winter tires PONTIAC GRAND AM 2003 Owners Manual

You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your trunk.
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supply of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter
outer clothing, a small shovel, a flashlight, a red
cloth and a couple of 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.
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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. It’s all right to drive with your
compact spare, though.
It was developed for
use on your vehicle.
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If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim flanges could develop cracks after
I
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.
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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.
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