A Comprehensive Guide to Understand Everything Around Mobile Tyres

Are you someone who drives cars very frequently or even occasionally and does not have much knowledge about the technical know-how of cars? As someone who uses a car frequently, you should be aware of the technicalities, be it fixing tyres, checking water levels, reading tyres, etc. Only being on the driving end would account for an incomplete knowledge of automobiles. Hence, you should try to under how mobile tyre fitting reading is done. In this piece, you will read about all things around tyres reading.

What is a tyre reading?

The sidewalls of your tyre contain information about your tyre. There are certain alphabets and numbers on your tyre which are a representation of the car tyre’s load and speed bearing capacity. A good understanding of reading tyre codes will help you pick the best tyre as per your driving style and vehicle’s demand. There is a whole lot of compatibility with your tyre - be it speed ratings, constructions to the aspect ratio, etc. 

Why are mobile tyre fitting markings important?

Tyres are the point of contact between your car and the road. It is the most crucial part of your vehicle and no stone should be left unturned while choosing by selecting your tyre. Tyres are the epicentres of all action while you speed, drift or steer on the road. Thus, in case your tyre needs a replacement, it's pivotal to get the change right and fit the right tyre for your vehicle.

Tyre markings are inscribed on the tyres which highlight specifications and physical features on the tyres thereby enabling proper replacement whenever needed. Although not all of the tyre markings are important, most of them influence performance and safety greatly.

Where can you find the markings for the mobile tyre fitting reading?

The tyre fitting readings are usually etched on the outer side of the tyre wall which faces you. But, to get more information about your manufacturer-recommended tyres, you can check the -

1. Manual of owner’s vehicle
2. Inside the glove box door
3. The doorjamb of the driver
4. The hatch of the fuel cap

Although your tyre comprises markings on the outer corner, it's important to review your replacement and cross-check it with the requirements and information mentioned in the owner’s vehicle manual or any of the above-mentioned places.

You can get in touch with a tyre servicing centre in case you want to under more about tyre reading and understand if a particular tyre would suit you. 

Let’s understand how tyre reading works.

You can do tyre reading by simply looking at the sequence of letters and numbers which is a representation of size code. 

For eg. we have a marking - 230/15 D 19 90 H

Now, let's try to see what represents what in a tyre.

Tyre width - The measurement of a tyre from sidewall to sidewall is the tyre width. Here, 230 is the tyre width which is measured in mm

Aspect Ratio - The height of the sidewall tyre ( in mm) is the aspect ratio. It's essentially the ratio of the tyre’s cross-section to its width which is “15” as per our example.

Tyre Construction - The tyre construction states how a tyre is constructed. For instance ‘R’ shows or means a radical construction. In our example, ‘D’ is the diagonal or bias ply construction.

Rim diameter in inches - The diameter code measured in inches represents the diameter of the wheel rim. 19 inches is the size that should be matched to the wheel rim.

Load index - Mobile Tyre reading also includes your understanding of the load index. It shows the maximum amount of weight that a car can sustain when its tyres are fully inflated. There is a corresponding weight to a particular index. For example, 90 is the load index in our example, meaning the car can handle a weight of 600 kg.

You can check the load index into weights in the table below - 

Load Index	Load in kg	Load Index	Load in kg	Load Index	Load in kg
62	265	84	500	106	950
63	272	85	515	107	975
64	280	86	530	108	1000
65	290	87	545	109	1030
66	300	88	560	110	1060
67	307	89	580	111	1090
68	315	90	600	112	1120
69	325	91	615	113	1150
70	335	92	630	114	1180
71	345	93	650	115	1215
72	355	94	670	116	1250
73	365	95	690	117	1285
74	375	96	710	118	1320
75	387	97	730	119	1360
76	400	98	750	120	1400
77	412	99	775	121	1450
78	425	100	800	122	1500
79	437	101	825	123	1550
80	450	102	850	124	1600
81	462	103	875	125	1650
82	475	104	900	126	1700
83	487	105	925

Speed rating index - Just like the load index, the speed rating index denotes the maximum speed that a car can run at when it's fully inflated. In our instance, ‘H’ represents a limit of 130 mph under maximum load.

Speed rating	Mile /hour	Kilometres/hour	Speed rating	Mile /hour	Kilometres/hour
N	87	140	U	124	200
P	93	150	H	130	210
Q	99	160	V	149	240
R	106	170	Z	150+	240+
S	112	180	W	168	270
T	118	190	Y	186	300

 

Thus, mobile tyre reading is important to understand. You can reach out to your nearest car service or tyre service provider who can help you with choosing the best tyre for your vehicle in case you need clarification!