Best explanation of tire wall info I’ve ever seen. I’m 52 years old and just learned more in 11 minutes than in a lifetime of so called “experts” “explaining” things to me.
The effort and time into almost every consumer product is vastly more than people expect. There's many lifetimes of development and care into the most trivial of consumer goods.
Tires are a very amazing and complicated product. Thank you for making it simple for everyone to understand. Being in the tire industry for 15 years; not only did you do a good job explaining, but you allowed people to understand there is a much more vast rabbit hole to explore if someone would like to have even more knowledge. E.G. tire pressure effects the setup of the vehicle while balancing the overall load. When driving higher speed this can have a huge effects or just when there are more down forces (including trucks with lots of weight).
It may also be worth mentioning that a lot of countries will issue fix it tickets for any tire over 6 years old, which is where the DOT stamp can be helpful in determining a tires age. There have been tire shops that have gotten in huge trouble for selling "new" 14 year old tires that never saw road time, only issue is that tires that old have hardened and lose traction and are more susceptible to blow outs. Think of a brand new rubber band that sat in a desk drawer for ten years, first time you stretch it out it just snaps, tires oxidize even if they arent driven on.
Michael Ferguson I am not convinced his statement is correct, because all tires suppose to be measured or referenced to the tread wear of a standard reference test tire.
One of the first things I would say to my students when I was teaching our calc-based physics sequence for engineering and physical science majors was to not mix units. I would recommend that they convert all data to S.I. units do the calculations to get answers in S.I. and then convert at the end if they needed a result in another system of units. Mixing units is a prescription for disaster.
I've been looking for this info for 20 yrs. Tire shops I've asked these questions to just shrug and say not real sure. I have found most of this info through the yrs but this is by far the best thank you
@@EngineeringExplained could you possibly do another one for winter tires though? There is a big misconception that M+S automatically makes your tires into winter tires. Except that there are a lot of summer compound/thread tires with that marking. People don't understand that there needs to be a snowflake and/or a summit besides the M+S for it to be a winter tire.
I had no idea that something as simple as a car tire had so many aspects associated with it. Thankyou for giving us a detailed description of all these things. Love your videos and hope your channel grow leaps and bounds.
Lets not forget even dealership mechanics set the tire pressure incorrectly. I just had my wife's SUV serviced and they set the tire pressure to 41 psi... on a SUV. I checked the door panel and it says 35 psi. 🤦♂️
Also, the recommended pressure on the door frame is COLD pressure. If you set your tires to 35 psi cold, it is not abnormal for the tires to reach 40 psi when youre on the highway. Conversely. If you set your pressure to 35 psi after driving, with warm tires, the pressure will drop once they cool
@@qman61698 agreed and to expand on your comment: most DIY and small compressors deliver hot air. It is not uncommon for pressure to drop 3-5 psi the next morning when the tires are "cold".
A long time ago, when I took my 88 Olds to one of those Quick Lube places for an oil change, the guy was showing a new hire the ropes. As I was sitting in my car with the windows down, I overheard these instructions: "See the max PSI on the sidewall? Inflate the tires to that." I got out, set them straight and from that day learned to do my own maintenance.
That's hilarious. It took a shop 2 tries and a new set of valve covers to fix a valve cover gasket leak. The leak was minor. First try they said the valve pan was bent and they tried to fix it. I drove it home and it was pouring oil before i got 1/2 there. Some rtv would have fixed the problem but they screwed it up. So i got another set of pans, shiny chome ones from the part house. They fixed it again and i still had to go behind them and snug up the bolts about 1/4 of a turn. Never again... I've also seen our local walmart drive a car into the pit and use a fork truck to get it out. I won't sign their waiver for oil changes. Again though i do it all myself. Bought a repair manual and taught myself in the days before the internet. Best choice i ever made. The skills I've learned have not only saved me untold amounts of money but I've been known to do side jobs wrenching. Back to you comment, I've also had the same talk with relatives about putting to much air in a tire. People a crazy sometimes.
