Tyre Markings Explained
Learn how to find your tyre's size, speed rating and more.
Confused about what's written on your tyre, our brief guide below will make it easy for you to read a tyre in no time at all.
Tyre Width(mm)
This refers to the width across the tyre's tread in mm. Common ranges from 155 through
to 315 or wider on high performance vehicles.
Tyre Width(mm)
This figure is a percentage and is used to calculate the height of the tyre sidewall.
For example an aspect ratio of 65 on a tyre with a width of 205mm would result in a sidewall
with approximately 133mm height.
Radial Construction
Almost all car tyres are now what we call "Radial Construction",
older tyres used to be Cross-Ply. These two terms refer to the
direction of the cords in the tyres construction.
Rim Diameter
This value is the diameter in inches of the wheel rim.
Common sizes range between 13 - 24 inches for most UK vehicles.
Date Code
This 4 digit number tells you when your tyre was manufactured in a WW/YY
format. For example here 24/19 means the tyre was made in the 24th week
of 2019. A 3 digit datecode indicates your tyre was made before 2000
and should be replaced immediately.
3PMSF
The Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol is an EU standard symbol
indicating that the tyre has passed rigorous testing for it's winter
condition capabilities. This symbol can appear on All Season tyres too.
Load Index
This value indicates the maximum permissible load rating for the tyre. On commercial
tyres such as those designed for vans etc, you might see two ratings separated by a slash;
for example 121/120. In these cases the first rating refers to the maximum load in single
wheel configurations and the second figure the maximum load in dual wheel configurations.
Speed Rating
This This value indicated the maximum allowable tyre speed. Enter your tyre speed rating letter below to get the maximum speed for your tyre.
It is important to fit a speed rating equal to or greater than the correct speed rating for
your vehicle to make sure your insurance is valid.
Maximum load in single configuration is 25Kg.
Maximum load in dual configuration is 1290Kg.