What do the colored circles on tires mean?
On the sidewall of most new tires are red and yellow painted dots. These are markers or guides to be aligned with particular points on the wheel. The less lead used for wheel weights, the lower the cost for balancing. The more weights are used, the higher the cost to balance your tires.
What are the orange dots on tires?
The spots on the sidewall of your tires were specifically placed by the manufacturer to guide the tire installation process. In fact, these colored dots serve a specific purpose in helping the tire technician correctly balance the tire.
What is yellow circle on tire?
Weight Method (Yellow Mark) When performing weight match-mounting, the yellow mark on the tire, indicating the point of lightest weight, should be aligned with the valve stem on the wheel assembly, which represents the heaviest weight point of the wheel assembly.
Which tire rating provides the least traction?
Traction is graded “AA” (highest), “A,” “B” or “C” (lowest). While more than three quarters of all tires are rated “A” or better, only 3 percent are rated “AA.” Just over 20 percent are “B” and only one line of tires is rated “C.”
How do you read a tire DOT code?
The first two numbers of this grouping indicate the week of the year your tire was manufactured. The final two digits indicate the year that your tire was manufactured. For example, if your final four DOT numbers are 3020, your tire was manufactured in the 30th week of 2020.
How do you remove tire dots?
How to Get the Colored Dot off of New Tire Sidewalls
- Hose off the tire if it is dirty. Remove any excess dirt or mud.
- Apply a tire cleaner to the spot. Some cleaners are advertised as no wipe; others need some time to stand on the sidewall.
- Wipe with a rag if required.
- Rinse if required.
What does UTQG mean on a tire?
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
The Uniform Tire Quality Grading is a comparative assessment applied to most car tires (excluding winter tires) to help consumers make informed decisions. The manufacturers grade the tires themselves for temperature, traction, and treadwear.
How do you tell if tires are all-season?
M+S stands for mud and snow, indicating that this is an all-season tire. It’s not the clearest of the specs, because there aren’t other designations for summer and winter tires: Summer tires simply lack the M+S, and winter tires are labeled M+S and add an icon of a mountain plastered with a giant snowflake.
How many years does a tire expire?
In my experience, some do degrade faster than others and a lot of factors may play a part in the degradation process, but all of them expire on the average of around 8 years. The British Tire Manufacturer’s Association highly suggest to change tires if it’s beyond 10 years old.
Why is there blue paint on new tires?
When new tires leave the factory, they are coated in a blue protective film to protect the white lettering and white walls during shipping storage. Most tires shops remove this from the tires before fitting them to your vehicle.