thank you for the in depth guide! also btw as for the treadwear 300 in the video, it also means you have to endure that long before you can experience having a slick tire like in racing lmao *this comment is not made to endorse the use of bootleg slick tires and does not take the responsibility for when someone gets into an accident
Here's my question. Everybody talks about not buying "cheap" tires. Problem is...when I look on (for example) the Discount Tire website, even the cheapest tires they sell are rated as A for traction, A for temperature....rated for same speeds, same loads etc. Sometimes even *better* than more expensive tires! They're often rated for the same braking distances on dry *and* wet pavements too! I'm so confused. Why not get a Westlake instead of Michelin if they're "rated" the same? (I know Westlake is from China and some Chinese tires may not have the same quality control, so I don't lean that way, but GT Radial? Sentury?) Thoughts? Thanks all...cheers!
Tyres actually tell a lot about the owner. Cheap tyres on couple of years old performance car means the owner probably isn't as rich as the car might suggest and cheap tires on boring car means the owner probably doens't care and doesn't know a lot about cars.
Sometimes cheap performance tires are better than higher priced tires. When I used to own a 03 tiburon gt, I bought a set of nixens ZR Y summer tires $90 a tire ($360). All the other tires that were slightly more expensive had T and H ratings. I couldn’t afford to spend $1000 for name brands like Goodyear or continental. Anyhow the cheap summer tires were great with all forms of traction. The treads crapped out around 20k. Seems like these tires were definitely made to for people to use on a track as a low budget option
Perhaps you could make a video about no of bolts, their distance, center diameter and mounting offset. And also how the height of the tire combined with different sized rims will fit or not on your car. And perhaps a word on tightening force and why it's a jolly good idea to use a copper based lubricant? It would probably be around this time of the year that the northern hemisphere starts to changing to summer tires, a refresh on how and what kind of tires you could slap on successfully is probably needed for most of us.
@@Xyleksoll English isn't my native language and I'm unfamiliar with the term "scrub radius", I'll get googling and today will be a good day as I hopefully will learn something new!
@@Xyleksoll Yes, I did learn something new today, great! I'm an electrical engineer by training, but I've taken a greater interest in mechanical things in general, mostly cars and motorcycle over the years. I've actually noticed that newer cars have wheels offset more inboard, now I know at least part of the explanation why that has changed.
@@NomenNescio99 all these factors influence the way a car handles but most people are ignorant of them. I am currently living in Texas and I can see a lot of lifted trucks with incredible offsets (wheels pushed out) that I wonder how they can actually go down the road...
Thank you! I'm a newbie tire owner, but now I know how to 'read' tires. Associatively relevant (meaning not relevant), "object video explanations" like this are so useful! Ex. tips for buying a hookah: the width of the vase is most important, not its length; buy rubber hoses ect. Simple advise for those in want educates us as consumers. Thanks again!
Thanks for the video started working at a new tire shop and was doing a computer learning simulator and couldn't understand jack because of all the people coming in and out. I do appreciate this video it taught me more than what they were teaching me. Thanks again.
should have explained also the red/yellow dot, red being the heaviest part of the tire, yellow being the lightest thus yellow marking should be aligned to the heaviest part of the rim -- the part with tire valve. if there is only red dot, then it should be at the opposite side aligned with the tire valve.
I dont know exactly why, but not all tires have that, the colored dots or markings its just for easier balancing of tires,. even all the details discussed by jason here, some of them are missing for some tires
Thank you! I worked at a huge tire company which sent their employees to all sorts of educational courses and I became an "expert"... yeah right! I just learned so much more in your sweet short video than in the years I was a "professional tire guy". Wow, LoL! Thanks again. P.S. obviously I did not name that tire company due to prudence, but f.y.i., it was the leading tire company in the U.S. during the time I worked there. Anyways, great job and thanks again! Stay Up!
