Tire Code

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Automobile tires are described by an alphanumeric code which is generally molded into the side-wall of the tire. This code specifies the dimensions of the tire and some of its key limitations such as load bearing ability and maximum speed. Sometimes the inner sidewall contains information not included on the outer sidewall, and vice versa.

The code has grown in complexity over the years as is evident from the mix of metric and imperial units and ad-hoc extensions to lettering and numbering schemes. New automotive tires frequently have ratings for traction, treadwear, and temperature resistance (collectively known as UTQG ratings). The code gives a direct calculation of Speedometer#Error.

The meaning of tire codes

The tire code consists of a string of letters and numbers, as follows:

An optional letter (or letters) indicating the intended use or vehicle class for the tire:

P-1 – Passenger
LT – Light Truck
ST – Special Trailer
T – Temporary

3 digit number - The width of the tire in millimeters, from sidewall edge to sidewall edge.
/ - Slash character
2 digit number - The ratio of the sidewall height to the total width of the tire as a percentage. If this is missing, it is assumed to be 82%. If the number is larger than 200, then this is the diameter of the entire tire in millimeters.
Construction of the fabric of the tire:

B – bias belt
D – diagonal
R – radial

2 digit number - Diameter in inches of the rim

that this tire is designed to fit.

2 or 3 digit number - Load index; see table below.
1 or 2 digit/letter combo - Speed rating; see

table below.

Additional marks - See subheading below.

Load Index The load index on a tire is a numerical code associated withthe maximum load the tires can carry.

{| class="wikitable"|+Load Index|-!Code|Pounds|Kilograms| !Code|Pounds|Kilograms|-!71|761|345|!91|1,356|615|-!72|783|355|!92|1,389|630|-!73|805|365|!93|1,433|650|-!74|827|375|!94|1,477|670|-!75|853|387|!95|1,521|690|-!76|882|400|!96|1,565|710|-!77|908|412|!97|1,609|730|-!78|937|425|!98|1,653|750|-!79|963|437|!99|1,709|775|-!80|992|450|!100|1,764|800|-!81|1,019|462|!101|1,819|825|-!82|1,047|475|!102|1,874|850|-!83|1,074|487|!103|1,929|875|-!84|1,102|500|!104|1,984|900|-!85|1,135|515|!105|2,039|925|-!86|1,168|530|!106|2,094|950|-!87|1,201|545|!107|2,149|975|-!88|1,235|560|!108|2,205|1,000|-!89|1,279|580|!109|2,271|1,030|-!90|1,323|600|!110|2,337|1,060|}

Speed rating codes The code is made up of one or two letters, or one letter and one number. It indicates the maximum speed that the tire can sustain for a ten minute endurance without being a danger.

{| class="wikitable"|+Tire speed rating codes|-!Code|mph|km/h|!Code|mph|km/h|-!A1|3|5|!L|75|120|-!A2|6|10|!M|81|130|-!A3|9|15|!N|87|140|-!A4|12|20|!P|94|150|-!A5|16|25|!Q|100|160|-!A6|19|30|!R|106|170|-!A7|22|35|!S|112|180|-!A8|25|40|!T|118|190|-!B|31|50|!U|124|200|-!C|37|60|!H|130|210|-!D|40|65|!VR|over 130|over 210|-!E|43|70|!V|149|240|-!F|50|80|!Z|over 149|over 240|-!G|56|90|!W|168|270|-!J|62|100|!Y|186|300|-!K|68|110|!ZR|over 186|over 300|}

Codes VR and ZR appear in place of R in the size designation. Still, a maximum speed letter may appear after the weight code placing a corresponding limit.

Additional marks There are numerous other markings on a typical tire, these may include:

M+S - Mud and Snow; winter/all-weather tires with above-average traction in muddy or snowy conditions. Spike tires have an additional letter, "E" (M+SE).
BSW - Black SideWall
WSW - White SideWall
E4 - Tire approved according ECE-regulations, the number indicating the country of approval.
030908 - Approval number of the tire
DOT code - All tires imported into the USA have the Tire#DOT_Code, as required by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). It specifies the company, factory, mold, batch, and date of production (2 digits for week of the year plus 2 digits for year; or 2 digits for week of the year plus 1 digit for year for tires made prior to 2000)
TL - Tubeless
TT - Tube-type, tire with an inner-tube
Made in - Country of production
C - Commercial; tires for light trucks (Example: 185 R14 C)
B - Bias belted; tires for motorcycles (Example: 150/70 B 17 69 H)=diagonal construction with belt added under the tread
SFI - Side Facing Inwards; inside of asymmetric tires
SFO - Side Facing Outwards; outside of asymmetric tires
TWI - Tread Wear Indicator; a device in the main tire profile which shows when the tire is worn down and needs to be replaced
SL - Standard Load; tire for normal usage and loads
XL - eXtra Load; tire for heavy loads
RF - Reinforced tires
Arrows - Some tread designs are designed to perform better when driven in a specific direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise). Such tires will have an arrow showing which way the tire should rotate when the vehicle is moving forwards. It is important not to put a 'clockwise' tire on the left hand side of the car or a 'counter-clockwise' tire on the right side.

To facilitate proper balancing, most high performance tyre manufacturers in addition place red (uniformity) and yellow (weight) marks on the sidewalls of its tyres to enable the best possible match-mounting of the tyre/wheel assembly.

Tire geometry When referring to the purely geometrical data, a shortened form of the full notation is used. To take a common example, 195/55R16 would mean that the width of the tire is 195 mm at the widest point, the height of the side-wall of the tire is 55% of the width (107 mm in this example) and that the tire fits 16 inch diameter wheels. The code gives a direct calculation of Speedometer#Error.

Less commonly used in the USA and Europe (but often in Japan for example) is a notation that indicates the full tire diameter instead of the side-wall height. To take the same example, a 16 inch wheel would have a diameter of 406 mm. Adding twice the tire height (2x107 mm) makes a total 620 mm tire diameter. Hence, a 195/55R16 tire might alternatively be labelled 195/620R16.

Whilst this is theoretically ambiguous, in practice these two notations may easily be distinguished because the height of the side-wall of an automotive tire is typically much less than the width. Hence when the height is expressed a percentage of the width, it is almost always less than 100% (and certainly less than 200%). Conversely, vehicle tire diameters are always larger than 200 mm. Therefore, if the second number is more than 200, then it is almost certain the Japanese notation is being used - if it's less than 200 then the US/European notation is being used.

Example The tires on a BMW MINI might be labelled:

P195/55R16 85H

'P' these tires are for a passenger vehicle.
195 – the width of the tire is 195 mm at the widest point.
55 – indicates that the height of the side-wall of the tire is 55% of the width - 107 mm.
R – this is a radial tire.
16 – this tire fits 16 inch diameter wheels.
85 – the load index, a maximum of 515 kg per wheel in this case.
H – the speed index, this means the maximum permitted speed, here 210 km/h (130 mph).