119
Controls in detail
Driving and parking
3
Tire traction
Tire grip is greatly reduced on a wet, snow
covered or icy road. Speed and driving
style must therefore be adapted to suit
road conditions. The safe speed on a wet,
snow covered or icy road is always lower
than on a dry road.
Below a tread depth of 1/8 in (3 mm), tire
grip begins to decrease rapidly on wet
roads.
Pay particular attention to the condition of
the road whenever the outside tempera-
tures is close to the freezing point.
In winter, install M+S radial tires with a
minimum tread depth of approximately 1/
6 in (4 mm) on all wheels to ensure normal
balanced handling characteristics. On
packed snow, they can reduce your stop-
ping distance compared to summer tires.
Stopping distance, however, is still consid-
erably greater than when the road is not
covered with snow or ice. Exercise appro-
priate caution.
For information on winter tires, see "Winter
tires" ( page 234).
Tire speed rating
Regardless of the tire speed rating, local
speed limits should be obeyed. Use pru-
dent driving speeds appropriate to prevail-
ing conditions.
The vehicles are factory equipped with "L"
(vehicles type 2500 only) or "N"-rated
tires, which have a speed rating of 74 mph
(120 km/h) or 87 mph (140 km/h) re-
spectively.
For information on speed ratings or for ad-
ditional general information on tire speed
markings on the tire side wall, see "Tire
speed rating" ( page 224).
Warning G
If ice has formed on the road, tire traction
will be substantially reduced. Under such
weather conditions, drive, steer and brake
with extreme caution.
!CAUTION
Avoid spinning a drive wheel. This may
cause serious damage to the drive train
which is not covered by the Sprinter
warranty.
Warning G
Even when permitted by law, never operate
a vehicle at speeds greater than the maxi-
mum speed rating of the tires.
Exceeding the maximum speed for which
tires are rated can lead to sudden tire fail-
ure, causing loss of vehicle control and pos-
sibly resulting in an accident and/or serious
injury and possible death, for you and for
others.
To Next Page
Loading...
