Most Drivers Miss This On Their Tires! (Can BREAK Your Car)

Today we're diving deep into a skill every driver should have in their toolkit. This is reading a tire sidewall like a pro. I will be quick with this little introduction so you understand why knowing this is very important. When people shop for tires, a lot of you just go and drop the car to the tire garage and say But when it comes to picking up your car, a lot of drivers don't even check if the right tire size has been fitted to their vehicle. Some of you just shop online, some just call the tire shops and other people will just drive in. With my 20 years experience of running tire shops, I have seen cases where you left your car at the tire shop and wrong tire sizes have been fitted on. When you come back, just pick up the car and drive off without even checking if the right size has been fitted on. Let's have a look at some of the problems that the wrong tire size can cause. Speedometer and odometer inaccuracy, ABS and traction control malfunction, suspension and steering stress, poor fuel efficiency, alignment and handling problems, tire and wheel well clearance issues, transmission and drivetrain strain, especially in all wheel drive vehicles. Now imagine risking all this for just something as simple as knowing your tire size. Millions of drivers always ask themselves this common question How do I know my tire size? Where do I find this information? This is why today I'm going to tell you that no matter the beauty of your car, tires are your life and they are the only thing that connect with the road to handle your trip safely. Bad tire is equal to risking your safety. Before you go to the tire shop, shopping online or simply driving to a garage, just be smart and know your tire size. This is why this video is made, to make you understand and know everything like a professional. Now let's start with locating the sidewall information. Turn your attention to the sidewall of the tire, the vertical surface that faces outward. You'll see raised letters and numbers molded into the rubber like this. Now let's decode the tire size. The number we can see here is 255 slash 45 R20. This is the width of the tire from sidewall to sidewall. 45 is the aspect ratio, which is the sidewall height as a percentage of the section width. Here, 45 percent of 255 millimeters. R means radial construction. 20. This is the wheel diameter in inches that this tire size fit as shown here. Now let's understand load index and speed rating. On this picture, left showing 105, right showing Y, which means the load index on the left and the speed rating on the right. So, what is load index? This number indicates the maximum weight a tire can carry. For instance, 105 corresponds to 925 kilograms per tire. Next, what is speed rating? This letter signals the maximum sustained speed. Y means the tire is rated up to 186 miles per hour or 300 kilometers per hour. The vehicle will perform much better and be safe when the manufacturer's recommended load index and speed rating are respected. Now let's go to additional markings. Beyond the sizes and ratings, several other codes and symbols are also important. Let's have a look at these ones. DOT code. The Department of Transportation code starts with DOT and ends with a four-digit production date. For example, on this tire, DOT IHW03F9U8 3424 means this tire was built in week 34 of 2024 UTQG grades. Found as three numbers or letters like 300 AAAA. This stands for tread wear, traction and temperature ratings. Higher numbers mean longer wear. Letters A, B, C for traction and A, B, C for heat resistance. M plus S and snowflake symbol indicates modern snow performance or more stringent winter ratings. Maximum inflation pressure, usually in psi or kPa, telling you the maximum air pressure for the tire. Now let me give you a small demonstration to understand better. Let's look at this tire here. 225 slash 50 R1798W. 225 passenger tire. 225 is the width of this tire. 50 sidewall height is 50 percent of 225 millimeters or radial. 17 inch rim. 98 load index equals 750 kilograms. Speed rating up to 168 miles per hour or 270 kilometers per hour. DOT 101PLJJ17 02125. Manufactured week 1 of 2025. This tells me whether this tire is within its safe usable window and if it matches my vehicle specifications. Let me remind you that you are in the right place to get the right information about anything tires. So don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss new information coming every week on TireShow channel. Many thanks for watching!