327
Operation
Tires and wheels
General:
Depending on the design standards
used, the tire size molded into the side-
wall may have no letter or a letter pre-
ceding the tire size designation.
No letter preceding the size designation
(as illustrated above): Passenger car tire
based on European design standards.
Letter “P” preceding the size designa-
tion: Passenger car tire based on U.S. de-
sign standards.
Letter “LT” preceding the size designa-
tion: Light Truck tire based on U.S. de-
sign standards.
Letter “T” preceding the size designa-
tion: Temporary spare tires which are
high pressure compact spares designed
for temporary emergency use only.
Tire width
The tire width 1 (
컄 page 326) indicates
the nominal tire width in mm.
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio 2 (
컄 page 326) is the
dimensional relationship between tire
section height and section width and is
expressed in percentage. The aspect ra-
tio is arrived at by dividing section height
by section width.
Tire code
The tire code 3 (
컄 page 326) indicates
the tire construction type. The “R” stands
for radial tire type. Letter “D” means di-
agonal or bias ply construction; letter
“B” means belted-bias ply construction.
At the tire manufacturer’s option, any
tire with a speed capability above
149 mph (240 km/h) can include a “ZR”
in the size designation (for example: 245/
40 ZR 18). For additional information,
see “Tire speed rating” (
컄 page 328).
Rim diameter
The rim diameter 4 (컄 page 326) is the
diameter of the bead seat, not the
diameter of the rim edge. Rim diameter
is indicated in inches (in).
Tire load rating
The tire load rating 5 (
컄 page 326) is a
numerical code associated with the
maximum load a tire can support.
For example, a load rating of 91 corre-
sponds to a maximum load of 1356 lb
(615 kg) the tire is designed to support.
See also “Maximum tire load”
(
컄 page 330) where the maximum load
associated with the load index is indicat-
ed in kilograms and lb.
For additional information on tire load
rating, see “Load identification”
(
컄 page 329).
i Tire load rating 5 (컄 page 326) and tire
speed rating 6 (컄 page 326) are also referred
to as “service description”.
Warning! G
The tire load rating must always be at least
half of the GAWR (컄 page 334) of your ve-
hicle. Otherwise, tire failure may be the re-
sult which may cause an accident and/or
serious injury to you or others.
Always replace rims and tires with the
same designation, manufacturer and type
as shown on the original part.
Warning! G
Do not overload the tires by exceeding the
specified load limit as indicated on the
placard located on the driver’s door B-pil-
lar (컄 page 315). Overloading the tires can
overheat them, possibly causing a blow-
out. Overloading the tires can also result in
handling or steering problems, or brake
failure.
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