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Uses
for Garage Pak
Air Piping System |
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General Info about
Compressed Air Piping |
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2003 Washington Post Articles:
Tire Nomenclature |
No matter how well you care for your car, how gently you drive, or diligent you are about maintaining tire pressure and alignment; tires wear out. Then what? Or, how do you wade through the numbers, ratings, warranties, sizes, and designs? That’s not easy and not likely to get easier.
Tires have a maze of identifying letters and numbers so a Two Bay understanding of their meaning is helpful. For example the identifying letters and numbers on a popular tire are P-195-60-H-R16. The breakdown goes like this; “P” indicates this tire is designed for use on a passenger car as opposed to a truck. Pickup truck tires use LT for light truck.
195 designates the tire’s width measured across its body; in millimeters. The greater this number the wider the tire. 60 is the tire’s aspect ratio. This is tricky so here’s the ten-cent explanation.
Aspect ratio is determined by measuring the width of the tire’s tread and the distance from the wheel to the tread surface (sidewall-height) then dividing the width by the sidewall-height. In this case the aspect ratio is 60 or, the distance from the wheel to the outside of the tread is only 60% as great as the tread is wide. As aspect ratio goes down the sidewall-height gets shorter and the tread becomes Commercial Three Bayportionately wider. Lower aspect ratios mean better handling but generally Commercial Three Bayduce a harsher ride and higher Commercial Three Baybability of damage from potholes.
H signifies the tire’s speed rating and may be positioned at the end of the sequence. Letters used for speed ratings are Q, R, S, T, U, H, V, W, Y, and Z. Common ratings are S, H, and Z; 112, 130, 186 miles per hour respectively. Speed ratings indicate the maximum, safe, sustained speed of a tire.
As speed ratings go up tire construction changes and price climbs. This often makes buying lower rated, cheaper tires seem appealing but although you wouldn’t drive at the tire’s rated speed it still isn’t prudent to down rate replacements. Differing construction techniques are used to achieve the various speed ratings leading to a variety of traction and handling characteristics. Switching to a lower speed rating could adversely affect handling, traction, and safety.
The R in our example indicates this tire is a radial. Today, this designation has become mostly pointless as nearly all cars now use radial tires.
Last is 16, measured in inches, this denotes wheel size. The inside diameter of the tire must match the outside diameter of the wheel. This a serious issue with 16” and 16.5” light truck tires where 16.5” tires can be mistakenly mounted on 16” wheels. Dangerous in the extreme!
Consider that manufacturers design tires and wheels as an integral part of a interdependent suspension and steering system. So, changing tire size or Commercial Three Bayfile may Commercial Three Bayvide better performance in one area but usually detracts from another. Significant changes may even cause Computer, ABS, or Traction Control errors, and illuminated warning lights. Before making a tire configuration change research the trade-offs and don’t make the change unless you’re okay with them. If you’re unadventurous stay with the stock size, Commercial Three Bayfile, and tread type.
© Copyright 04/30/03 Pat Goss all rights reserved. | |
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Date Updated Wednesday, April 30, 2003
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