UTQG
Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established the Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (UTQGS) in 49 CFR 575.104.
The UTQG rating is made up of 3 components:
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 track. A tire graded 200 would wear twice as long on the government test course under specified test conditions as one graded 100. It is wrong to link treadwear grades with your projected tire mileage. The relative performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of their use and may vary due to driving habits, service practices, differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A, B and C. They represent the tire’s ability to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled conditions on specified government test surfaces of asphalt and concrete.
The temperature grades, from highest to lowest, are A, B and C. These represent the tire’s resistance to the generation of heat
Snow Dome
Snow Dome can refer to:
- Snowdome is the name of several indoor ski resorts located around the world.
- Snow Dome mountain (7,160m) near Concordia in Northern Areas of Pakistan
- Snow Dome mountain (5,029m) in Chaprot Pass in Northern Areas of Pakistan
- Snow Dome mountain (3,456m) in Alberta — British Columbia, Canada
Snow dome is also another name for:
- Snow globe
Chionodoxa luciliae
Chionodoxa luciliae (also known as Glory of the snow) is a small (3-6″) flower which grows from a hardy bulb and produces one of the earliest flowers of spring. Originally from Turkey, it is hardy in zones 3-8, sun or part shade. Chiodoxa seeds itself and will spread in beds that will later have other interest, like rose beds and so on.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the current preference in taxonomy (more accurate name) for this plant is Chionodoxa forbesii.
Red Snow
- This article is about the nuclear weapon Red Snow. Red snow is also a type of snow algae.
Red Snow was a British thermonuclear weapon. Its physics package was apparently similar, if not identical, to that of the United States W28 nuclear warhead used in the B28 nuclear bomb and AGM-28 Hound Dog missile, with an explosive yield of approximately 1 megaton.
The Red Snow warhead was developed after a September 1958 decision to adopt the US warhead for British use, following the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement. It entered service in 1961, remaining in use until 1972, when it was replaced by the WE.177 bomb. Perhaps 150 were produced.
Red Snow was used as both a free-fall bomb and as the warhead of the Blue Steel missile. In the gravity bomb role, it was fitted into the casing of the Yellow Sun weapon, even though the Red Snow warhead was considerably smaller than that of the original Yellow Sun bomb.
Treadwear rating
The Treadwear Grade of a tire is the numeric portion of the Uniform Tire Quality Grade Standards (UTQG) that are printed on the sidewall of a tire. These standards were enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is part of the United States Department of Transportation. Higher treadwear numbers indicate that the tread of a tire, and hence the tire itself, should last longer, although this is more true within a single product line than when comparing the product lines of different manufacturers.
The wear on tires that are being tested (”candidate tires”) is compared to the wear of Course Monitoring Tires (CMT), which are sold by the NHTSA at its UTQG test facility in San Angelo, Texas. Both types of tires are mounted on vehicles that will be driven in a convoy during the test, thus ensuring that the candidate tires and the CMT tires experience the same road conditions. The convoy, typically one of four or fewer vehicles, will drive 7200 miles on public roads in West Texas. Candidate tire wear will be checked during and after the test, and compared to the wear on the CMT tires from the same convoy.
The first CMTs were commercially-available Goodyear Custom Steelguards, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company produced all CMT tires from 1975 until 1984. From 1984 to 1991, the CMT tires were produced by Uniroyal. CMT tires are now “specially designed and built to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard E1136 to have particularly narrow limits of variability.” 1.
The treadwear grade describes how long the tire manufacturer expects the tire to last. A Course Monitoring Tire (the standard tire that a test tire will be compared to) has a rating of “100″. If a manufacturer assigns a treadwear rating of 200 to a new tire, they are indicating that they expect the new tire to have a useful lifespan that is 200% of the life of a Course Monitoring Tire.
The DOT does not test tires. It depends on manufacturers to test their own tires and report the results. Unfortunately, this system has made treadwear ratings far less useful than the DOT had originally intended because tire manufacturers are able to use the treadwear grade as a marketing tool.
It is legal and permissible for a manufacturer to give their tire a 240 rating when their competitor’s equivalent tire has a 220 rating; thus creating the false impression that the 240 tire is a better purchase because it will last longer. This tendency to inflate treadwear numbers has become so common that some manufacturers may report that ALL their tires have above average treadwear grades. Some are taking normal tires and reporting a treadwear of 600 or more, or giving a 220 rating to maximum performance tires with a reputation for poor tire life (e.g. the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar EMT).
