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Uniform t ire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Tractio n AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Qua lity grades ca n be found where ap plicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
c:> page 230, fig. 202.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA, Tem-
perature
A.
All passenge r ca r tires m ust conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in add ition to these grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparat ive rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
under cont rolled conditions o n a specified gov -
e rnment test course.
For example, a t ire graded
150 would wear one
and one ha lf
(1 1/2) t imes as well on the gove rn-
men t course as a tire g raded
100.
The relative performance of t ires depends upo n
the actual conditions of their use, howeve r, and
may depart significant ly from the norm due to
va riat ions in d riving ha bits, serv ice practices and
d ifferences in road cha racteristics and climate .
Traction
The traction g rades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and
C. Those grades represent the t ire's
ab ility to stop on wet pavement as meas ur ed un -
de r contro lled condi t ions on specified gove rn-
ment tes t sur faces of asphalt and conc ret e. A tire
mar ked C may have poor traction performance
c:> &..
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (t he highest), B,
a nd C, represent ing the t ire's resis tan ce to t he
generation of heat and its ability to d iss ipate
heat when tested unde r contro lled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test whee l.
Sus ta ined hig h temper ature can cause t he mate -
rial of t he ti re to degenerate and red uce t ire life,
and excessive temperatu re can lea d to sud d en
tire fai lur e
c:> &..
Wh e el s
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 Standa rd
No.
109 . Grades Band A represent higher levels
of pe rformance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minimum req uired by law .
A WARNING
,-
The tract io n grade assigned to this ti re is
based on str aight-a head braking traction
t est s, and does not include acceler ation, co r-
neri ng, hydr opla ning or peak t ract ion charac-
terist ics.
A WARNING
,.,___
The tempera tu re grade for t his tire is estab-
lished for a tire that is properly inflated and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfla -
tion, or excessive loading, either separate ly or
in comb inat ion, can cause heat bu ildup and
possib le tire fai lure.
A WARNING
-
Temperature g rades apply to tires that are
properly inflated a nd not over o r under inflat-
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring
system
ill General notes
App li es to : vehicles wi th tire pressure mo nito rin g syste m
-
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly whe n cold and inflat -
ed to the inflat ion pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the veh icle placard or
t ire infla t ion pressure la be l. (If your vehicle has
t ires of a different size than t he size ind icated on
the vehi cle placar d or tire inflat ion press ure la -
bel, you sho uld dete rmine the proper tire infla-
t ion pr ess ure for those tires) .
As an ad d ed saf et y feat ure, yo ur vehicle has been
equipped with a tire press ure mon itor ing system
(TPMS) t hat illuminates a low tire pressure tell-
ta le wh en one or mo re of your tires is signif icant -
ly under-inf lated. According ly, when the low t ire
pressure telltale illum inates, you shou ld stop and .,.
247
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