Warranty

High Performance Radial Tires P-Metric Light Truck Radial Tires Passenger Radial Tires Specialty Light Truck Tires
LIMITED WARRANTY
Effective January 1, 2009
SAFETY WARNING –
TIRE UNDERINFLATION / OVERLOADING
Serious injury or death may result from tire underination or overloading. Follow
owner’s manual and your car’s tire information placard for proper ination pressures
and load carrying capacities.
MAINTAIN PROPER INFLATION PRESSURE IN YOUR TIRES
Proper ination pressure is necessary for tire safety, performance, and best fuel
economy. To maintain proper ination pressure, at least monthly check your
tires with an accurate pressure gauge while cool (driven less than a mile). If you
check hot tires while traveling, expect the pressure to be 5 – 10 PSI above the
recommendation. That is normal, due to temperature rise during exing. Do not
bleed off pressure to reduce pressure down to the recommendation. If a hot tire
reads at or below recommended pressure, add 5 PSI more than recommended, and
then later check when cool.
It is very difcult to tell an underinated tire just by looking at it – you must use a
gauge. Set the pressure to the level recommended by the vehicle manufacturer for
the original equipment size tire, or use Falken’s pressure recommendation if the size
has been changed from the original equipment size.
Underination is the most common cause of tire failures in any kind of tire and may
result in severe cracking, component separation and tire failure (“blow-out”), with
unexpected loss of vehicle control, and accident, with possible death or injury.
Furthermore, when driving a vehicle with radial tires, especially low prole tires, it is
very difcult to notice that a tire has started to deate or gone at, since the “feel” of
the vehicle does not change appreciably. Therefore, frequent visual and pressure
inspections are very necessary.
DO NOT OVERLOAD YOUR TIRES.
Check your vehicle tire placard to determine the tire load limits. Overloading your
vehicle places stress on your tires and other vehicle components. Overloading can
cause tire failure, due to the same overexing resulting from underination.
DO NOT SPIN YOUR TIRES EXCESSIVELY.
Avoid excessive spinning of the powered wheels when your vehicle is stuck in snow,
ice, mud, or sand. Depending on your vehicle’s drive train design, it is possible
for the tire to be spinning twice as fast as your speedometer indicates. SAFETY
WARNING: Never stand near or behind a tire that is spinning at high speed,
such as pushing a vehicle from behind or when an on-the-car spin balancer is
used. The centrifugal forces on a free spinning tire and wheel assembly may result
in tire explosion, vehicle damage, and personal injury or death. Never exceed 35
MPH (56 KPH) indicated on your speedometer. Use a gentle back and forth rocking
motion to free your vehicle for continued driving.
CHECK YOUR TIRES FOR WEAR.
Always remove your tires from service when they reach 2/32” (1.6mm) remaining
tread depth. Falken tires have a tread depth indicator bar at the base of tread
grooves that becomes apparent at 2/32” depth. If those bars are exposed, the area
will look smooth across the tread face.
Excessively worn tires have decreased wet weather traction, and continued use
may result in skidding and loss of control, and accident and personal injury or death.
Also, they may be more susceptible to tread penetrations and possible deation.
DO NOT APPLY SIDEWALL DRESSING OR HARSH
CHEMICAL CLEANERS.
Falken tire sidewalls are specially compounded to resist ozone and weather
cracking. Use of some dressings or cleaners may degrade rubber and remove
inherent ozone resistance, resulting in premature cracking or discoloration. Use a
mild soap solution to clean sidewalls and white lettering, and rinse with plain water.
CHECK YOUR TIRES FOR DAMAGE.
Frequent inspection of your tires for signs of damage and their general condition is
important for safety. If you have questions about tire condition, have your dealer
inspect them. Impact abrasions, penetrations, cracks, knots, bulges or unexplained
air loss always require tire removal and close expert inspection.
PROPER TIRE REPAIR.
Never perform a temporary or plug-type repair or use an inner tube as a substitute for a
proper repair. Only qualied persons should repair tires.
Repairs may only be made between the tread shoulders, and be for penetrations ¼”
or less in diameter. Repair only straight-through punctures, and ensure no tires are
repaired that show evidence of run-low wrinkling or heat deterioration, cutting, cracking,
separation, or other damage. Injuries to the sidewalls must not be repaired.
Repairs must fully seal the interior and ll the damage wound. You must use either a
patch-plug combination, or separately ll the wound with rubber and put a patch in the
interior, to ensure that neither air leaks out nor water enters the tire structure.
Repairs must be done from inside the tire, to ensure the tire is thoroughly inspected
for secondary damage and the tire is properly sealed. DO NOT USE PLUG REPAIRS
APPLIED FROM OUTSIDE THE TIRE WITHOUT DEMOUNTING.
Falken does not endorse or warrant any particular type of repair process. The repair is
entirely the responsibility of the repairer.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOUNT YOUR OWN TIRES.
SAFETY WARNING: Serious injury or death may result from explosion of the tire/rim
assembly due to improper mounting procedures. Tires should be mounted only by
properly trained persons using adequate mounting equipment.
Follow manufacturers instructions and match bead diameter to rim diameter. Lubricate
bead and rim mounting surfaces with standard tire lubricants. Do not use petroleum-
based lubricants, which may deteriorate the tires.
Lock the wheel on a mounting machine or place in a safety cage for ination. Do
not exceed 40 PSI (275kPa) to seat the beads. Stand away from the tire in case of
explosion. Never use a volatile substance to assist in seating the bead, as risk of tire
explosion is great.
