|
Identifying Your Tires All of the information that you normally need to identify your tires are molded into the tire's sidewall. These include comparative grade designations for treadwear, traction and temperature for all passenger car tires, except deep tread, winter-type snow tires; space-saver or temporary use spares; or tires with normal rim diameters of 12-inches or less.
The Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) is the U.S. system of grading tires. It doesn't represent a safety rating but merely a means to compare one tire to another. 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 (1½) 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 AND C: The traction grades from highest to lowest are AA, A, B and C and 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 and 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. Grades A and B represent higher levels of performance on the laboratory test wheel than the minimum required by law.
WARNING: |
