Marking of automobile tires and its decoding

The car in the modern world has long ceased to be a luxury (except that status types and brands). New models appear more and more often, together with them the quantity of "footwear" for them increases also. To somehow navigate their diversity, it is not enough just to know the width of the tire and its diameter, you need a number of other parameters. To understand all this pile of data, the marking of automobile tires was developed. It is somewhat different in European and American manufacturers, but not so drastically.

European marking of automobile tires

On the lateral surface of each tire there are a number of symbols in which all the data about it is encoded. For example, decipher the inscription 175/70 R13 82 T:

• 175/70 (meaning millimeters) - the width of the tire and the recommended width of the rim. Number 70 (meaning%) - the ratio of height and width, i.e. The height of the tire is 70% of its width. In some markings this part is missed (185 R14 C 102 Q), which means that this tire has a ratio of 80% to 82%. Such tires are called full-profile tires.
• The letter "R" denotes the type of construction (not the radius) - in this case radial. There is also a construction with a tether cord (denoted by the Latin letter "B") and a diagonal (denoted "D"), but it is very rare.
• The number 13 (inches) indicates the outer diameter of the disc on which the tire is recommended to be installed, or, respectively, the inside diameter of the tire.
• The following numbers 8 and 2 denote the index or load factor. There are tables that show the correspondence of the index and the maximum load in kilograms that the tire withstands. But there is a general tendency - the higher the ratio, the greater the load the tire can withstand. This information is relevant for trucks, minibuses and buses.
• Then follows the letter information. In our case this is "T". This is the designation of the maximum speed at which the tire parameters are saved (correspondence is also tabulated).

American Marking of Automobile Tires

The designations made by the Americans differ in the alphabetic characters before the digital information: LT 235/75 R 15. These symbols contain the decoding of the type of auto for which the tire is designed:

• LT - for light trucks;
• P - passenger car;
• C - special tires for trailers;
• T - temporary tires.

There is also an American specific marking of automobile tires: 31x10.5 R15. Here 31 (in.) Is the outer diameter of the tire, 10.5 (indicated in inches) is its width, R is the radial type of construction, 15 (inches) is the inside diameter of the tire.

There are some more signs that indicate the tires. For example:

• AS, All Season, M + S, Aw, M & S are all designations for all-weather tires.
• Aquacontact, Aquatred, Rain, Aqua, Water or a painted umbrella - special tires for rain.
• Painted snowflake - for use at low temperatures and with an abundance of snow.

There are many different notations. It's not an easy task - marking tires. And the interpretation of the notation can take a long time if you are not an expert. Maybe you should trust professionals who will be able to advise you several options, from which you choose the most suitable for you? Marking tires of trucks has its own characteristics, here without professional advice can not do exactly.