Tire and Wheel Theory

Chapter 61

Objectives
Describe how a tire is constructed
Understand the various size designations of tires
Tell the design differences between radial and
bias tires
Be able to select the best replacement tire for a
car

Introduction
Service technician should be able to:
Discuss aspects of tire design
Help customers make safest choice

Tires and wheels important safety and service

specialty area

Tire Construction
Several layers of rubber, cords, two
rings of wire
Casing (carcass) internal tire
structure
Ply metal or fabric rubberized
cord
Provide strength
Ends of plies wrap around steel bead
Bonded to side of tire
Beads coils of wire at side edges
Chafing strips protect beads from
rim
Belt cord structure made of plies
Under the tread only
Tread section of tire that rides on
the road

Tire Cord and

Tire Ply Design
Rubber must be reinforced with fabric, fiber, steel
cords
Bias-ply tires have plies that cross at 35-45
angles
Ride softer, but wear faster

Radial-ply tires have casing plies that run across

the tire from bead seat to bead seat
Longer tread life, better grip, improved fuel
economy

Larger footprint gives better grip

Tire Tread

Grooves in tread allow traction on

wet surfaces
Allow tire to flex without
squirming
Design is a compromise
Sipes small grooves in tread like
knife cuts
Clear water off the road
Ribs pump water through grooves
to back of tire
Different tread patterns for different
driving conditions
Asymmetrical patterns improve wet
performance

Tire Tread
Tire tread depth
gauge.

Tire Tread
Wear indicators are
also called wear bars.
When tread depth is
down to the legal limit
of 2/32", bald strips
appear across the
tread.

Tire Tread Material

Rubber must be
vulcanized
(heated) to be
stable
Chemicals
added to natural
rubber to
improve
performance

Tubeless Tires and

Traction
Tubeless tires
Inner liner bonded to tire
Seals air into tire
Thicker than liner on tube-type tire

Tubeless tires safer than tube-type

Does not go flat immediately when punctured

Traction
How well tire grips the road
Affected by:
Road surface, contaminants
Tread material, inflation pressure, tread width, etc.

Tire Sidewall Markings

Tire size listed on sidewall

Profile is the tires height
Aspect ratio is height-to-width
ratio
Load index maximum load at
designated speed rating
Related to strength of sidewall
plies
Speed rating indicates better
handling characteristics
New speed ratings developed for
speeds over 168 mph

Some tires use letters at the end of the

tire size (suffixes) to indicate special
applications including the following.
LT = light truck
ML = mining and logging
MH = mobile home
ST = special trailer
TR = truck

Service Description
P205/75R x 15 92H
205 cross-sectional width in mm
75 aspect ratio
R radial construction
15 rim diameter in inches
92 load index
H speed rating (130 mph/210 km/h)

Load Rating

How much weight a tire can

safely support at a specified air
pressure
Amount of load determined by
area of tire and air pressure in it
Vehicles gross weight rating
(GVW or GVWR) includes
weight of vehicle, passengers,
luggage
Curb weight weight of
vehicle without people
DOT symbol indicates the tire
meets DOT safety standards

Load Index

Ply Rating / load range

Letter

speed
rating

MaximumRatedSpeed

120km/h(75mph)

130km/h(81mph)

140km/h(87mph)

150km/h(93mph)

160km/h(99mph)

170km/h(106mph)

180km/h(112mph)

190km/h(118mph)

200km/h(124mph)

210km/h(130mph)

240km/h(149mph)

270km/h(168mph)

300km/h(185mph)

Openended*

*TheexactspeedratingforaparticularZratedtireisdeterminedbythetire
manufacturerandmayvaryaccordingtosize.Forexample,notallBrandXZ
ratedtiresareratedat170mph,eventhoughonesizemaybecapableofthese
speeds.

Tread Wear
The tread wear grade is a comparison rating based on the
wear rate of a standardized tire, tested under carefully
controlled conditions, which is assigned a value of 100. A
tire rated 200 should have a useful life twice as long as the
standard tire's.
A tire wear rating of 100 is equal to 10,000 miles

Traction
Traction performance is rated by the letters AA, A, B, or C,
with AA the highest.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The traction rating is for wet braking
distance only! It does not include cornering traction or dry
braking performance.

All-Season Tires
Radial tires have more
traction on snow
Specially designed
pockets and slots
Labeled with mud and
snow designation

HIGH-FLOTATION TIRE SIZES

These tires are usually larger than conventional tires and usually
require a wider than normal wheel width. High-flotation tires have a
size designation such as 33 x 12.50R x 15LT:
33 = approximate overall tire diameter in inches
12.50 = approximate cross-sectional width in inches
R = radial-type construction
15 = rim diameter in inches
LT = light truck designation

Temperature Resistance
Temperature resistance is rated by letters A, B, or C, with A the
highest rating.

