Are Tire Sizes Greek to You?

Some folks just have a hard time reading tire sizes, because all the information is condensed down to a series of letters and numbers. While it may be Greek to you at first, it is actually a rather simple process that just about any one can understand. While you may only be concerned occasionally with you tire size, if you ever have to call in an order for new tires ahead of time, you will be asked for these numbers by any sales person over the phone, so it is a good idea to have some basic knowledge.

Here is a simple break down of tire sizes so you can understand. Let’s say for example your tire reads, P185/50R 14 80Z. While you may not understand this code, there is actually quite a bit of information that is useful. The first letter stands for the type of vehicle the tire is for. In this example, P stands for Passenger vehicle. If you see an LT, that means that the tire is for a Light Truck. If you see a T on your tire, then it is for your spare, and should not be run regularly. The number 185 refers to how wide your tire is in millimeters, 185 millimeters wide. After the slash mark, the next number is the ration of height to the width of the tire, here it is half of the width of the tire. When dealing with ratios, the lower the number means that the tire is of the high performance variety.

The next letter has to do with the type of tire, in this case, R means that it it a radial tire. The next number is how much of a load capacity is can handle, and this can be looked up in your owners manual. The last letter, refers to the speed in which the tire is rated for. In this example it is Z, which is over 150mph.

About the Author: Brett Combs is a staff writer for www.shermantx.info the leading online resource for local information for the Sherman, TX and the Texoma area.

ShermanTX.info :: Everything About Sherman, Texas

Are Tire Sizes Greek to You?

Featured Businesses on ShermanTX.info...

Recent Articles on ShermanTX.info...