Owners manual

16
FOLLOW THESE MOUNTING RECOMMENDATIONS
Tire mounting can be dangerous and must be done by professionally
trained persons using proper tools and procedures as specified by
the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).
Your tires should be mounted on wheels of correct size and type and which
are in good, clean condition. Wheels that are bent, chipped, rusted (steel
wheels) or corroded (alloy wheels) may cause tire damage. The inside of
the tire must be free from foreign material. Have your tire retailer check the
wheels before mounting new tires. Mismatched tires and rims can explode
during mounting. Also, mismatched tires and rims can result in dangerous
tire failure on the road. If a tire is mounted by error on the wrong-sized rim,
do not remount it on the proper rim – scrap it. It may have been damaged
internally (which is not externally visible) by having been dangerously
stretched and could fail on the highway .
Old valves may leak. When new tubeless tires are mounted, have
new valves of the correct type installed. Tubeless tires must only be
mounted on wheels designed for tubeless tires i.e., wheels which
have safety humps or ledges. Always utilize valve caps capable of
containing the tire’s air pressure, should the valve core leak. The
valve cap is the primary seal against air loss. Each tire and wheel
assembly should be balanced to insure proper tire and vehicle performance
and to maintain tire warranty coverage. Tires and wheel assemblies
which are not balanced may cause steering difficulties, a bumpy ride, and
irregular tire wear.
TEMPORARY TYPE SPARE TIRES
When using any temporary type spare tire, be sure to follow the vehicle
manufacturer’s instructions.
READING THE DOT
DOT XXXX XXXX XXX (prior to August 2000)
DOT XXXX XXXX XXX (1990-1999) s
DOT XXXX XXXX XXXX (after July 2000)
THE DOT
The “DOT” symbol certifies tire manufacturer’s compliance with U.S.
Department of Transportation tire safety standards. Next to the symbol is
the tire identification or “serial number”. The first two characters identify
the plant where the tire was manufactured. The next two characters
reflect the tire size. The following one to four digits may be used at the tire
manufacturer’s option as a descriptive code. The last three characters are
numbers identifying the week and year of manufacture. (Example: “O25”
means second week of the year of decade, eg.: 1995, 1985, etc.) For the
1990-1999 decade BFGoodrich
®
brand tires are marked with a triangle
pointing to the last three numeric characters. Tires produced after July
2000 have an additional digit to identify a given decade. For example, 2800
means the tire was produced during the 28th week of 2000; 0201 during
the 2nd week of 2001. If the last digits of your DOT number contains three
numeric characters and is not marked with a triangle, consult a qualified
tire technician to determine the year of manufacture.
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