SMART fortwo coupe Operator's Manual page 135

In addition to the tire load rating, special
load identification : may be molded into
the tire sidewall following the letter
designating the tire speed rating B
Y
( page 131).
No specification given: absence of any text
(like in above example) indicates a
standard load (SL) tire.
XL or Extra Load: designates an extra load
(or reinforced) tire.
Light Load: designates a light load tire.
C, D, E: designates load range associated
with the maximum load a tire can carry at a
specified pressure.
DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN)
U.S. tire regulations require each new tire
manufacturer or tire retreader to mold a
TIN into or onto a sidewall of each tire
produced.
The TIN is a unique identifier which
facilitates efforts by tire manufactures to
notify purchasers in recall situations or
other safety matters concerning tires and
gives purchasers the means to easily
identify such tires.
The TIN is comprised of "Manufacturer's
identification mark" ;, "Tire size" =,
"Tire type code" ?, and "Date of
manufacture" A.
i
For illustration purposes only. Actual
data on tires are specific to each vehicle
and may vary from data shown in above
illustration.
DOT (Department of Transportation)
Tire branding symbol : which denotes the
tire meets requirements of the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
Manufacturer's identification mark
Manufacturer's identification mark ;
denotes the tire manufacturer.
New tires have a mark with two symbols.
Retreaded tires have a mark with four
symbols. For more information on
Y
retreaded tires ( page 118).
Tire size
Code = indicates the tire size.
Tire type code
Tire type code ? may, at the option of the
manufacturer, be used as a descriptive
code for identifying significant
characteristics of the tire.
Date of manufacture
Date of manufacture A identifies the week
and year of manufacture.
The first two figures identify the week,
starting with "01" to represent the first
full week of the calendar year. The second
two figures represent the year.
For example, "3202" represents the 32nd
week of 2002.
Tires and wheels
133
Z