winter tires CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1997 Owners Manual

Winter Driving Include an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a supply
of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel,
a flashlight, a red cloth and
reflective warning triangles. And, if you will be driving
under severe conditions, include a small bag of sand, a
piece of old carpet or a couple of burlap bags to help
provide traction. Be sure you properly secure these
items in your vehicle.
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your tires meet the
road probably have good traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice between your tires and
the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You’ll
have a lot less traction or “grip” and will need to be
very careful.
Here are some tips
for winter driving:
Have your vehicle in good shape for winter.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your vehicle.
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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.
Uniform Tire Quality 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.) 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 -- A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are 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 (straightahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.
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