Don't know the tire logo? Don't say you can drive, must know the tire code big parsing
Tires are the first line of contact for vehicles to the ground, and their importance is self-evident! Whether it is an affordable car or a sky-high supercar, it must rely on tires to be responsible for acceleration, deceleration, steering and other actions, so the choice of tires should be a homework that every car owner must do. Usually when using tires, you will find that there are various numbers marked on the tire wall, so what is the meaning of these numbers? If you don't understand, don't say you can drive! These must-know tire code big parsing!
Tire make and model
Common tire manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, etc. are the world's and long-established tire brands. Domestic manufacturers such as Maxxis and Nankang also occupy a place in the international market. If you look closely at the side of the tire, there must be a clear and large label trademark indicating whose home the tire came from.
After confirming the tire brand, you can then check the model of the tire, usually writing which product series this tire belongs to, and the tire in the photo is the Potenza RE004 Adrenalin produced by Bridgestone, which belongs to the Bridgestone performance tire.
Different brands will also have different model marking methods, for example, this Goodyear Eagle F1 Sport only has a small model marking, which does not look very obvious. After finding the tire brand and model, you can search for information such as product positioning, tire use evaluation, and average price on the Internet.
Tire size specifications
The size and specifications of the tire have a uniform labeling specification, usually composed of three strings of numbers, the tire size in the figure is 225/40R18, which represents the tire width, flat ratio, and tire inner diameter (applicable wheel size). From the figure can be more clearly seen in the meaning of the tire specifications, 225 refers to the tire width of 225mm, flat ratio is the ratio of tire height to tire width, for example, 225/40 represents the height of 40% of the tire width of 225mm, 195/60 is 60% of the tire width of 195mm, generally speaking, low flat ratio will have better handling performance than high flat ratio. The R18 is the inner diameter of the tire, which can be matched to the 18-inch wheel hub. Usually if there is no special tire need, then it is certainly not wrong to choose a tire size that is exactly the same as the original tire.
Load index/speed class
The load index and speed level will be marked in the style of the red box in the figure, taking this tire as an example, the load index "92" represents the maximum load capacity of 630kg, the four tires can withstand a total weight of 2520kg, and the speed class "Y" represents the speed that can correspond to 300km/h. Because the current tire performance and strength have far exceeded the needs of modern models, unless the high-speed cruise of more than 250km/h, or the total weight of the vehicle easily exceeds 2.5 tons, but it is basically impossible, so there is no need to deliberately pay attention to the load index and speed level.
U.T.Q.G(Treadwear、Traction、Temperature)
U.T.Q.G is the United States to develop the use of tire labeling specifications, U.T.Q.G tire labeling specifications came out quite early, as early as 1978 by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) promulgated and implemented every other year, has become one of the most widely used tire product labeling specifications, can help car owners quickly identify tire performance and product orientation.
Among them, Treadwear is the wear index: indicating the estimated wear performance of this tire, generally will be Treadwear 300 as the boundary, more than 300 means that this tire is more wear-resistant, energy-saving orientation; below 300 is more performance, grip, but the actual tire performance and wear performance will still be affected by carcass design, rubber formula. In addition, the Treadwear wear index is tested by the tire brand at the time of testing, so the Treadwear index between different brands cannot be directly compared, only between the same brand.
Traction is the wetland braking grade: Traction indicators mainly represent the braking performance of this tire in the wetland, from good to bad, divided into AA, A, B, C four grades, the higher the grade, the better the longitudinal grip in the wetland, more suitable for daily commuting.
Temperature is the heat resistance grade: Temperature indicators indicate that this tire in the load state to withstand the performance of thermal energy, the vernacular point is the durability of the high load state, from good to bad common division into A, B, C three grades, the higher the grade, the more able to withstand long-distance heavy load, intense driving and so on.
Year of manufacture
Tires sold on the market will have the manufacturing year and cycle marked on the tire wall, usually with an oval bottom, four-digit tire label. The first two digits are "week number of the year", the last two digits are "year", and the tire manufacturing time in the reference figure is the 35th week of 2020. In practical application, once the tire is used for more than five years, the rubber will age, even if the tire is still very deep, it is recommended to replace, the owner may wish to check whether his tire is too old.
How are tires inspected daily?
1. Check the appearance of the tire. The first step in tire inspection is a "visual inspection" to see if the tire appearance is abnormally cracked, deep scratches, and sometimes even foreign objects such as short nails and glass are inserted into the tire, but luck has not yet punctured the air leak. In addition, if the tire has abnormal protrusions, it usually means that the internal steel wire is broken or the structure is damaged, so it is recommended to replace the new tire as soon as possible to ensure driving safety.
2. Check the tire depth of the tire. There is a set of wear indicators in the outer shoulder position, usually triangular marks, and some brands also use the brand logo as a marker. The main purpose of the wear indicator is the tire groove depth reminder, once the tire groove depth and wear indicator are "flush", it means that the tire has been worn close to the limit and needs to be replaced immediately.
3. Tire pressure. How much tire pressure should I hit? In fact, each car has the "standard tire pressure" provided by the original factory, usually in the driver's seat B-pillar, the driver's seat door side or the inside of the fuel tank cover is marked, clearly indicating the original standard tire pressure, of course, if there is a replacement of non-original specification tires or modified wheels, it is necessary to adjust the tire pressure moderately based on the original recommended tire pressure, and the tire pressure increase or decrease between 2 and 3 psi is reasonable and safe range.
Now, do you know what the dense numbers on the tires mean?