Also there is usually a colored dot on most tires. It's easy to miss unless you stare at the tire. I learned the reason for that dot is helpful when mounting/balancing the tires. Line the dot up with the valve stem
You missed the E2 finishing by S2WR2 marking and so on next to the DOT. It is actually for Europeans the information about how the tire perform according to the R117 of Geneva text. So it is an information about wet handling, dry handling and noise test.
Huh. This is very handy. Just bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S a few weeks ago, now I know how to make this even more annoying for all my friends than it already was. Thanks, Jason!
its amazing how many car salesman and used dealerships that dont know how to read tire information. I had to school a salesman who tried selling my friend a car with 'new' tires on it. They were 5 years old, just never used. Got him to put on brand new tires if my friend bought it. Then I scanned the system engine codes with my scanner, he said 'its just an oil light'. It had like 6 or 7 faulty sensor codes including o2 sensors, which can be pricey. My friend didnt buy that car, or any from that dealership ^_^ As far as this video goes, great information! The important one to remember besides the obvious tire sizes is the date manufactured. Any time you buy a used car, verify the dates. most inspection facilities or tire shops wont even touch a tire if its more than 8 years old, 5 in some places. And by then the tread has gotten hard and choppy in most cases and probably is not safe at highway speeds in the event you slam on your brakes or do a higher speed curve and load the outside of the old tires.
Tire pressure is so important, but so many people run the wrong pressure. I work at a lube shop and most people have too much pressure. One lady was running 60 psi for a Honda Accord (max: 44 rec: 30)!! Not only will it wear your tires incorrectly and make for a harder ride, but you also have less traction. When I got my gf new tires, she complained that she was having trouble cornering because she felt like she was sliding out a bit. I drove it to work to check the tire pressure and felt what she was talking about. Turns out, they over inflated the tires by 10 psi in the rear and 8 in the front (40 psi all around, subaru, math, you get it lol). Since I adjusted the pressure, all the issues she was having went away and she loves the tires now!
I am consistently amazed by the number of people I speak to who fill their tires to the "max pressure" or near the max pressure and who consistently wear out the middle of the tire.
My Nankang Ns20 noble sports have the highest of highest ratings on all catagories except the treadwear being 240 (30 series). Thanks for the info and gives me something really good to say to all the doubters. Thanks! Great video
Fantastic video. Never saw foam in a tire before. Now I’m wondering if I could install foam like that in my more pedestrian tires to reduce road noise.
I really love these types of videos. Could you do a video talking about VINs? That's some really geeky stuff, but does have some uses (like what country the car was made in for the first digit). I look at VINs all day for my job so I've learned a lot of that stuff over time.
What are the chances, yesterday I changed my tires and I was looking for info of course to refresh my memory and on the same day he releases a video talking about tire sidewalls. It was helpful though and appreciate the content.
In F1 (and other racing series with multiple tire options), there is always an inverse correlation between tire traction/grip and durability/wear; eg compound A might have a 10% higher coefficient of friction than compound B, but compound B will last 10% more laps than tire A. Is this the case with road tires? Can I buy tires that offer both better grip and durability than discount tires, or is there an inherent tradeoff between grip and durability? TL;DR Is the grip vs wear tradeoff in racing tires a natural or artificial feature?
Remember, that is about wet braking. Not an actual grip compound. You can have a hard truck tire wet brake better than a slick sticky tire because of Tread.
Yes, there are large differences in consumer road tires. In racing, you only have a few variations and cost is not a primary driver in variation like it is with consumer tires. Also note that there are effectively "generations" of tires. The average tire is improving slowly but steadily with each new model released. In general, in the same class of tire, you are making tradeoffs of dry grip, wet grip, cornering, tread life, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), comfort, energy loss (fuel economy), and price.
@@kodiak2fitty I totally agree, but the "Traction" rating on DOT tires only rates wet braking on even pavement. That is it. Nothing else. It is a federal law. Yes, you can get more technical data from the manufacturer of the tire.
