Have you ever wondered about all those markings that are present on the sidewalls of your vehicle’s tires? Many people have seen those numerical values, but do not understand what they truly stand for. In this brief discussion, we will consider the same – to help you choose the best replacement tire for your vehicle after understanding the existing values that are already present in the worn out tires. For the sake of this discussion, let us consider a 275-65r18 tire. The 275 represents the width of the tire in millimeters. This is essentially the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other denoted using the metric system.
The 65 in 275-65r18 represents the aspect ratio of the tire. In other terms, this value denotes the overall height of the tire. Finding the standing height of the tire for sizing purposes is quite common and it can explain why the manufacturers include the same on the tire sidewalls. The 18 in 275 65r18 shows as the diameter of the tire in inches. Did you note the R in between 65 and 18? This shows us that it is radial tire – not a bias ply tire.
There are other values too inscribed on the sidewall. This includes the load index, the speed rating and the tire identification number. The load index represents the maximum load permitted on the tire. If the load increases beyond this value, then there is a high probability for the tire to burst or wear out quickly. Tires also come with their speed ratings listed on the sidewalls. Be wary of this value because you should never try to drive past the same, especially for all those long distance highway rides. The tire can burst if you exceed this value for extended periods.
The federal authorities must approve any tire that you are interested in buying. Always bear this fact in mind while searching for the tires online. There has been an influx of cheap and low quality tires from little known sources and opting for them could cost you severely than sticking with well-known tire brands.
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