Have you ever looked carefully at your tyre? You might have noticed that its side is marked with certain number and alphabets, an alphanumeric code. These indicate various parameters of your car’s themselves. Phillips Tyres Oxford shows you how to read these tyre size markings.
Reading your tyre
Your tyre size markings indicate a lot more than what you may believe. Consider an example: your car’s tyre is marked “245 35 R19 91 H” or “215/60R15”. These markings may be etched a little differently on different tyres and generally vary from brand to brand. However, what these markings mean remain unchanged.
In the first instance,
- ‘245’ is the entire width of a tyre measured in millimetres.
- ‘35’ indicates its aspect ratio, often called a ‘tyre profile’. This profile is related to the sidewall, the wall at a tyre’s side. An aspect ratio/tyre profile is measured as a percentage of a tyre’s width. In this case, the tyre has a profile or sidewall that is 35% of that tyre’s width, or 35% of 245.
- The ‘R’ indicates that it is a Radial tyre.
- Lastly, ‘19’ indicates the diameter of a wheel’s rim measured in inches.
- ‘91’ is the load bearing symbol and indicates a tyre’s load index.
- Finally, ‘H’ indicates the speed index or the maximum speed at which a tyre can be used. Exceeding the speed index might result in accidents.
Let us look at the second example: “215/60R15”
The readings mean that:
- The tyre is 215 millimetres wide.
- ‘60’ indicates that tyre profile. In this case, it means that the sidewall is 60% of 215 millimetres.
- The ‘R’ indicates that the tyre has radial construction.
- We also know that the tyre has a diameter of 15 inches.
Phillips Tyres believes in educating our customers. Please note that:
- Higher performance tyres usually have lower profiles.
- Low profile tyres might ensure a better-controlled driving experience and better handling of corners. However, they might offer you a slightly harder ride, so beware.
Talk to Phillips Tyres’ resident experts today! Get the right tyres for your car now.