1998 Ford Crown Victoria Owner's Manual - Page 127
1998 Ford Crown Victoria Manual
Page 127 highlights
Maintenance and care INFORMATION ABOUT TIRE QUALITY GRADES New vehicles are fitted with tires that have their Tire Quality Grade (described below) molded into the tire's sidewall. These Tire Quality Grades are determined by standards that the United States Department of Transportation has set. Tire Quality Grades apply to new pneumatic tires for use on passenger cars. They do 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 or limited production tires as defined in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 575.104(c)(2). U.S. Department of Transportation-Tire quality grades: The U.S. Department of Transportation requires Ford to give you the following information about tire grades exactly as the government has written it. 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 grade 150 would wear one and one-half (1 1/2) times as well on the government course as a tire grade 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 test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor traction performance. The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on braking (straight ahead) traction tests and does not include cornering (turning) traction. 127