How to Read Your Tires
Over the last couple of weeks, I've had a few PMs asking about tires. I thought I should do a quick write-up on how to read your tires and what the information on them means.
Tire Size On every tire, the size is written is in a three part format. For example, alot of stock Mitsus come with the tire size 205 55 16. Part 1 - 205 - This is the width of the tread, in millimeters. Moving to a 215 tire means the tread is 10 millimeters wider than a 205. Part 2 - 55 - This is the aspect ratio This equals the sidewall height, in aspect to the width of the tire. In this example, the sidewall height is 55% of the tire's width. Part 3 - 16 - This, in inches, is the rim diameter. If you are thinking about getting a set of tires that are not the stock size, you can use a few online tire calculators to get information about the new size versus the old size. Here are a couple links. http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp http://www.tiresizecalculator.info/ http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html Load Index and Speed Index Normally, after the tire size, are a couple of other numbers. This is the tire's load and speed rating. The first number is the Load Index. The load rating basically means, per tire, what that tire is rated for weight. Please refer to this chart of tirerack.com for specific ratings. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=35 The second number is the speed index. This is the (recommended) maximum speed that this tire should ever travel at. We all know here that none of us ever go over the posted speed limit ;), but this is good information to know. M - 81 mph N - 87 mph P - 93 mph Q - 99 mph R - 106 mph S - 112 mph T - 118 mph U - 124 mph H - 130 mph V - 149 mph DOT Codes On every tire sold in the US is a set of number and letters (up to 12 characters in length). For example MT1B 18HR 4808 The first two sets of characters are codes that denote the manufacturer of tire, and the plant is was made in. The third set of characters can be very important when purchasing new tires. The third set of characters will always be numbers. This is the week of the year and the year the tire was manufactured. 4808 means the tire was manufactured during the 48th week of 2008. Prior to 2000, some DOT codes just ended with one number. 349 would mean the tire was manufactured during the 34th week of 1999. Before buying a set of tires, any reputable shop will let you look at the DOT codes before you purchase them. Arguments about buying a tire that was constructed more than a couple of years ago go both ways. Some people state that older tires have no problems, while others say that older tires may be brittle. I personally agree with the latter. I would not purchase a tire that is a couple of years old and never mounted. UTQG This stands for Uniform Tire Quality Grading, which is a rating system developed by the Department of Transportation. The following is taken from Goodyear.com Quote:
Lastly, just because I get alot of questions about this at the shop, this is the maximum tire pressure rated for the tire. This is not the pressure the tire is supposed to be normally inflated to. This is the maximum pressure that the tire can safely hold. On most vehicles, the recommended tire pressure for a vehicle is listed on a sticker in the driver's door jam, or can be found in the vehicle's owner's manual. Any questions, feel free to ask. |
Re: How to Read Your Tires
Good info!
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Re: How to Read Your Tires
Thanks Pete!
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Re: How to Read Your Tires
Good info
Sticky icky this biatch! |
Re: How to Read Your Tires
Quote:
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Re: How to Read Your Tires
This is good info! Thanks for the writeup Piotrek. :)
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Re: How to Read Your Tires
You are the mutha f(*kin man!
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