Tire Sidewall Labeling - Saturn ASTRA 2009 Manual

9-42 Vehicle Service and Care

Tire Sidewall Labeling

Useful information about a tire
is molded into its sidewall.
The examples below show a
typical passenger vehicle tire and
a compact spare tire sidewall.
Passenger (P-Metric) Tire
Example
(A) Tire Size The tire size is
:
a combination of letters and
numbers used to define a
particular tire's width, height,
aspect ratio, construction type,
and service description.
See the "Tire Size" illustration
later in this section for more
detail.
(B) TPC Spec (Tire
Performance Criteria
Specification) Original
:
equipment tires designed to
GM's specific tire performance
criteria have a TPC specification
code molded onto the sidewall.
GM's TPC specifications meet
or exceed all federal safety
guidelines.
(C) DOT (Department of
Transportation) The
:
Department of Transportation
(DOT) code indicates that
the tire is in compliance with
the U.S. Department of
Transportation Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards.
(D) Tire Identification Number
(TIN) The letters and numbers
:
following DOT (Department
of Transportation) code is the
Tire Identification Number (TIN).
The TIN shows the manufacturer
and plant code, tire size, and
date the tire was manufactured.
The TIN is molded onto both
sides of the tire, although only
one side may have the date
of manufacture.
(E) Tire Ply Material
:
of cord and number of plies in the
sidewall and under the tread.
(F) Uniform Tire Quality
Grading (UTQG) Tire
:
manufacturers are required to
grade tires based on three
performance factors: treadwear,
traction, and temperature
resistance. For more information
see Uniform Tire Quality
Grading on page 9-57.
(G) Maximum Cold Inflation
Load Limit Maximum load
:
that can be carried and
the maximum pressure needed
to support that load.
The type