500
6-1. Specifications
Tire size (→P. 501)
DOT and Tire Identification Number (TIN) (→P. 501)
Location of treadwear indicators (→P. 390)
Tire ply composition and materials
Plies are layers of rubber-coated parallel cords. Cords are the strands
which form the plies in a tire.
Radial tires or bias-ply tires
A radial tire has “RADIAL” on the sidewall. A tire not marked “RADIAL” is
a bias-ply tire.
“TUBELESS” or “TUBE TYPE”
A tubeless tire does not have a tube and air is directly filled in the tire. A
tube type tire has a tube inside the tire and the tube maintains the air pres-
sure.
Load limit at maximum cold tire inflation pressure (→P. 394)
Maximum cold tire inflation pressure (→P. 493)
This means the pressure to which a tire may be inflated.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
For details, see “Uniform tire quality grading” that follows.
Summer tire or all season tire (→P. 395)
An all season tire has “M+S” on the sidewall. A tire not marked “M+S” is a
summer tire.
“TEMPORARY USE ONLY” (→P. 466)
A compact spare tire is identified by the phrase “TEMPORARY USE
ONLY” molded into its sidewall. This tire is designed for temporary emer-
gency use only.