ALL-SEASON TIRE DESIGNATION

Most all-season tires are rated and labeled as M & S,
MS, or M + S, and therefore must adhere to general
design features as specified by the Rubber
Manufacturers Association (RMA).
One design feature is that the tire has at least 25
percent void area. This means that the tread blocks
have enough open space around them to allow the
blocks to grab and clean themselves of snow and
mud.

Snow Tires
Snow tires have deeper tread grooves
Should be installed on all four wheels

Most manufacturers recommend against chains

Cable chains are not as effective as conventional

Low Pressure Monitoring

Run-flat tire has stiffer sidewall, tighter bead
Can partly support the car even with no air
Can be driven up to 70 miles without damage

All new vehicles since 2006 have low-pressure

warning system
Low tire pressure monitored using direct or
indirect method

Low Pressure Monitoring

DOT TIRE CODE

All tires sold in the United States must be approved by the U.S. Federal
Department of Transportation (DOT).
NOTE: Most race tires are not DOT-approved and must never be used on
public streets or highways.
The DOT code includes letters and numbers such as MJP2CBDX264.
The first two letters identify the manufacturer and location. For this
example, the first two letters (MJ) mean that the tire was made by the
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Topeka, Kansas. The last three
numbers are the build date code. The last of these three numbers is the
year (1994), and the 26 means that it was built during the 26th week of
1994. Starting with tires manufactured after January 1, 2000, the tire build
date includes four digits rather than three digits. The new code such as
3496 means the 34th week of 2006 (3406).

UTQG System

Tire Quality Grading and

Tread Wear
UTQG system rates tread wear, traction,
temperature dissipation ability
Tread wear varies with:

Wheel alignment
Road surface texture
Tire rotation maintenance
Vehicle speed and braking practices
Weight of vehicle
Size of tire

Tread wear ratings range from 100 to 500, in

increments of 20 A tire wear rating of 100 is
equal to 10,000 miles

Traction Grade
First letter in tire rating is traction grade
Indicates stopping ability on wet asphalt and
concrete
Braking only in straight ahead direction

Second letter is temperature grade

Tires resistance to generating heat
Ability to dissipate heat at highway speeds

Compact spare tire is for temporary use only

Many limited to 31 mph for 31 miles

Changing Tire Size

If tire size changed, substitute tire with equal or
greater load-carrying capacity
As diameter of tire increases, load capacity
increases
If lower profile tire installed, wider tire and larger
diameter wheel used
Overall diameter of replacement tire must be
+2% to -3% of original tire
When tire diameter changed, speedometer must
be recalibrated

Outside diameter is calculated by adding the wheel

diameter to the cross-sectional height of the tire,
multiplied by 2.

Wheels
Wheels have two parts: center (flange) and rim
Drop center (rim well) facilitates removal and
installation of tire
Safety beads keep the tire bead on bead seat
Hub-centric center of wheel has machined
counterbore that pilots on machined area of hub
Stud-centric wheels locate on wheel studs

Rim components

Wheel Offset
Offset is a very important
variable in wheel design.
If the center section
(spider) is centered on
the outer rim, the offset is
zero.
Wheel offset is often
referred to as ET, which
stands for Einpress
Tieffe in German.

On four-lug axles and wheels, the measurement is

simply taken from center to center on opposite studs or
holes.

On five-lug axles and wheels, it is a little harder. One

method is to measure from the far edge of one bolt hole
to the center of the hole two over from the first.

Custom Wheels
Mag wheels use magnesium silicon alloy
Expensive, not corrosion resistant

Custom wheels for street use are single piece

castings of light alloy aluminum
Weather resistant coating

Wheel offset difference between rim centerline

and mounting surface of the wheel
Negative offset increases track width of tires
Positive offset found on front-wheel-drive cars

Negative Offset
The wheel has a negative offset if the center section is
inboard (or dished) from the wheel centerline.

Back
Spacing
Back spacing, also
called rear spacing or
backside setting, is the
distance between the
back rim edge and the
wheel center section
mounting pad. Back
spacing can be
measured directly with a
ruler.

Lug Studs and

Lug Nuts
Number of lug studs depends on vehicle load
Bolt pattern 6-5 is six-bolt pattern spaced
around 5 inch circle
Lug nuts may be standard or metric
Lug nuts have serrated shank to remain tight
during tightening
Lug nuts for cast wheels are long and thick
Must be used with a washer

If replacement wheels are used on any vehicle, check

with the wheel manufacturer as to the proper type and
style lug nut.

Tire Valve Stems

Passenger car valve stems usually rubber
Designed for pressures less than 62 psi

Spring loaded valve core screwed into valve

stem
Some have a gasket to prevent air loss past
valve core
Short stem used when there is a hub cap
Long stem accommodates full wheel covers

Most vehicles have recommended tire inflation figures

written in the owner's manual or on a placard or sticker
on the door post or glove compartment.

Proper inflation