7-54
Maintenance
Wheel size designation
Wheels are also marked with impor-
tant information that you need if you
ever have to replace one. The follow-
ing explains what the letters and
numbers in the wheel size designa-
tion mean.
Example wheel size designation:
6.5JX18
6.5 - Rim width in inches.
J - Rim contour designation.
18 - Rim diameter in inches.
Tire speed ratings
The chart below lists many of the dif-
ferent speed ratings currently being
used for passenger car tires. The
speed rating is part of the tire size
designation on the sidewall of the
tire. This symbol corresponds to that
tire's designed maximum safe oper-
ating speed.
3. Checking tire life (TIN :Tire
Identification Number)
Any tires that are over six years old,
based on the manufacturing date,
(including the spare tire) should be
replaced by new ones. You can find
the manufacturing date on the tire
sidewall (possibly on the inside of the
wheel), displaying the DOT Code.
The DOT Code is a series of num-
bers on a tire consisting of numbers
and English letters. The manufactur-
ing date is designated by the last four
digits (characters) of the DOT code.
DOT : XXXX XXXX OOOO
The front part of the DOT means a
plant code number, tire size and
tread pattern and the last four num-
bers indicate week and year manu-
factured.
For example:
DOT XXXX XXXX 1614 represents
that the tire was produced in the 16th
week of 2014.
Speed
Rating
Symbol
Maximum Speed
S 112 mph (180 km/h)
T 118 mph (190 km/h)
H 130 mph (210 km/h)
V 149 mph (240 km/h)
Z Above 149 mph (240 km/h)
