5-37
SERVICE AND APPEARANCE CARE
78J01-03E
Different Size Tires and Wheels
If you add wheels or tires that are a differ-
ent size than your original equipment
wheels and tires, this may affect the way
your vehicle performs, including its brak-
ing, ride and handling characteristics, sta-
bility and resistance to rollover.
Additionally, if your vehicle has electronic
systems such as, anti-lock brakes, rollover
airbags, traction control, and electronic
stability control, the performance of these
systems can be affected.
Refer to “Buying New Tires” and “Accesso-
ries and Modifications” in this section for
additional information.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where appli-
cable on the tire sidewall between tread
shoulder and maximum section width. For
example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Tempera-
ture A
The following information relates to the
system developed by the United States
National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-
tration (NHTSA), which grades tires by
treadwear, traction, and temperature per-
formance. This applies only to vehicles
sold in the United States. The grades are
molded on the sidewalls of most passen-
ger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality
Grading (UTQG) system does not apply to
deep tread, winter-type snow tires, space-
saver, or temporary use spare tires, tires
with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12
inches (25 to 30 cm), or, to some limited-
production tires.
While the tires available may vary with
respect to these grades, they must also
conform to federal safety requirements.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rat-
ing 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 (1.5) 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 – AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to low-
est, are AA, A, B, and C. Those grades
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 perfor-
mance.
Temperature – A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the high-
est), B, and C, representing the tire’s resis-
tance 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 tem-
perature 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
WARNING
If you add different sized wheels,
your vehicle may not provide an
acceptable level of performance and
safety if tires not recommended for
those wheels are selected. You may
increase the chance that you will
crash and suffer serious injury. Only
use Suzuki specific wheel and tire
systems developed for your vehicle,
and have them properly installed by a
Suzuki certified technician.
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this
tire is based on straight-ahead brak-
ing traction tests, and does not
include acceleration, cornering,
hydroplaning, or peak traction char-
acteristics.
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