Tires; Tire Traction; Tread Wear Indicators; Optional Tires - Chevrolet Impala 1969 Owner's Manual

Tires
The factory installed tires on your car
are selected to provide the best all
around tire performance for all normal
operation. When inflated as recom-
mended in the tire inflation placard
affixed to the left door of your ve-
hicle, they have the load carrying
capacity to operate satisfactorily at all
loads up to and including the full rated
load specified in that table at all nor-
mal highway speeds. In addition, for
those owners who prefer the utmost in
comfort, optional tire inflation pres-
sures may be used when loads of five
passengers or less are can-ied.
For the added convenience of
owners, many Chevrolet Dealers are '
equipped to handle tire warranty ad-
justments on certain makes of tires
provided on 1969 Chevrolet vehicles.
Tire Traction
A decrease in driving, cornering,
and braking traction occurs when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road surface. Driv-
ing practices and car speed should be
adjusted to the road conditions.
When driving on wet or slushy
roads, it is possible for a wedge of
water to ' build up between the tire .
and road surface. This phenomenon,
known as hydroplaning, may cause
partial or complete loss of traction,
whkh adversely affects vehicle con-
trol and stopping ability. To reduce the
possibility of traction loss, the
follow~
ing precautions should be observed:
1. Slow down during rainstorms or
when roads are slushy.
2. Slow down if road has standing
water or puddles.
3. Replace tires when tread wear in-
dicators are visible.
4. Keep tires properly inflated.
For temporary assistance when
traction is lost on ice or snow, the use
of AC Liquid Tire chain is recom-
mended.
Tread Wear Indicators
The original equipment tires on your
Chevrolet incorporate built-in tread
wear indicators to assist you in deter-
mining when your tires have been
worn to the point of needing replace-
ment. These indicators are molded
into the bottom of the tread grooves
56
and will appear as
%
inch wide bands
when tire tread depth becomes 1116 of
an inch. When the indicators appear
in two or more adjacent grooves, tire
replacement due to tread wear is rec-
ommended.
Optional Tires
The . optional tires listed in the ad-
jacent table are not necessary on pas.;.
senger cars for normal requirements.
However, an extra margin of tire
service is available when these options
are used at loads up to and including
full rated load. They are available on
models as indicated in the table.
On some models (example-station
wagon with 15" wheel option), space
limitations do not permit the use of a
larger size tire; hence, the 8-ply rat-
TREAD
STILL GOOD
TREAD
WORN OUT