Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards; Traction - Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe Operator's Manual

Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards

312
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Standards
Overview of Tire Quality Grading
Standards
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards are
U.S. government specifications. Their
purpose is to provide drivers with uniform
reliable information on tire performance data.
tire manufacturers have to grade tires using
three performance factors: tread wear :,
tire traction ; and heat resistance =. All
tires sold in North America are provided with
the corresponding quality class mark on the
sidewall of the tire, even though these
regulations do not apply to Canada.
i
The actual values for tires are vehicle-
specific and may deviate from the values in
the illustration.
Where applicable, the tire grading
information can be found on the tire sidewall
between the tread shoulder and maximum
tire width.
For example:
Treadwear

Traction

200 AA
All passenger car tires must conform to the
statutory safety requirements in addition to
these grades.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
U.S. government course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and one-half
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 conditions.
Traction
G
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. Those grades represent
the tire's ability to stop on a wet surface as
measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance.
The safe speed on a wet, snow covered or icy
road is always lower than on dry road
surfaces.
You should pay special attention to road
conditions when temperatures are around
Temperature
the freezing point.
A
Mercedes-Benz recommends a minimum
tread depth of ã in (4 mm) for all four winter
tires (
characteristics in winter. Winter tires can
reduce the braking distance on snow-covered
surfaces in comparison with summer tires.
Stopping distance, however, is still
considerably greater than when the road is
I n f o r m a t i o n P r o v i d e d b y :
WARNING
page 298) to maintain normal driving
Y