traction control CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO 2002 6.G User Guide

6-48 Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Tire
-Loading Information label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number on each tire's sidewall. When you get new tires,
get ones with that same TPC Spec number. That way
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
traction, ride and other things during normal service
on your vehicle. If your tires have an all
-season tread
design, the TPC number will be followed by an ªMSº
(for mud and snow).
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.
CAUTION:
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.
Using tires of different sizes may also cause
damage to your vehicle. Be sure to use the
same size and type tires on all wheels.
It's all right to drive with your compact spare,
though. It was developed for use on your vehicle.
CAUTION:
If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim flanges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving. A tire and/or wheel could
fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only radial
-ply
tires with the wheels on your vehicle.

6-49 Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum
section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
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.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
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 on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.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
-- AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, 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 performance. Warning: The traction
grade assigned to this tire is based on straight
-ahead
braking traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak traction characteristics.