Service
&
Appearance
Care
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC
Spec number,
make sure they are the same size, load range, speed rating and construction
type (bias, bias-belted or radial) as your original tires.
I
CAUTION
A
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control while driving.
If
you mix
tires
of
different sizes or types (radial and bias-belted tires) the
vehicle may not handle properly, and you could have a crash. Be
sure
to
use the same size and type tires on all wheels.
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Uniform
Tire
Quarity
Grading
The following information relates
to
the system developed by the United
States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance. (This applies only to
vehicles sold in the United States.)
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 a half
(1
1/2)
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-A,
B,
C
The traction grades, from highest
to
lowesr are: A,
8,
and
C.
They 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.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on braking
(straight-ahead) traction tests and does not include cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature-A,
B,
C
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 high temperature can cause the material
of
the tire
to
degenerate
and reduce tire life, and excessive temperature can lead to sudden tire
failure. The grade
C
corresponds to a level of performance which all
passenger car tires must meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
6-54
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