This neatly packs together what I spent a couple of hours worth of googling on when I had to buy new tires.. As @Elliott Gardner said .. this should be mandatory knowledge for people that are looking for new tires.
Figure out what your car require, then google what that mean in "tire lanuage". Sizes are limited by the rim and your car. Most cars have a very limited range of tire it can use, depending on rim size. Load and speed are just upper limits on the tire, you want as low as possible above what your car is capable of (dont need a truck tire load and 186mhp on a prius)
Have always been a Michelin buyer and I tell everyone they make some of the best tires out there. I like when I suggest to someone that I personally would buy a Michelin tire and when they do and come back and say it's the best tire they have ever driven on.
I was surprised that the tread rating isn't uniform among all tire manufacturers... makes sense as michelins don't seem to last as long as pirellis with same rating. Any more information on how to compare this piece of info across brands? Thanks! Great video!
One more thing of interest. Usually there is a colored dot on the sidewall. I was told that when the tire is amounted the dot should line up with the valve stem. I'm assuming it would help with balancing the tire.
Why is it a joke? The tire compounds and construction are often tweaked specifically to meet the OEM's requirements. OEMs start from an existing design, multiple versions and iterations (aka submissions) are created and tested by the OEM to check attribute performance before settling on a final tire submission. For example the OEM could be looking for lower noise/vibration/harshness (NVH), lower rolling resistance, changes in dry/wet handling. The tire interaction with the other suspension components on a vehicle is quite complicated. Even the recommended tire pressure placard is determined by a mix of regulation requirements and attribute trade-offs. Going to the OEM dealer to buy replacement tires is the way to get the version the engineers designed. Going to Tire Rack or a local garage is a crap shoot and most places won't match DOT codes; i.e. you could have a mix of Tesla and Chrysler spec'd tires in a set of 4. Source: I'm involved in OEM testing of tires. Nothing against Tire Rack. I bought my winter tires from them.
I remember the Acura NSX came with vehicle specific tires on the rear with incredibly short tread life. About that time Lexus LS400’s were also fitted with unique tires.
Great video. I actually learned quite a bit. My tires have a M+S after the speed rating on the tire (105V M+S, example). It wasn't included in your video but, I was driven to painful curiosity to find out what it was for. After using my google machine, it stands for Mud and Snow. I could have probably guessed, but good to know. Cheers.
Always get your tyres balanced AND never let a tyre shop gun your wheels back on. Hand-held impact drivers can be and usually are set to high. Even if the fitter looks up the correct torque they are not precision tested tools like a torque wrench. Bottom line it can cost £80 per nut Or £300 for all for locknuts.
Jason, the index of load for a giving specific tire size can only be 2 possible numbers, the normal load and the extra load, so although there are several numbers out there, for your application that isn´t really, for exemple, I bought for my car one set of 225 50 17 and you can find the load rating of 94 OR 98, there are no other numbers, and the 98 IS extra load. a variaty of load rating is just possible looking into tires of different sizes.
4:46 In case of Michelin it is not an aesthetic choice to put Z on the tire. If Michelin has only Y letter it means it is suitable for speeds up to 300 km/h, if it has both ZR and Y it can take over 300 km/h (not specified how much exactly). For other manufacturers it could be different.
any tire can go faster than it's designation, the designation only states up to which speed the manufacturer guarantees it's perfomrance to be as intended.
Thank you for your information..I am passing your information to my uncle so he will be well informed when buying tires for his rv.....Thank you Bud S.
This should be required watching for anyone buying tires.
*N0*
@@dexterjsullen N zero?
Elliott Gardner especially when the tire was made so that they don’t sell you 3 year old tires
@@SpecRB Just bought a new set last week. 5218 - I'm quite fine with that given I'm in Australia.
@@SpecRB dosent matter you can drive a tire for at least 7 years since production date. dont think it will last 4 seasons.
Best explanation of tire wall info I’ve ever seen. I’m 52 years old and just learned more in 11 minutes than in a lifetime of so called “experts” “explaining” things to me.
