Kia Optima 2017 Owner's Manual page 658

Maintenance
2. Tire size designation
A tire's sidewall is marked with a tire
size designation. You will need this in‐
formation when selecting replacement
tires for your vehicle. The following ex‐
plains what the letters and numbers in
the tire size designation mean.
Example tire size designation: (These
numbers are provided as an example
only; your tire size designator could
vary depending on your vehicle.)
P235/55R19 108T
P - Applicable vehicle type (tires
marked with the prefix P'' are
intended for use on passenger
vehicles or light trucks; how‐
ever, not all tires have this
marking).
235 - Tire width in millimeters.
55 - Aspect ratio. The tire's section
height as a percentage of its
width.
R - Tire construction code (Radi‐
al).
19 - Rim diameter in inches.
108 - Load Index, a numerical code
associated with the maximum
load the tire can carry.
T - Speed Rating Symbol. See the
speed rating chart below for
additional information.
8-72
Wheel size designation
Wheels are also marked with important
information that you need if you ever
have to replace one. The following ex‐
plains what the letters and numbers in
the wheel size designation mean.
Example wheel size designation:
7.5JX19
7.5 - Rim width in inches.
J - Rim contour designation.
19 - Rim diameter in inches.
Tire speed ratings
The chart below lists many of the dif‐
ferent speed ratings currently being
used for passenger car tires. The speed
rating is part of the tire size designa‐
tion on the sidewall of the tire. This
symbol corresponds to that tire's de‐
signed maximum safe operating speed.
Speed
Rating Maximum Speed
Symbol
S 180 km/h (112 mph)
T 190 km/h (118 mph)
H 210 km/h (130 mph)
V 240 km/h (149 mph)
Speed
Rating Maximum Speed
Symbol
Above 240 km/h (149
Z
mph)
3. Checking tire life (TIN: Tire
Identification Number)
Any tires that are over 6 years old,
based on the manufacturing date, (in‐
cluding the spare tire) should be re‐
placed by new ones. You can find the
manufacturing date on the tire sidewall
(possibly on the inside of the wheel),
displaying the DOT Code. The DOT Code
is a series of numbers on a tire consist‐
ing of numbers and English letters. The
manufacturing date is designated by
the last four digits (characters) of the
DOT code.
DOT : XXXX XXXX OOOO
The front part of the DOT means a
plant code number, tire size and tread
pattern and the last four numbers indi‐
cate week and year manufactured.
For example:
DOT XXXX XXXX 1616 represents that
the tire was produced in the 16th week
of 2016.