Decoding Tire Sidewall Codes!

A key part of owning and operating a truck safely is having the right tires and keeping them maintained. There’s a lot of information on the sidewalls of your truck tires that may not be intuitive to understand, but once you understand the codes, you’ll find all you’ll need right there on the tires.
In fact, this same protocol of coding is used for passenger cars, off-road tires, heavy truck tires, temporary spares, trailers, and agricultural tires. There are some differences between how tires are labeled in the United States and the rest of the world, but the approaches are pretty similar.
We’ll show you how to see what application any tire is designed for, wheel size, aspect ration (proportion of sidewall height to tread width), speed rating, weight capacity per tire, date of manufacture, and maximum tire pressure. It’s all there!
Here’s an interesting tire fact that will help guide your purchase and application choices for your tires. The bigger the wheel diameter, and the higher the sidewall height as a percentage of the tread width, the more air capacity the tire will have. Why does this matter? It’s the air inside the tire, at the correct pressure, that does the work of carrying the weight. So, the more air capacity the tire has, the more workload the tire can carry.
After viewing this video, you’ll never be uncertain again about what is needed for your vehicle and how to ask for the right tire at your favorite tire supplier!
A SPECIAL THANKS to Wade and his Team at our local Les Schwab Tire Center. This Crew is really great to work with, run a clean location, and really know their stuff!
Thanks for watching our video and enjoy your Truck Life!