Saab 2008 9-3 User Manual
Page 248
248
Car care
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applica-
ble on the tire sidewall between tread shoul-
der and maximum section width. For exam-
ple:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A
The following information relates to the
system developed by the United States
National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-
tion, which grades tires by treadwear, trac-
tion and temperature performance. (This
applies only to vehicles sold in the United
States.) The grades are molded on the side-
walls of most passenger car tires. The Uni-
form 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-pro-
duction 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 Perfor-
mance Criteria (TPC) standards.
NOTE
Wide wheels and tires with side walls that
are too low can:
• be damaged in potholes, etc.
• cause springs, shock absorbers and
wheel bearings and body mountings
to be overloaded.
• affect the function of the ESP
®
.
The speed and load limits of the tires
must not be exceeded; see page 253.
Wheels larger than 17" must not be fitted
on the Saab 9-3 for reasons above. The
permissible offset is 1.61 inch (41 mm).
WARNING
Mixing tires could cause you to lose con-
trol while driving. If you mix tires of differ-
ent sizes or types (radial and bias-belted
tires), the vehicle may not handle prop-
erly, 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 temporarily, it was developed for
use on your vehicle. See “Compact
spare” on page 260.
WARNING
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.
93_US_M08.book Page 248 Friday, May 11, 2007 11:37 AM