Translating your tyres
Our club van, ‘Buttercup’ must have thought that it was her birthday recently, because she was treated to a full set of brand new 155/80/14 tyres, kindly supplied and fitted by one of our web advertisers Market Tyres & Autos at Southend. The reason that we had them fitted was not because the tread had worn down, but that they were showing signs of deterioration due to age. There is all sorts of useful information that is actually moulded into the side walls of tyres, that indicate not only the manufacturer, the type & size of these essential rubber tubes, but also the following:- Speed rating, Load rating, and production date as well as possibly other information like tread wear, traction, temperature rating.
Production Date
All tyres are produced with a serial Tyre Identification Number (or serial TIN) that shows the date of manufacture of a tyre. The last four digits of the serial TIN indicate the week and year that the tyre was made, e.g.:- if a tyre has a production date 0312 it means the tyre was made in 3rd week of 2012. Most tyre manufacturer warranty their tyres against manufacturing and material defects for five years from the date of manufacture, and it is recommended that they be replaced anyway by the time they are about 10 years old due to the effects of ageing. Load Index Conversion Table The load index is a number indicating the maximum load capacity at which the tyre can be safely operated, subject to the tyre being in sound condition, correctly fitted, and with recommended inflation pressures (Using the diagram below 79 represents a maximum load of 437kg per tyre).
Speed Symbol Conversion Table The speed symbol is a symbol indicating the maximum speed at which the tyre can be safely operated, subject to the tyre being in sound condition, correctly fitted, and with recommended inflation pressures (Using the above diagram T represents a maximum speed of 190 km per hour).
