Mercedes-Benz 300 TE, Owner'S Manual

Page: 112 / 121

Consum er Inform ation
T his has be en p re p a re d as re q u ire d o f
all m a n u fa c tu re rs o f p a s s e n g e r c ars
un d e r T itle 49, C o de o f U. S. Federal
R e gu latio ns, Part 575 p u rs u a n t to th e
“ N ational T ra ffic and M o to r V eh icle
S afe ty A c t o f 1966’ ’ .
Uniform Tire Q uality Grading
R elevant tire gra d e in fo rm a tio n on tire
sid ew a lls.
A ll p a s s e n g e r ca r tire s m u s t c o n fo rm
to fe d e ra l s a fe ty re q u ire m e n ts . In
a d d itio n , c o n s u m e r in fo rm a tio n on
tre a d w e a r, tra c tio n and te m p e ra tu re
m u s t be p ro v id e d .
T read w e ar
The tre a d w e a r gra de is a c o m p a ra tiv e
ra tin g ba sed on the w e a r rate o f th e
tire w h e n te s te d u n d e r c o n tro lle d
c o n d itio n s on a s p e c ifie d g o v e rn m e n t
te s t c o u rs e . F or exam ple, a tire
g ra d e d 150 w o u ld w e a r o n e and a half
( V /
2
)
tim e s as w e ll on th e g o v e rn m e n t
c o u rs e as a tire g ra d e d 100. The rela­
tive p e rfo rm a n c e o f tire s d e p e n d s
up on th e actu al c o n d itio n s o f th e ir
use, ho w e ver, and m ay d e p a rt s ig n ifi­
ca n tly fro m th e no rm d u e to v a ria tio n s
in d riv in g h a bits, s e rv ic e p ra c tic e s
and d iffe re n c e s in roa d c h a ra c te ris ­
tic s and clim ate.
T ra c tio n “ A ” , “ B ” , “ C ”
The tra c tio n g ra d e s, fro m h ig h e s t to
lo w e s t, are “ A ” , “ B ” and ” C ’’ and
th e y re p re s e n t th e t ir e ’s a b ility to s to p
on w e t pa v e m e n t as m e a su re d u n d e r
c o n tro lle d c o n d itio n s on s p e c ifie d
g o v e rn m e n t te s t s u rfa c e s o f a sp ha lt
and c o n c re te . A tire m arke d “ C ” may
have p o o r tra c tio n p e rfo rm a n c e .
T e m p e ra tu re “ A ” , “ B ” , “ C ”
The te m p e ra tu re g ra d e s o f “ A ’ ’ (the
h ig h e s t), “ B ” and “ C ” re p re s e n tin g
the t ir e ’s re s is ta n c e to th e g e n e ra tio n
o f heat and its a b ility to d is s ip a te heat
w h en te s te d u n d e r c o n tro lle d c o n d i­
tio n s on a s p e c ifie d in d o o r la b o ra to ry
te s t w h ee l. S u sta in e d h igh te m p e ra ­
tu re can cau se th e m aterial o f th e tire
to d e g e n e ra te and re d u c e tire life, and
e x c e s s iv e te m p e ra tu re can lead to
s u d d e n tire failure. The gra d e “ C ”
c o rre s p o n d s to a level o f p e rfo rm ­
an ce w h ic h all p a s s e n g e r ca r tire s
m u s t m e e t u n d e r th e Federal M o to r
V e h ic le S afe ty S ta n d a rd No. 109.
G ra d e s “ B " and “ A ” re p re s e n t h ig h e r
levels o f p e rfo rm a n c e in th e la b o ra ­
to ry te s t tha n th e m in im u m req uire d
by law.
W arning!
The te m p e ra tu re g rad e fo r this
tire is estab lished for a tire th a t is
p roperly inflated and not over­
loaded. Excessive speed, under­
inflation, o r excessive loading,
eith e r se p a ra te ly or in co m b in a­
tion, can cause excessive heat
build up and possible tire failure.
W arning!
The tra c tio n g rad e assigned to
this tire is based on braking
(s traig h t ah ead ) tra ctio n te s ts
and does not include cornering
(turning) tra ctio n .
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