Load index
8 8:
R "Light load": light load tires
R "C": commercial tires Information on definitions (tires and load‐
ing)
Ti re stru ctu reand characteristics: describes
th en umber of la yers or then umber of rubber-
coated la yers inthet iret read and thet irew all.
These ar emade of steel, nylon, pol yester and
ot her materials.
Bar: metric unit fort irep ressu re.
14 .5038 pounds per squar einc h( psi) and
10 0k ilopascals (kPa) ar ethe equivalent of 1bar.
DO T(Department of Transportation): DOT
mar kedt ires fulfill ther equirements of the
U. S. Depa rtment of Transpor tatio n.
Av erag eweight of vehicl eoccupants: the
number of occupants forw hichthe vehicle is
designed multiplied by150lbs (68 kg).
Un ifor mT ireQ uality Grading Standards: auni‐
fo rm standar dtog rade theq uality of tires with
re ga rdstot read quality ,tiret raction and temp er‐
atur echaracteristics. The quality grading assess‐
men tism adebythem anufacturer in accordance
wit htests pecifications of theU .S. go vernment.
The quality grade of atireisi mprinted on the
side wall of thet ire.
Re commended tir epressu re:ther ecommen‐
ded tir epressur eist he pressur especified fort he
tires ins talled on thev ehicle at thef actor y.
The Tire and Loadin gInforma tionp lacar dcon‐
ta ins ther ecommended tir epressures forc old
tires, them aximum permissible load and the
maximu mpermissible vehicle speed.
The tir epressur etable con tains ther ecommen‐
ded tir epressures forc old tires under various
operating conditions, i.e. load and/or speed of
th ev ehicle.
Increased vehicl eweight due tooptional
equipment: thec ombined weight of all standard
and optional equipmen tavailable fort he vehicle,
re ga rdless of whe ther it is actuall yins talled on
th ev ehicle or not.
Rim: thep artoft he wheel on whic hthe tir eis
ins talled.
GA WR (Gross AxleW eightRating): GAWR is the
gross axle weight rating .The actual load on an
axl em ustn ever exc eed theG ross Axle Weight Ra
ting .You can find theG ross Axle Weight Rating
on theB -pillar on thed rive r's side.
Speed rating: thes peed rating is pa rtof thet ire
identification .Itspecifies thes peed rang ef or
whic hatireisa pprove d.
GV W( Gross Vehicl eW eight): theG ross Vehicle
We ight includes thew eight of thev ehicle includ‐
ing fuel, tools, thes par ew heel, accessories
ins talled, occupants, luggag eand thet railer
dr aw bar nose weight if applicable. The Gross Vehi‐
cle Weight mus tnever exc eed theG ross Vehicle
We ight Rating (GVWR )specifie donthe B-pillar on
th ed rive r's side.
GV WR (Gross Vehicl eW eight Rating): the
GV WR is them aximum permitted gross weight of
th ef ully laden vehicle (weight of thev ehicle
including all accessories, occupants, fuel, lug‐
ga ge and thet railer dr awbar nose weight if appli‐
cable). The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is speci‐
fi ed on thev ehicle identification plat eonthe B-
pillar on thed rive r's side.
Maximum weight of thel aden vehicle: the
maximu mweight is thes um of thev ehicle's curb
we ight ,weight of thea ccessories, maximum load
and thew eight of thef actor yins talled optional
equipment.
Kilopascal (kPa): metric unitfort irep ressu re.
6.9 kP aarethee quivalent of 1psi. Ano ther unit
fo rt irep ressu reis bar .100 kilopascals (kPa) are
th ee quivalent of 1bar.
Load index: in additiontothel oad-bearing index,
th el oad inde xmayalso be imprinted on thes ide‐
wa ll of thet ire. This specifies thel oad-bearing
capacity mor eprecisel y.
Cur bw eight: thew eight of avehicle wit hstand‐
ar de quipmen tincludin gthe maximum capacity
of fuel, oil and coolant. It also includes thea ir-
conditioning sy stem and optional equipment if
th ese ar einstalled on thev ehicle, but does not
include passenger sorluggage.
Maximum tir eload: them aximum tir eload is
th em aximum permissible weight in kilog rams or
lbs forw hichat ireisa pprove d.
Maximum permissible tir epressure: maximum
permissible tir epressur efor one tire.
Maximum load on one tire: maximum load on
one tire. This is calculated bydividing them axi‐
mum axle load foro ne axle bytwo.
PSI (pounds per squar einch): standar dunit of
measuremen tfor tir epressu re. Wheels and tires
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