Deciphering Sidewall Graffiti - What Those Tire Codes Mean

Does sidewall graffiti on tires hold any secrets? Author Douglas Adams could be intrigued at the notion, but the truth is that tire codes just tell consumers about the tire’s wear, construction, size, and speed rating. Using the right size tires for your car is an essential part of getting probably the most from your vehicle and increasing mpg. Thanks to our friends at Edmunds, here’s your official cheat sheet for breaking down the mystery of the tire codes on your daily commuter or weekend joy-rider. You’ll have that sidewall graffiti figured out in no time and only have to worry about coming to Car Deal Expert the next time you are in need of automobile loan.

Article Source: Deciphering sidewall graffiti – What those tire codes mean?

If your tires could talk – sidewall graffiti

Let’s use this tire code as our sample -205/55R 16 89V. Let's see how this would break down:

• First 205 – Which measures the millimeter distance between sidewall edges, this is the tire's section width. The bigger the number, the fatter the tire.
• Second there's 55 – The aspect ratio that compares section height to width. In this case, the section (or sidewall) height is 55 percent of the section width. The lower the number, the shorter the sidewall meaning improved handling.
• Third R – This is the tire’s construction, in this case radial. Radial has been the standard for the past 20 years, but certain trucks still use the exact same old bias-play construction.
• Fourth 16 ­– In inches, this is the rim diameter. If you choose to buy new tires, this number will nevertheless have to match.
• 89 – This is the load index, which is translatable via the Maximum Load-Carrying Capacity Per Tire chart. Here, “89″ equates to 1,279 pounds (580 kilograms) per tire. Get the total weight capacity of a set of tires by multiplying the weight by four.
• Sixth V – This is the speed rating, which tells you maximum recommended speed a tire is designed to accept over an extended period of time. With "V" a car can go 149 mph for a time frame. Your tires might explode if you go over that a lot more than a couple of minutes. For different speed codes, see the link at the bottom of the article.

Other things to consider in your sidewall graffiti

Edmunds suggests that there may be other information, such as a DOT (Department of Transportation) number that helps the DOT track production numbers within the case of a recall. A being the best, a traction rating of A, B, or C might available as well. You might see the word "TREADWEAR" with the numbers 180 or 120 along the side. Standard is 100 meaning 180 can maintain tread for 80 percent longer. Other scales may be used, but in general, if the number is high instead of low, tread life can be longer.

Citations

Douglas Adams

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams

Edmunds

http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/43859/article.html

radial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial_tire

Maximum Load-Carrying Capacity Per Tire

http://www.kaltire.com/retail/about_your_tires/loadchart.php

speed codes, see the link at the bottom of the article

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35