7-24 Vehicle care and maintenance
7
Intended outboard sidewall:
• The sidewall that contains a whitewall, bears white let-
tering or bears manufacturer, brand, and/or model name
molding that is higher or deeper than the same molding
on the other sidewall of the tire, or
• The outward facing sidewall of an asymmetrical tire that
has a particular side that must always face outward
when mounted on a vehicle.
Passenger car tire: a tire intended for use on passenger
cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and trucks, that
have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000
pounds or less.
Light truck (LT) tire: a tire designated by its manufacturer
as primarily intended for use on lightweight trucks or mul-
tipurpose passenger vehicles.
Tread: portion of a tire that comes into contact with the
road.
Tread rib: a tread section running circumferentially
around a tire.
Tread separation: pulling away of the tread from the tire
carcass.
Carcass: the tire structure, except tread and sidewall rub-
ber which, when inflated, bears the load.
Sidewall: portion of a tire between the tread and bead.
Section width: the linear distance between the exteriors of
the sidewalls of an inflated tire, excluding elevations due
to labeling, decoration, or protective bands.
Bead: the part of the tire that is made of steel wires,
wrapped or reinforced by ply cords and that is shaped to
fit the rim.
Ply: a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Cord: the strands forming the plies in the tire.Rim: a metal support for a tire or a tire and tube assembly
upon which the tire beads are seated.
Rim diameter: nominal diameter of the bead seat.
Groove: the space between two adjacent tread ribs.
Tire Markings
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Vehicle care and maintenance
7-25
7
Size DesignationEXAMPLE: P215/65R15
  NOTEEuropean/Japanese metric tire sizing is based on Euro-
pean/Japanese design standards. Tires designed to these
standards have the tire size molded into the sidewall
beginning with the section width. The letter “P” is
absent from this tire size designation. Example:
215/65R15 96H.
LT (Light Truck) -metric tire sizing is based on U.S.A.
design standards. The size designation for LT-metric
tires is the same as for P-metric tires except for the let-
ters “LT” that are molded into the sidewall preceding
the size designation. Example: LT235/85R16.Temporary spare tires are high pressure compact spares
designed for temporary emergency use only. Tires
designed to this standard have the letter “T” molded
into the sidewall preceding the size designation. Exam-
ple: T145/80D18 103M.
Service DescriptionEXAMPLE: 95H
   PPassenger car tire size based on U.S.A. design 
standards
215 Section width in millimeters (mm)
65Aspect ratio in percent (%)
Ratio of section height to section width of tire.
RConstruction code
 • “R” means radial construction.
 • “D” means diagonal or bias construction.
15 Rim diameter in inches (in)95Load index
A numerical code associated with the maximum 
load a tire can carry.
HSpeed symbol
A symbol indicating the range of speeds at 
which a tire can carry a load corresponding to its 
load index under certain operating conditions.
The maximum speed corresponding to the speed 
symbol should only be achieved under specified 
operating conditions. (i.e. tire pressure, vehicle 
loading, road conditions and posted speed lim-
its)
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Specifications
9-5
9
Certification label
N01148200167
The certification label is located on the driver’s door sill.
Vehicle dimensions
N01147500479
Overall length 169.1 in (4,295 mm)Overall width 69.7 in (1,770 mm)Overall height
Without roof rails 64.2 in (1,630 mm)With roof rails 64.6 in (1,640 mm)
Wheel base 105.1 in (2,670 mm)
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