Tire Care - Ford Escape Owner's Manual

TIRE CARE

Information About Uniform Tire
Quality Grading
Tire Quality Grades apply to new
pneumatic passenger car tires. The Quality
grades can be found where applicable on
the tire sidewall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A.
These Tire Quality Grades are determined
by standards that the United States
Department of Transportation has set.
Tire Quality Grades apply to new
pneumatic passenger car tires. They do
not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow
tires, space-saver or temporary use spare
tires, light truck or LT type tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches
or limited production tires as defined in
Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part
575.104 (c)(2).
U.S. Department of Transportation Tire
quality grades: The U.S. Department of
Transportation requires Ford Motor
Company to give you the following
information about tire grades exactly as
the government has written it.
Escape (TM2)
Wheels and Tires
Treadwear
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 one-half (1 ½) 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 AA A B C
Note: 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 characteristics.
The traction grades, from highest to lowest
are AA, A, B, and C. The grades 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.
Temperature A B C
Excessive speed, underinflation, or
excessive loading, either separately or in
combination, can cause heat buildup and
possible tire failure.
The temperature grades are A (the
highest), B and C, representing the tire's
resistance to the generation of heat and
its ability to dissipate heat when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
indoor laboratory test wheel. Sustained
249
WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire
is established for a tire that is
properly inflated and not overloaded.