Table of Contents
Advertisement
llffll.,___
T _ ir _ e _s _ a _n_ d _ w _ h _e_ e_l_ s _________________________________________________
_
S idewa ll
means that port ion of a tire between the tread and bead .
Speed
ra tin g <lett e r co d e)
means the speed at which a tire is designed to be driven for
extended periods of time. The ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/ h) => page 219. You may not f ind th is informa -
tion on all tires because it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, where applicable, is mo lded on the tire
sidewa ll and indicates the maximum perm issible road speeds=>
&
in "Winter tires" on page 222.
Tir e pr essu re m o nit o rin g sys tem
means a system that detects when one or more of a vehicle 's tires
are under inflated and illuminates a low tire pressure warning te ll-
tale .
Trea d
means that portion of a tire that comes into contact with the road.
Trea d sepa ra ti o n
means pu lling away of the tread from the tire carcass.
Tr ea d wea r indi ca t or s (TWI)
means the projections within the princ ipa l grooves designed to give
a visual indication of the degrees of wear of the tread. See
=>
page 217, "Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)" for more informa t ion on
measuring tire wear.
Uniform
Tire Q ua lit y G ra din g
is a tire information system deve loped by the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm in istration (NHTSA) t hat is designed to
help buyers make relative comparisons among tires. The UTQG is
not a safety rati ng and not a guarantee t hat a tire wil l last for a
prescribed number of miles or perform in a certain way . It simply
gives ti re buyers additiona l info rmation to comb ine with other
considerations,
such as price, brand loyalty and dea ler recommen-
dations . Under UTQG, tires are graded by the tire manufacturers
in
t hree areas : treadwear, tract ion and tempera t ure resistance. The
UTQG information
on the tires, molded into the sidewalls.
U .S . D OT Tire Id e ntifi ca ti o n Numb e r (TIN )
This is the tire's "seria l number" It begins with the letters "DOT" and
indicates that the tire meets all federa l standards. The next t wo
numbers or letters indicate the plant where it was manufactured,
and t he last four numbers represent the week and year of manufac -
ture. For example,
DOT ... 2210 ...
means t hat the tire was produced in the 22th week of 2010. The
other numbers are marketing codes that may or may not be used by
t he tire manufacturer. This informat ion is used to contac t
consumers if a tire defect requires a reca ll.
V ehicle
c apacity
wei g ht
means the rated cargo and luggage load plus 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
t imes t he vehicle's tota l seating capaci t y as listed on the label
located on the driver's side B-pillar.
V eh icle ma x imum
lo a d on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is determined by distrib -
ut ing t o each axle its share of the m aximum loaded vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
V ehi c le norm a l lo a d o n the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is determined by distrib -
uting to each axle its share of the curb weight, accessory we ight,
and normal occupant weight (distributed
in accordance with table
b elow => page 211) and divid ing by two .
~
Advertisement
Table of Contents
