lled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance ¢ ,&.
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, representing the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to dissi-
pate heat when tested under controlled condi-
t ions on a specified indoor laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure ¢ ,&.
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform-
ance which all passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stand -
ard No. 109 . Grades Band A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
whee l than the minimum required by law.
A
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction
characterist ics.
A
WARNING
i-
-
The temperature grade for this tire is es-
tablished for a tire that is properly inflated
and not overloaded . Excessive speed, un-
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separately or in combinat ion, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire failure.
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