Tire Rack has all this information, as a matter of fact all tire manufacturer's should have this info...
It's not some mystical hidden knowledge!
Jason, All my friends hate me now because I can't stop talking about tyres when I'm at the club. What do I do?
I need help!
Bring a bicycle tire with you next time, and use it as a hula hoop. Works every time.
Share this video with them
@@EngineeringExplained That's just reminded me, I've got a Z Rated Bicycle tyre in my garage!
Just roll with it
@@travispeoples pun intended?
It really is amazing though how much engineering goes into tires and how much they’ve evolved.
What you looking at today is regulation because some of the failures of
The effort and time into almost every consumer product is vastly more than people expect. There's many lifetimes of development and care into the most trivial of consumer goods.
I work for Bridgestone, and it's amazing what goes into building a tire.
@@mv223 Damn i woud love to work there, they never reply to me tho -.-
Person who invented the wheel is feeling like a God right now.
Thank you Jason, I can’t wait for the next party to show I know how to read a sidewall!
EE helping me the life of the party again, it's why I keep coming back. Kudos Jason!
I just tried some of this material at the office gathering. It fell flat. I couldn't take the pressure.
Tires are a very amazing and complicated product. Thank you for making it simple for everyone to understand. Being in the tire industry for 15 years; not only did you do a good job explaining, but you allowed people to understand there is a much more vast rabbit hole to explore if someone would like to have even more knowledge. E.G. tire pressure effects the setup of the vehicle while balancing the overall load. When driving higher speed this can have a huge effects or just when there are more down forces (including trucks with lots of weight).
It may also be worth mentioning that a lot of countries will issue fix it tickets for any tire over 6 years old, which is where the DOT stamp can be helpful in determining a tires age. There have been tire shops that have gotten in huge trouble for selling "new" 14 year old tires that never saw road time, only issue is that tires that old have hardened and lose traction and are more susceptible to blow outs. Think of a brand new rubber band that sat in a desk drawer for ten years, first time you stretch it out it just snaps, tires oxidize even if they arent driven on.
6:48 Thanks did not know Treadwear Rating was manufacture specific. Always learn something new.
Michael Ferguson
I am not convinced his statement is correct, because all tires suppose to be measured or referenced to the tread wear of a standard reference test tire.
Mine has 240 of treadwear and yes they run out faster than any others. Maybe the same value could not be a perfect reference, but almost yes
@@hushemmohi2034 yeah, but the reference tire is up to the company. like, they dont all use the same reference
is all 3, treadware, traction & temperature manufacture specific or is it only treadware?
@@ANON-y8c i think just treadware
6:33 thanks for the air pressure simulation Jason!
Hahaha nice
openFOAM : *sweating*
One of the first things I would say to my students when I was teaching our calc-based physics sequence for engineering and physical science majors was to not mix units. I would recommend that they convert all data to S.I. units do the calculations to get answers in S.I. and then convert at the end if they needed a result in another system of units. Mixing units is a prescription for disaster.
Thanks!
Love seeing the 3 different units on the sidewall. Teamwork at its finest.
😂 🤣 😂
I've been looking for this info for 20 yrs. Tire shops I've asked these questions to just shrug and say not real sure. I have found most of this info through the yrs but this is by far the best thank you
Thanks a LOT, Jason .... I told my girlfriend I liked her 235/35/20s and that they looked very pneumatic. She slapped me and ran off crying!
jwo7777777 BAHAHAHAHAHA
😂😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣
As a tire technician for almost a year, this helps me answer customer questions better. Thank you.
As a studio musician, when I saw the accoustic foam in the tire, I cracked a gigantic smile.
I bet your winter tires have the mountain snowflake. You could have included that.
It means they're sensitive to negative comments.