NEVER MOUNT A “xx” SIZE DIAMETER TIRE ON A “xx . 5” RIM.
(Example: A 16” tire on a 16.5” rim.)
Mounting a xx” tire on a xx . 5” rim will most likely result in a tire explosion, which can
cause serious injury or death. While it is possible to initially pass a xx” tire over the
lip or ange of a xx . 5” diameter rim, it cannot possibly position itself properly against
the rim ange, which has a larger diameter. If an attempt is made to seat the bead by
inating the tire, the tire will break with explosive force.
DO NOT MIX TIRES OF DIFFERENT SIZES AND TYPES.
Falken and the RMA recommends use of four tires of the same type and size unless
otherwise specied for certain vehicle applications. WHEN REPLACING TIRES,
ALWAYS CONSULT VEHICLE, TIRE, AND RIM MANUFACTURERS’ REQUIREMENTS
FOR SAFETY.
FOLLOW THESE ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES: Fit newest tires on the rear axle. If
radials and non-radials must be tted to the same vehicle, t radials on the rear. If
different tire proles are tted on the same vehicle, use the widest tires on the rear axle.
When tting snow tires or all-season tires to vehicles, always t in sets of four, to avoid
handling problems in both snow and dry road conditions.
Never mix tires of different size or type on the same axle.
VEHICLE SUSPENSION, WHEEL ALIGNMENT, BALANCE,
TIRE ROTATION, AND TIRE CONDITION
Lack of rotation, worn suspension parts, underination/overination, wheel imbalance,
and misalignment may cause vibration and irregular tire wear. Rotate your tires every
5,000 miles. Directional tires should be rotated front-to-rear only, not crossed.
Speed ratings for Falken tires are determined for new tires using ECE 30 European
Indoor Testing procedures, and may not be valid for damaged, altered, repaired,
underinated, overloaded, excessively worn, or retreaded tires.
Falken does not recommend the use of any of its products in excess of legal speed
limits. Adverse driving conditions, such as rain, snow, or ice always require special
handling care and greatly reduced speeds.
TIRE UP-SIZING (“Plus-Sizing”) GUIDELINES & SAFETY WARNINGS
Every new vehicle sold in the USA is required to have a vehicle tire placard attached to
the door edge, door jamb, or glove box, which shows the original tire size, load capacity,
and recommended air pressure for the design dynamic loads on each axle.
When making a replacement tire choice, always rst check your placard to get the
original tire information – it is always possible that what you currently have mounted on
the vehicle is not original equipment.
Then, using the following Falken guidelines for tire replacement choose a new tire
size and load capacity that will meet or exceed the original requirements.
TIRE LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY:
Replacement tires must have a load carrying capacity equal to or greater than the
capacity of the original tires, at their recommended pressures. Using the wrong size
tire can lead to tire failure.
The door mounted tire information placard shows the size, load index, and
recommended pressures for each axle. While it is generally recommended that any
replacement tires have the same load index as the original tires, circumstances may
allow a lower load index, but only if the replacement tires can carry the same actual
loads as the original tires, although at different air pressures. Such a determination
requires a sophisticated analysis of the load and ination charts for the original and
prospective replacement tires, which should be done only by a trained tire professional.
We recommend you consult with Falken or an authorized dealer for guidance in
this area.
Additionally, Load Indexes may be “Standard” or “Reinforced”. Some Reinforced
ratings will require additional air pressure to carry the same loads as Standard ratings.
Consult Falken or an authorized dealer for specic guidance about air pressure
requirements for Reinforced Load Index tires.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: If you require different air pressures for your new tires
to carry the tire loads, you have the responsibility to ensure those pressures
are ALWAYS used.
We recommend you place an additional new tire information sticker (available from
Falken, or make your own) near your placard, with the new tire sizes and required
air pressures noted, so that any maintenance persons will know there has been
a change.
If that is not done or you do not personally check your pressures, there is a high risk
that your pressures will be set at the original requirements, and your tires will be
underinated, which can result in tire failure and accident.
TIRE SPEED RATINGS:
Replacement tires must have a speed rating equal to or greater than the rating of the
original tires to maintain vehicle speed capability. If the replacement tires are a lower
speed rating than shown on the vehicle tire placard, the vehicle speed capability is
restricted to that of the replacement tires.
You must choose a speed rating that meets your operating needs and ensure you do
not exceed the rated speed of your tires.
Also, while speed ratings are not a direct indicator of tire handling capabilities, it is
generally true that a higher rating may translate to different handling characteristics.
If you decrease the speed rating, you must ensure that you are familiar with the
handling characteristics of your vehicle and adjust your driving to the lower rating.
TIRE OVERALL DIAMETER:
As noted previously, vehicle manufacturers choose tires with a certain overall
diameter for the particular design vehicle. Vehicle systems such as ABS, odometer
speedometer, and onboard sensors and computers may be affected by a change
in overall diameter. Falken does not recommend use of tires that change your
vehicle design criteria.
If you choose a replacement tire size that exceeds your vehicle design criteria
range for tire diameter, you may have to alter vehicle systems, suspension,
and alignment to safely use it.
On Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) and light trucks, any increase in tire overall diameter,
and the lifting of vehicle suspension to accommodate the larger size, may result in
changes of vehicle ride height, with resultant changes in rollover characteristics,
braking distances, and handling. You must ensure any tire size and suspension
changes allow you to maintain safe operating control under all driving
conditions.
TIRE CARE AND MAINTENANCE GUIDE - IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
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