TreadWear Grade
Below 200=15% of Tires
201 - 300=25% of Tires
301 - 400=32% of Tires
401 - 500=20% of Tires
501 - 600=6% of Tires
above 600=2% of Tires
Source: safercars.gov
In general, manufacturers tend to overstate the treadwear of their tires in an effort to create the impression that their tires last a long time. The exception to this is in competition racing tires, which customers expect to have very soft rubber compounds and very short lifespans. Manufacturers tend to give their race tires low treadwear numbers (often zero) to emphasize how soft and sticky their rubber is.
The ability of manufacturers to report their own numbers makes comparison of treadwear ratings between companies useless. Ratings may still be useful within a manufacturer’s own line of tires. For example, a customer can reasonably assume that the higher treadwear rating on a Dunlop SP 60 means it will last longer than the Dunlop SP Sport.
Jim Cooper (musician)
Jim Cooper (born in Princeton, Indiana) is a Christian musician, songwriter, and producer.
Cooper studied at Temple Christian Academy in his hometown. He joined legendary Christian rock band Petra, as a keyboard technician for John Lawry. He credits Lawry for being his mentor and teacher. In 1994 he joined in as their full-time keyboardist, upon Lawry’s retirement.
His arrival came in time for the release of No Doubt in 1995. He also contributed for the band’s second praise album, in 1997 before being fired for musical differences.
Cooper has contributed to several other artists with his songwriting and playing skills. He also started a production company with friend Brian Wooten (formerly of White Heart).
In 2005, Cooper became the project coordinator for Petra’s last album, the live recording of Petra Farewell.
Cold inflation pressure
Cold inflation pressure is the inflation pressure of tires before the car is driven and the tires warmed up. Recommended cold inflation pressure is displayed on the owner’s manual, the placard (or sticker) attached to the vehicle door edge, door post, glove box door or fuel door.
Snow Advisory
See Severe weather terminology for a comprehensive article on this term and related weather terms.
A Snow Advisory is issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when a low pressure system produces snow that may cause a significant pain in the ass, but does not meet warning criteria. The advisory criteria varies from area to area. Snow advisories are typically issued only when a storm system is expected to only produce snow in the advised area. Depending on the amount of snow that is expected, a Heavy Snow Warning can be issued for similar times, but when larger amounts of snow are expected. The exact border between a snow advisory and heavy snow warning varies throughout the country. If other forms of wintry precipitation are expected, then a Winter Weather Advisory or winter storm warning can be issued, also depending on the amount of precipitation that is expected.
Subnivean
Subnivean (or subniveal) refers to a zone that is in or under the snow layer.
Subnivean animals include small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, and lemmings that must rely on winter snow cover for survival. These mammals move under the snow for protection from heat loss and predators. In winter regions that do not have permafrost, the subnivean zone maintains a temperature of close to 32F (0C) regardless of the temperature above the snow cover, once the snow cover has reached a depth of six inches. The sinuous tunnels left by these small mammals can be seen when the snow melts to the final inch or so.
Winter predators such as foxes and large owls can hear their prey through the snow and pounce from above. Snowmobiles and ATVs can collapse the subnivean space, as can skis, snow shoes and bicycles.
Larger animals also utilize subnivean space. In the Arctic, ringed seals have closed spaces under the snow and above openings in the ice. In addition to resting and sleeping there, the female seals give birth to their pups on the ice. Female polar bears also den in snow caves to give birth to their young. Both types of dens are protected from exterior temperatures.
Winter World by Bernd Heinrich (2003) is an excellent resource on the ingenuity of animal survival in the seasonal cold weather of a Maine winter.
Chicken strips
- Chicken strips are also another name for chicken fingers.
A chicken strip is a sometimes derogatory term used to describe the width of unused tread on the edges of motorcycle tires, typically a sport bike.
A turning motorcycle must lean into the turn. The faster it is going or the sharper the turn, the farther the motorcycle must lean over. For a formula relating speed, turn radius, and lean angle, see Bicycle and motorcycle physics. As the motorcycle leans, the tires’ contact patches move farther to the side causing wear. The chicken strip is the amount of unworn tread caused by a motorcyclist being considered too chicken to go faster through a turn and thereby lean the motorcycle farther over.
This is frequently used as a derogatory term deriving from the term chicken. Hence, chicken strips mark an inexperienced motorcyclist who is afraid to lean a motorcycle far enough to wear the edges of the tire. It should be noted however that due to the handling capabilities of many modern motorcycles, and the vagaries of road condition, it is not advisable to exploit outer handling limits on public roads. On a closed race circuit, however, a rider is expected to use the edges of the tires on turns in order to stay competitive.
