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Wh e els
- These tires may wear more q uickly t han othe rs.
- Please al so remembe r t hat, w hile t hese t ires
deliver responsive handling, t hey may ride less
comfortably and make more noise than ot her
cho ices.
Reduced performance in wint er/ cold season
condit ions
All tires are designed for certain purposes. The
low aspect ratio, ultra high pe rformance tires
or iginally insta lled on yo ur vehicle are intended
for maximum d ry and wet road performance and
handling. They are not suitable for cold, snowy or
icy weathe r cond itions . If you drive under those
circumstances,
you should equ ip your ve hicle
with all-season or winter ti res, wh ich offe r bette r
traction under those condit ions. We sugges t you
use t he recommended
snow or all-season t ires
specified for yo ur vehicle, or their eq uivalen t .
Refer to ¢
page 246
fo r more deta iled info rma·
tion reg ar di ng wint er ti res.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread we ar
- Tra ction AA A B C
- Temperature
ABC
Qua lity grades can be found where app licab le on
the t ire side wall betwee n tread s hou lder and
maximum sect io n w idth ¢
page 231, fig . 193.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA, Tern·
pe rature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Federa l
Safety Requirements
in addition to these grades .
Tread wear
The
tread wear
grade is a compara ti ve rat ing
base d on t he wea r rat e of t he t ire when tes t ed
under contro lled conditions on a specified gov ·
ernment test co urse.
For examp le, a t ire graded 150 would wear one
a nd one ha lf (1 1/2) ti mes as well on t he g ove rn ·
men t course as a tire graded 100 .
The rela t ive perfo rmance of t ires depends upon
the act ua l condi t ions of t heir use, howeve r, and
may d epart signific a nt ly from the norm due to
248
variations in driving habits, service pract ices an d
differences in road characteristics
and climate.
Traction
The
traction
grades , from hig hest t o lowest , a re
AA, A, B and C. Those grades rep resent the tire's
a bility t o stop o n wet pavement as measure d un-
der controlled conditions on specified govern ·
ment test surfaces of asphalt an d concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction perfo rmance
¢ ,& .
Temperature
The
temp erature
grades are A (t he highest), B,
and C, representing
the tire 's resistance to the
generatio n of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under contro lled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature
can cause the mate·
rial of the tire to degenerate
and reduce tire life,
and excessive temperature
can lead to sudden
tire failure¢
,& .
The grade C cor responds to a level of perform ·
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un·
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109 . Grades Band A represent hig her levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
t he m inim um requ ired by law .
A
WARNING
-
The t ract io n g rade assigned to this t ire is
based on st raig ht-a head br aking tr action
tes t s, and do es no t include acceler ation, co r·
nerin g, hydr oplaning or pe ak tr ac t ion ch ar ac-
teristics.
A
WARNING
The tem pera tu re grade for t his tire is esta b·
lishe d for a tire that is properly inflated and
not ove rloaded . Excessive speed, underinfla ·
tion, o r excessive load ing, either separately or
in comb inat ion, can cause heat bu ildup and
-
possible tire failure .
..,
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