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Tire Ratings

Tire Numbers:

On all currently manufactured tires one can see an alphanumeric rating that is molded onto the sidewall of the tire. The rating defines the ratings, load bearing, max speed, and size of the tire. Through the years the ratings on tires have become oddly complex. Current tires will typically include ratings for traction, temperature resistance, and treadwear. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading System gives their data to make these codes. Almost all tire sizes are provided in metric which could look somewhat strange to some. To get the size in inches all you must do is divide by 25.4

Regulatory Bodies, Standards, and certifcations:

There are quite a few regulatory bodies across the world for tires. We have listed the most well known ones in the following.

The United States Department of Transporation (DOT) is the US’s tire governing body tasked by Congress to regulate general transportation safety in the United States.

(NHTSA) The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is another United States governing body within the DOT that is tasked to govern American auto safety.

UTQGS or Uniform Tire Quality Grading System is a US testing program that uses a standard tire to contrast all other tires against. The standard tire is provided a score of 100 for tread wear, so if another tire scores 200 you can expect it to wear half as quickly and so on. They also test for traction and temperature resistance.

The Tire and Rim Association is a regulatory body created to call attention to interchangeable rims, tires, and allied parts. They issue key tire size standards, rim contour dimensions, tire valve size standards, load bearing standards, and inflation levels.

(ETRTO) The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization is the European governing organization for load and pressure and sizing values.

The Japanese Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association or JATMA is the Japanese organization responsible for standards for tires, rims, and valves. It is the Japanese equal of the ETRTO and TR&A.

The Tread Act sets standards in testing and reporting of all items involved with transportation.

Radio Frequency IDentification or RFIDs are radio signaling devices that can be put (well on anything, however in this example) in tires to help id them. They can be encoded with manufacturer information that includes the company name, place it was made, the type of tire, the date it was produced, and even testing info. This can also be helpful with maintenance.

The China Compulsory Certification or CCC is a certification program designed to guarantee that tires coming from China are up to the standards of other WTO countries.

Wish to learn more?:

As anyone can read, a ton of effort and time goes into grading and rating tires to guarantee they are up to safety standards. To find out how many tires fit on your car we recommend visiting Car Specs or if you would like to view reviews and descriptions of wheels and tires then we recommend reading Wheels Reviews

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