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Knowing the tire marking, we can learn a lot of useful information about it, for example, the year of manufacture or the maximum speed allowed for it.
Knowing the tire marking, we can learn a lot of useful information about it, for example, the year of manufacture or the maximum speed allowed for it.
All tire manufacturers use the same type of markings, so you only need to learn the basic symbols and abbreviations to read the specifications of almost all tires. The base parameter is the size encoded in numbers. For example, the inscription 225/45 R17 94 V means that the tire has a width of 225 mm and a profile of 45 percent. The profile is the ratio of the height to the width of a tire. The lower the sidewall of the tire and the wider it is, the lower the profile, which can be as high as 40%. A car on such rubber drives better, but a side effect is a significantly lower driving comfort and a greater likelihood of damage to tires and wheels. 
Then a letter appears. It's always "R" as tires are now made exclusively with radial construction. This letter is followed by two numbers indicating the diameter of the rim, in inches, that the tire can be fitted to. The next two digits (for example, 94 - 670 kg) characterize the load capacity of the tire, i.e. the maximum permissible load, and the letter (for example, V - 240 km / h) - the permissible speed for this tire at its maximum load. The sequence of numbers and letters is not a complete tire designation, as there is additional information about the purpose of the tire or the way it is mounted.
The tire for the winter season has the M+S lettering on the side. This is an abbreviation of the English language (Mud + Snow). The minimum tread depth must not be less than 4 mm, as the tire is unusable below this value.
Tires with asymmetric tread have an inscription: outside, aussen or exterior, informing that the side of the tire with this inscription must be outside the car. The arrow on tires with directional tread patterns indicates the correct direction of tire rotation.
Another symbol that can be read on a tire is TWI, the tread wear indicator. They are six stripes evenly spaced around the circumference of the tire across the tread. If the tread matches the TWI gauge (1,6 mm), the tire must be replaced.
The Tubeless inscription says that this is a tubeless tire (the most common at present).
When buying tires, pay attention to the date of manufacture and ideally the tires should be of the same year of manufacture. The date of manufacture is digitally encoded. For tires manufactured after 1999, this is four digits. For example, 4502 is the 45th week of 2002. The older tires had three digit markings (508 for week 50, 1998).
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