Subaru 2004 Forester X - Manual (Page 427)

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Consumer information and Reporting safety defects
C onsumer information and R eporting safety defects For U.S.A.
The following information has been compiled accord-
ing to Code of Federal Regulations “Title 49, Part
575”.
Uniform tire quality grading stan-
dards
This information indicates the relative performance of
passenger car tires in the area of treadwear, traction,
and temperature resistance. This is to aid the consum-
er in making an informed choice in the purchase of
tires.
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 quality grades apply to new pneumatic tires for
use on passenger cars. However, they do not apply to
deep tread, winter type snow tires, space-saver or
temporary use spare tires, tires with nominal rim diam-
eters of 12 inches or less, or to some limited produc-
tion tires.
All passenger car tires must confirm to Federal Safety
Requirements in addition to these grades.
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
one-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 prac-
tices and differences in road characteristics and cli-
mate.
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.
The traction grade assigned to this tire is based