THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TYRES, YOU NEED TO KNOW
To choose the right tyres for your vehicle you need to know the correct dimensions about them. You can check the manual of the vehicle's producer or your registration certificate. Also you can look the sidewall of tyres fit on your vehicle at the moment.
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185 - this is the normal width of the tyre in mm
55 - profile - it's not a height in mm, but percent ratio of the width, it should be choosen precise
R - for Radial tyre, all passenger tyres at the present moment are radial
15 - size of the Rim diameter in inches
81 - Load index - how many weight can carry one tyre, it defines by table, in this case 81 means 462kg
H - Speed index - what is the maximum speed you can drive this tyre, here H means 210km/h
On the sidewall of the tyre, next to size stay 2(3) digits and a letter (for example 91V). These are Load index and Speed index.
Load index - refers to the load-carrying capacity of a tyre, or how much weight a tyre can support. For example 91 response to 615kg support for each tyre at maximum air pressure.
Check well the load index according to producer's recommendation and weight of the vehicle.
You can find detailed chart with most common load indexes for passenger and off-road cars and vans here
Speed index - the maximum speed which your tyre is capable of maintaining. It is always represented by a letter (in the example above - V). In this case the letter V means 240km/h
Check well the speed index according to potential of the vehicle and your driving stile.
Here are the most popular speed indexes:
| M - 130km/h | Q - 160km/h | T - 190km/h | V - 240km/h |
| N - 140km/h | R - 170km/h | U - 200km/h | W - 270km/h |
| P - 150km/h | S - 280km/h | H - 210km/h | Y - 300km/h |
Z speed index appears for tyres with speed limits over the maximum. For example when the size of the tyre is 285/35ZR19 (99Y) and 99Y is in brackets this tyre could be drive with more than 300km/h
In November 2012 a standart label for vehicle tyres was introduced in EU. Based on three criteria it gives information about fuel efficiency, wet grip rating and noice levels.
Fuel efficiency - This label shows you how a tyre performs on fuel 
consumption - fuel efficiency is graded from A to G (rating D is not used for passenger cars). The difference between an A rating and a G rating could mean a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 7.5%. To put this in real terms, choosing A-rated tyres instead of G-rated tyres could save you more than 6 litres of fuel every 1,000 kilometres (based on an average consumption of 8 litres/100km)
Wet grip - This label shows how well a tyre brakes in wet conditions. Graded from A to G (ratings D and G are not used for passenger cars). In an emergency situation, a few metres can make all the difference. For a passenger car applying full brakes from 50mph, a set of A-rated tyres will brake up to 18 metres shorter than a set of F-rated tyres (braking distances may vary according to driving conditions and other influencing factors)
Noice - This label shows you the noise level in decibels of a tyre. The tyre is categorised in 3 classes illustrated by 3 waves: 1 black wave - Quiet (3dB or more below the European limit), 2 black waves - Moderate (between the European limit and 3dB below) and 3 black waves - Noisy (above the European limit)
Medina Med Ltd. declares and emphasizes that the actual fuel efficiency and road safety driving depends generally from the driver's behavior and more specifically:
- environmentally friendly driving can reduce sensibly the fuel consumption;
- tyre's pressure should be checked regularly regarding the improvement of the traction on a wet road, as well as the fuel efficiencý;
- braking distance must always be observed.
More information can be obtained from the European Commission's website:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009R1222
and
THE EU TYRE LABEL
- Under the new regulation, bus and truck tyres will also be covered (it now covers tyre classes C1, C2, C3).
- Additional information (tyre type identifier = art. no.).
- In addition to the standard label values, there are additional icons relating to severe snow conditions (3PMSF) and/or grip in icy conditions (for C1 tyres only).
- Noise classes: ABC replace sound waves.
- Reclassification for lower label classes:
D is the new E; Class D no longer empty (for C1 & C2 tyres only); F and G merge to form E. - QR code for each tyre type identifier with link to EU product database (EPREL).
The new Product Information Sheet (PIS) is generated in the EPREL database, based on the information -suppliers have reported:
It includes:
- Information shown on the EU label in tabular form
- Date of start of production
- Date of end of production (will be added by manufacturer, when known)
More information:
Right next to the size and load an speed index some tyres have other marks with additional information:
XL (RF) - eXtra Load (or ReinForced) - tyre that allows higher pressure than a normal one for the same size. For example you can have size 205/55R16 91W or 205/55R16 94W XL. In first case that tyre can carry 615kg while the second one - 670kg.
Run-flat - tyre which allows you to continue driving in case of low pressure as a result of perforation or other issue. To ensure the safety in that kind of situation, the Run-flat tyre must maintain certain speed and distance parameters - max 80km/h for 80km.
The different companies use different marks about the run-flat technology - RFT or EXT for Bridgestone, SSR is used by Continental, ROF for Dunlop and Goodyear and ZP used by Michelin.
M+S - mud and snow - this mark is commonly found on all-season tires, with self-cleaning tread and average traction in muddy or snowy conditions. Still it doesn't means tyre with such a mark is a winter tyre. All winter tyres carry this mark, but the reverse is not true. The mark M+S is the result of autonomous classification by manufacturers. It can also be found on summer off-road and all terrain tyres.
FR (MFS, FP, FSL) - flange rim protection - it's additional layer of rubber on the sidewall of the tyre made to protect the rim from damaged contact with the curb. Usually tyres with height ratio under 55 have this rim protector, but it's not obligatory. It's possible one tyre model to have variants with or without rim protector on the same size.
Other special marks, which can give you more information about the tyre are:
BSL - Black Serrated Letters
BSW - Black SideWall
OWL - Outline White Lettering
ORWL - Outlined Raised White Lettering
RBL - Recessed Black Lettering
RWL - Raised White Lettering
TL - TubeLess tyre
TT - Tube-Type, tire must be used with an inner-tube
outside (exterior, side facing outwards) - for asymmetrical tyres, indicate how tyre should be mounted
arrows - for tyres with direction, shows direction of rotation
Original Equipment tyres, also known as OEM tires or OE tyres, are tyres which are mounted on a new vehicle at the time of its purchase. The vehicle manufacturer selects these for optimized performance based on the characteristics of the vehicle.
* - BMW
AO, AOE - Audi
"B" in a circle, B, B1, BL - Bentley
C1 - Chrysler
F, K-1, K-2 - Ferrari
H-0, H-1 - Honda
H - Hyundai
J, "J" in a circle - Jaguar
LTS - Lotus
MGT - Maserati
MC, MC1 - McLaren
MO - Mercedes
MOE - Mercedes Extended runflat
N0...N6 - Porsche
R01, R02 - Audi Quattro
VW - Volkswagen
DOT code (coming from Department of Transportation) is a mark on the tyre, which contains specific information about, amongst other things, where and when the tyre was manufactured. For the end user the most important part of this code is the date of production.
They are four digits (for example 4415) as first two refers to the week of production and the second two - the year. In this case 4415 means - 44th week of year 2015
Produce year of the tyre is NOT bound to the ageing of the rubber, neither to the expiration date!
!!! All of the biggest manufactorers as Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop and Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli guarantee for the quality of the tyres for a period of at least 5 years from the date of proudce, when they are preserved in optimum storage conditions (temperature, humidity, position etc.) !!!
Tyre is a product with simple look, but it has complex features. This is a product which should resist to extreme conditions and provide safety. It has, as any other product, some define lifetime. This lifetime usually depend on few factors. Except the typical qualities of the product, conditions of use, speed, load and the climate also influence to the lifetime of the tyre.