Kia CERATO 2018 Owner's Manual page 508

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 ex‐
ample only; your tire size designator
could vary depending on your vehicle.)
P205/55R16 94H
P - Applicable vehicle type (tires
marked with the prefix P are
intended for use on passenger
cars or light trucks; however,
not all tires have this marking).
205 - Tire width in millimeters.
55 - Aspect ratio. The tire s section
height as a percentage of its
width.
R - Tire construction code (Radial).
16 - Rim diameter in inches.
94 - Load Index, a numerical code
associated with the maximum
load the tire can carry.
H - Speed Rating Symbol. See the
speed rating chart in this sec‐
tion for additional information.
8-50
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
6.5JX16
6.5 - Rim width in inches.
J - Rim contour designation.
16 - 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)
*1
W speed rating is sub-category of
the Z speed rating.
Speed
Rating
Symbol
Z
*1
W
designation:
*1
W speed rating is sub-category of
the Z speed rating.
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:
Maximum Speed
Above 240 km/h (149
mph)
270 km/h (168 mph)