The tire pressuretable sho ws there commended
tire pressure for all tires app rove dfo rth is vehi‐
cle. The recommended tire pressures apply to
cold tires under various operating conditions, i.e.
loading and/or speed of theve hicle.
If one or more tire sizes precede a tire pressure,
th e tire pressure information following is only
va lid forth ose tire sizes.
The load conditions "partially laden" and "fully
laden" are defined in theta ble for dif fere nt num‐
be rs of passengers and amounts of luggage. The
actual number of seats may dif fer from this.
Some tire pressure tables only show therim
diame ter ins tead of the comple tetire size, e.g.
R18 . The rim diame ter is part of the tire size and
can be found on the tire side wall (
→page 353).
Be sure toalso observ eth efo llowing fur ther
re lated subjects:
RNo tes on tire pressure (→page 339)
RTire and Loading Info rmation placard
(→page 345)
RMaximum tire pressure (→page 352)
Checking the tire pressure manually
#Re ad the tire pressure forth e cur rent operat‐
ing conditions from the tire and loading infor‐
mation table or the tire pressure table.
Obser vethe no tes on tire pressure.
#Re mo vetheva lve cap of the tire tobe
ch ecked.
#Press the tire pressure gauge securely onto
th eva lve.
#Re ad the tire pressure.
#Ifth e tire pressure is lo werth an there com‐
mended value, inc rease the tire pressure to
th ere commended value.
#Ifth e tire pressure is higher than there com‐
mended value, release air. Todo so, press
down the me tal pin in theva lve, e.g. using
th e tip of a pen forex ample. Then check the
tire pressure again usingthe tire pressure
ga uge.
#Sc rew theva lve cap onto theva lve.
34 2
Wheels and tires
these are ins talled on theve hicle, but does not
include passengers or luggage.
Maximum tire load: the maximum tire load is
th e maximum permissible weight in kilog rams or
lbs for which a tire is appr oved.
Maximum permissible tire pressure: maxi‐
mum permissible tire pressure for one tire.
Maximum load on one tire: maximum load on
one tire. This is calculated bydividing the maxi‐
mum axle load of one axle bytwo.
PSI (pounds per square in ch):standard unit of
measurement for tire pressure .
Aspect ratio: ratio between tire height and tire
width in pe rcent.
Ti re pressure: pressure inside the tire applying
an outward forc eto eve rysquare inch of the tire.
The tire pressure is specified in pounds per
square inch (psi), in kilopascals (kPa) or in bar.
The tire pressure should only be cor rected when
th e tires are cold.
Cold tire pressure: the tires are cold when the
ve hicle has been par kedfo r at least 3 hours without direct sunlight on
the tires or theve hicle
has been driven for less than 1 mile (1.6 km).
Ti re contact sur face: the part of the tire that
comes into con tact wi th thero ad.
Ti re bead: the purpose of the tire bead is to
ensure that the tire sits securely on the wheel
ri m. There are se veralst eel wires in the bead to
pr eve nt
the t
ire from coming loose from the
wheel rim.
Side wall:the part of the tire between the tread
and the tire bead.
We ight of optional equipment: the combined
we ight of the optional equipment weighing more
th an there placed standard parts and more than
5 lbs (2.3 kg).This optional equipment, such as
high-per form ance brakes, le vel control sy stem, a
ro of luggage rack or high-per form ance batte ries,
is not included in the curb weight and thewe ight
of the accessories.
TIN (Tire Identification Number): a unique
identification number which can be used bya
tire manufactu rerto identify tires, forex ample,
in a product recall, and thus identify the pur‐
ch asers. The TIN is made up of the manufactur‐ er's identity code, tire size, tire type code and
th
e manufacturing date.
Load-bearing index: the load-bearing index
(also load index) is a code that con tains the max‐
imum load-bearing capacity of a tire.
Tr action: traction is the grip resulting from fric‐
tion between the tires and thero ad sur face.
We ar indicator: narrow bars (tread wear bars)
th at are distributed overth e tire conta ct surface.
If th e tire tread is le vel with the bars, thewe ar
limit of 1/ 16in (1.6 mm) has been reached.
Distribution of vehicle occupants: distribution
of vehicle occupants
over design
ated seat posi‐
tions in a vehicle.
Maximum permissible pa yload weight: nomi‐
nal load and luggage load plus 150 lb (68 kg)
multiplied bythe number of seats in theve hicle.
Wheels and tires 357