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How To Read Your Tire Sidewalls
Tires aren’t cheap, so it pays to know all you can about them. Tire sidewalls are loaded with information if you know how to interpret it. When Dawson Tire & Wheel introduced their TreadSure App (Vol. 47, No. 6), they also built a website that highlights the information on sidewalls and what it means.
“Five Parts of A Sidewall You Should Know” is the title of the website page. The information starts with the tire size label with its four data points.
Tire width and distance between sidewalls and the letter code that designates load capacity.
The ratio of sidewall height to the tire width.
The third data point, if present, is a letter such as R for radial.
Numeric code for the rim diameter in inches
The largest amount of data on the sidewall lists the speed rating and load index number for the tire. Speed ratings are indicated by a letter or letter and number for the maximum speed, such as A2 for 6 mph up to G for 55 mph. Many implement and passenger car tires have ratings far beyond G.
The load index number is a 3-digit code for the carrying capacity at its proper pressurization and speed. Dawson Tire & Wheel offers a tire chart with common index codes and their pound/kilogram equivalency.
A second speed/load rating present inside a circle indicates being able to travel at a faster speed under a reduced load.
Also found on the sidewall is a date code for when the tire was made, preceded by a letter code for the company that made it.
Other information elements on the sidewall include the bead seating marker for the inflation pressure needed to set the bead and the tire safety warning.
While on the website page, request Dawson Tire & Wheel’s Tire Chart. It’s a powerful aid to understanding correct tire pairings for fronts and backs, ply rating symbols, speed rating symbols, and bias-to-metric conversions. It also covers carrying capacities, an equivalency table, and more.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dawson Tire & Wheel, P.O. Box 128, Gothenburg, Neb. 69138 (ph toll-free 888-302-5926; TreadSure@dawsontire.com; https://treadsure.app/how-to-read-the-sidewall-of-an-ag-tire/).


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2024 - Volume #48, Issue #1