Front Tire Inspection Procedure

NOTE:
This inspection procedure is ONLY for Bridgestone 225/50R17 Potenza RE040 or Bridgestone 225/45R18 Potenza RE040 tires, original or replacements.

1. Make sure the pressure in all four tires is 35 P.S.I. cold.

^ It is absolutely critical (very important) that the tire pressure is set and maintained at 35 psi cold in order to "maximize" tire life.

^ If the tire pressure is below 35 P.S.I. cold, the tires may wear sooner, which can lead to increased noise.

NOTE:
Perform the following steps on both front tires ONLY. You do NOT need to perform these steps on the rear tires.

2. Raise the vehicle on a hoist.

3. Measure the tire in several locations as follows:

NOTE:
To do this procedure, you'll need:

^ Piece of chalk





^ Tread Check Kit J-47132 (see Figure 1). This Kit is essential to perform this procedure and was previously sent to each dealer.





A. Use the chalk to mark the inner and outer tire sidewalls in four locations (each side). See Figure 2 below.

Put a letter at the following points:

^ Letter "A" at the rotation arrow

^ Letter "B" at the 3 0'clock position

^ Letter "C" at the 6 0'clock position

^ Letter "D" at the 9 O'clock position





B. At each location that you just marked, use Gauge "A" (0.45 mm) to check the height difference between two large tread lugs (closest to each reference point A, B, C, D) as follows. See Figure 3.

NOTE:
Tread Check Gauge "B" contained in the Tread Check Kit shown in Figure 1 is not used in this tire inspection procedure.

IMPORTANT:
Don't measure the small tread lugs (see Figure 3). ONLY measure large tread lugs.

1) Lay the metal ruler across two large tread lugs and along the edge of the Water Channel (see Figure 3).

2) Firmly press down on the ruler at the number 1 and number 2 positions as shown in Figure 3.

3) Use Gauge "A" (0.45 mm) to check the height difference between the two tread lugs (see Figure 3).

NOTE:
Mark all your check results at the bottom of the Tire Tread Check Sheet (see Figure 4).

-> If the height difference between ALL the tread lugs you checked is LESS than 0.45 mm, look for other causes of the noise.

-> If the height difference between ANY two tread lugs is MORE than 0.45 mm, replace both front tires. Refer to the Front Tire Replacement Procedure.

NOTE:
If the front tires are replaced, attach a copy of the Tire Tread Check Sheet (completely filled out at the bottom) to the Repair Order. If you don't do this, the warranty claim may be debited.





TIRE TREAD CHECK SHEET