Posted on: Friday, February 13, 2004
Data shows tires wear better, last 6 times longer
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Tires are better at resisting wear than they were in 2000, when Firestone recalled millions of tires that were prone to lose their tread and blow out, according to federal data released yesterday.
But tire ratings for traction performance and heat resistance have seen little change since 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
Six percent of tires rated between a 500 and a 600 on resisting wear this year, meaning they can last four to six times longer than a basic tire, and at least 25 tires had a rating of 700 or higher. In 2000, there were hardly any tires with a 600 and no tires with a 700.
NHTSA has been rating tires since 1980, but made its Web site easier to search this year in response to a call from Congress to make tire information readily available to consumers. There are ratings for more than 2,200 tires, including some that have been discontinued but may still be on store shelves.
"The more information they have, the better choices they're going to make," said Daniel Zielinski of the Rubber Manufacturers Association, which represents tire manufacturers.
Three percent of tires got the highest "AA" rating for traction and 75 percent earned an "A" rating in 2004, about the same as in 2000. Traction is tested on a wet surface in a straight line; NHTSA doesn't test the tire's performance in a sharp curve.
The majority of tires — 59 percent — were rated "B" for heat resistance in 2004. Fourteen percent of tires got the lowest rating of "C," the same rating as the Firestone Wilderness AT tire that was recalled in 2000. Tire heat was a contributing factor in some of the 271 U.S. traffic deaths linked to Firestone tires, most of which happened in hot climates.
Manufacturers do their own tire tests, comparing their tires to a NHTSA control tire, and then place the ratings on the sidewalls of their tires. NHTSA does spot checks throughout the year to make sure ratings are accurate, spokesman Rae Tyson said.
