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This guide is to help you understand how to read and decipher a tire's sidewall. This guide refers to any size tire from your factory 13" tires on your Honda, to your 26" low pro's on your Escalade, and every size in between.

I am writing this guide to help you understand what all the writing on a tire's sidewall means. My goal with this guide is to help you become an informed buyer when making your tire buying decisions. Hopefully this will help you get the tires you want and need without any regrets.

BRAND:

First we will start off with the easiest and most obvious writing on a tire, the manufacturer's name. The manufacturer of any tire puts their name on each tire they make. Whether it be Pirelli, Cooper, Hankook, Falken, Kuhmo, Goodyear, or Nitto, they all want you to know they made that particular tire. If you walk by your favorite 4x4 truck at a car show, sitting 5 feet off the ground, you will probably check out what brand tires are on it, or if you see a Hummer sitting on 28" wheels, you might look at the tire brand as well. This is free advertising for the company.

SIZE:

Next we will talk about one of the most important numbers on a tire, the size. The size refers to the width of the tire, the diameter of wheel the tires go on, and the height of the sidewall. The numbers will look similar to the following: P255/35/ZR20, here is how the numbers are translated;

P - This shows the tires are for a passenger car. You may also see LT, which would be for a light truck.

255 - This is the width of the tire, from sidewall to sidewall, measured in millimeters. This tire would be 255 mm wide

35 - This is the ratio of the tires sidewall height, compared to the tires width. This tires sidewall would be 35% of the tires width.

Z - This would be the speed rating of the tire. This is a rating of the tires top recommended operating speed. A "Z" rated tire is a high speed tire.

R - This refers to the construction of a tires body. In this case it would be a radial tire. B would be a bias ply tire.

20 - This number refers to the size of wheel this tire would mount to. This tire would go on a 20" wheel.

OTHER MARKINGS:

There are other marking that are on a tires sidewall that are important as well.

Load Rating - This number will show you what the maximum load the tires can support is when properly inflated. This will be listed as a number for example (97Z). It will also be printed on the tire in pounds or killograms (or both).

Maximum Pressure - This will tell you the maximum pressure for a cold inflated tire, rated in psi. This will look just as it sounds: Max Press. 35psi.

DOT Serial Number - The tire may have a DOT serial number. This is a set of numbers and letters that basically tells where the tire was made, that the tire meets or exceeds the DOT's safety standards, the tire size, the brand of the tire, and the date the tire was manufactered.

Treadwear, Traction, and Temperature:

Now we will talk about another important marking that will help you decide if these tires are worth the money, the treadwear, traction, and temperature. These marking are found on the tire, or the sticker that comes on brand new tires. This is a rating system that the US Government established, called the UTQGS or Uniform Tire Quality Grading System. It is a basically a test of the tires.

Treadwear - This is rated with a number. It basically is used to rate the wear of the tire, or how long the tread will last. A tire rated at 300 treadwear should last twice as long as a tire with a 150 treadwear rating. A 400 rated tire should last twice as long as a 200 rated tire, etc... This would obviously depend on the way the tires are driven on, and that you keep them at their proper air pressure. If you like to do burnouts and drag race your friends off every stoplight on half flat 400 rated tires, your 400 rated tires might not last as long as Grandma's 200 rated tires.

Traction - Traction is rated as a number. The number will show the tires ability to stop a car on wet pavement. The ratings will be shown as either AA, A, B, or C. The "AA" grade is the best, while "C" would be the lowest grade. This is only a test of straight on stopping, not cornering ability.

Temperature - This is also rated with a letter. This shows the tires abilitly to resist and disapate heat. The tire will be rated either A, B, or C. "A" being the highest rating (coolest) "C" being the lowest (hotter). This is rated while the tires are their proper pressure, and not overloaded.

One thing to remember is these test are rated by the tire companies. Since some tire companies rate their tires more strictly than others, you would only want to use these numbers to compare tires from a single manufacturer, not from manufacturer to manufacturer. These will give you a decent idea of what you are spending your money on.

That comes to an end of the guide. We hope by reading this you are more familiar with the markings on the sidewall of a tire. Our goal is to help you become informed about what you are buying, and in turn know and buy exactly what you are looking for. Please rate this guide helpful if you learned anything from it. Also be sure to check out our other wheel related guides.

Thanks for reading the guide. Wheels 4 You takes personal time to write each and every one of our guides. We offer this service to show appreciation to our customers. Please remember to check out Wheels 4 You's eBay store for all your wheel and tire needs. As always, we offer the best price, great service, and fastest answers to your emails.

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