Tag Archives: load index

Tire Anatomy

Tire Anatomy

   Ever wonder what the numbers on the side of your tire mean? As seen on the graphic, the first letter, “P” in this case stands for passenger car tire, on some light duty trucks you will see “LT” before the number. That tells the technician that the tire has either a 6-ply cord in the tire or a 10-ply cord designed for heavy duty and can carry a certain amount of weight. The first number in the graphic shows 215 which is the width of the tire tread from shoulder to shoulder where it meets the road. The following number “60” is the “Aspect Ratio” and that percentage is taken from the tire width and how high or low the tire is made from the wheel to the tread. The next letter is in most cases “R” which means this tire is a radial tire that does not need a tube inside the tire to hold the air, you will also see “T”, “ZR” for examples showing that the tire is made for a different purpose. The num ... read more

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