The TIN is made up of manufacturer identifica-
tion code ;,tire size =,tire type code ?
and manufacturing date A.
DOT (Department of Transportation): tire
symbol : marks that the tire complies with
the requirementsofthe U.S. Department of
Transportation.
Manufacturer identification code: manufac-
turer identification code ; provides details on
the tire manufacturer. New tires have acode
with two symbols. Retreaded tires have acode
with four symbols.
For further information about retreaded tires,
see (Y page 293).
Tire size: identifier = describes the tire size.
Tire typecode: tire type code ? can be used
by the manufacturer as acode to describe
specific characteristics of the tire.
Date of manufacture: date of manufacture
A provides information about the age of a
tire. The first and second positions represent
the week of manufacture, starting with "01"
for the first calendar week. Positions three and
four represent the year of manufacture. For
example, atire that is marked "3214" was
manufactured in week 32 in 2014.
i
Tire data is vehicle-specific and may devi-
ate from the data in the example.
Tire characteristics
This information describes the type of tire cord
and the number of layers in sidewall : and
under tire tread ;.
i
Tire data is vehicle-specific and may devi-
ate from the data in the example.
Definition of termsfor tires and load-
ing
Tire ply composition and material used
Describes the number of plies or the number
of layers of rubber-coated fabric in the tire
tread and sidewall.These are made of steel,
nylon, polyester and other materials.
Bar
Metric unit for tire pressure. 14.5038 pounds
per square inch (psi) and 100 kilopascals (kPa)
are the equivalent of 1bar.
DOT (Department of Transportation)
DOT-marked tires fulfill the requirementsof
the USDepartment of Transportation.
Normal occupant weight
The number of occupantsfor which the vehicle
is designed multiplied by 68 kilograms
(150 lbs).
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards
Auniform standard to grade the quality of tires
with regards to tread quality, tire traction and
temperature characteristics. The quality grad-
ing assessment is made by the manufacturer
following specificationsfrom the U.S. govern-
ment.The ratings are molded into the sidewall
of the tire.
Recommended tire pressures
The recommended tire pressure applies to the
tires mounted at the factory.
The Tire and Loading Information placard con-
tains the recommended tire pressures for cold
tires on afully loaded vehicle and for the maxi-
mum permissible vehicle speed.
The tire pressure table contains the recom-
mended pressures for cold tires for various
operating conditions, i.e. differing load and
speed conditions.
Increased vehicle weight due to optional
equipment
The combined weight of all standard and
optional equipment availablefor the vehicle,
regardless of whether it is actually installed on
the vehicle or not.
All about wheelsand tires
287
Wheels and tires
Z
