7-44
Maintenance
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
designation on the sidewall of the
tire. This symbol corresponds to that
tire's designed maximum safe oper-
ating speed.
3. Checking tire life (TIN : Tire
Identification Number)
Any tires that are over six years old,
based on the manufacturing date,
should be replaced 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 designat-
ed 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 num-
bers indicate week and year manu-
factured.
For example:
DOT XXXX XXXX 1614 represents
that the tire was produced in the 16th
week of 2014.
4. Tire ply composition and
material
The number of layers or plies of rub-
ber-coated fabric in the tire. Tire
manufacturers also must indicate the
materials in the tire, which include
steel, nylon, polyester, and others.
The letter "R" means radial ply con-
struction; the letter "D“ means diago-
nal or bias ply construction; and the
letter "B" means belted-bias ply con-
struction.
5. Maximum permissible infla-
tion pressure
This number is the greatest amount
of air pressure that should be put in
the tire. Do not exceed the maximum
permissible inflation pressure. Refer
to the Tire and Loading Information
label for recommended inflation
pressure.
Speed
Rating
Symbol
Maximum Speed
S
112 mph (180 km/h)
T
118 mph (190 km/h)
H
130 mph (210 km/h)
V
149 mph (240 km/h)
Z
Above 149 mph (240 km/h)
Summary of Contents for Tucson 2015
Page 353: ...I Index I...