@@EngineeringExplained , did you check for the mountain snowflake symbol on him before you got all sarcastical with your reply? LoL 😂
@@joseybarra2046 Haha of course, true winter tires will always have the triple mountain peak w/ snowflake. :)
@@EngineeringExplained could you possibly do another one for winter tires though? There is a big misconception that M+S automatically makes your tires into winter tires. Except that there are a lot of summer compound/thread tires with that marking. People don't understand that there needs to be a snowflake and/or a summit besides the M+S for it to be a winter tire.
@@SF-tb4kb no. If there's no snowflake or summit, it's a mud+sand, which is solely a summer tire. The compound and thread is completely different.
I had no idea that something as simple as a car tire had so many aspects associated with it. Thankyou for giving us a detailed description of all these things.
Love your videos and hope your channel grow leaps and bounds.
Thank you for pointing out that the max inflation pressure indicated on the sidewall is *highly unlikely* to be the correct pressure for the vehicle.
Lets not forget even dealership mechanics set the tire pressure incorrectly. I just had my wife's SUV serviced and they set the tire pressure to 41 psi... on a SUV. I checked the door panel and it says 35 psi. 🤦♂️
Does door panel pressure apply to all tire sizes compatible with that chassis or just the stock tire size?
@@absoloodle37 It should list what tire size it is for, most cars have 2 sizes listed (standard summer+winter tire or just he most common used)
Also, the recommended pressure on the door frame is COLD pressure. If you set your tires to 35 psi cold, it is not abnormal for the tires to reach 40 psi when youre on the highway.
Conversely. If you set your pressure to 35 psi after driving, with warm tires, the pressure will drop once they cool
@@qman61698 agreed and to expand on your comment: most DIY and small compressors deliver hot air. It is not uncommon for pressure to drop 3-5 psi the next morning when the tires are "cold".
A long time ago, when I took my 88 Olds to one of those Quick Lube places for an oil change, the guy was showing a new hire the ropes. As I was sitting in my car with the windows down, I overheard these instructions: "See the max PSI on the sidewall? Inflate the tires to that." I got out, set them straight and from that day learned to do my own maintenance.
That's hilarious. It took a shop 2 tries and a new set of valve covers to fix a valve cover gasket leak. The leak was minor. First try they said the valve pan was bent and they tried to fix it. I drove it home and it was pouring oil before i got 1/2 there. Some rtv would have fixed the problem but they screwed it up. So i got another set of pans, shiny chome ones from the part house. They fixed it again and i still had to go behind them and snug up the bolts about 1/4 of a turn. Never again... I've also seen our local walmart drive a car into the pit and use a fork truck to get it out. I won't sign their waiver for oil changes. Again though i do it all myself. Bought a repair manual and taught myself in the days before the internet. Best choice i ever made. The skills I've learned have not only saved me untold amounts of money but I've been known to do side jobs wrenching. Back to you comment, I've also had the same talk with relatives about putting to much air in a tire. People a crazy sometimes.
Always go off door jamb
Well hello 👀👀 I'm always the life of the party :(
Engineering, truly explained. True to your name. Always impressive. Great research, great content, all wrapped in a jovial package.
thank you for the in depth guide!
also btw as for the treadwear 300 in the video, it also means you have to endure that long before you can experience having a slick tire like in racing lmao
*this comment is not made to endorse the use of bootleg slick tires and does not take the responsibility for when someone gets into an accident
Here's my question. Everybody talks about not buying "cheap" tires. Problem is...when I look on (for example) the Discount Tire website, even the cheapest tires they sell are rated as A for traction, A for temperature....rated for same speeds, same loads etc. Sometimes even *better* than more expensive tires! They're often rated for the same braking distances on dry *and* wet pavements too! I'm so confused. Why not get a Westlake instead of Michelin if they're "rated" the same? (I know Westlake is from China and some Chinese tires may not have the same quality control, so I don't lean that way, but GT Radial? Sentury?) Thoughts? Thanks all...cheers!
Ah another classic engineering explained tire video. This is the content I subscribed for! Keep em coming!
I like to go to car shows and judge people on the tires they have on their car.
PiroFyre I judge everyone by the tires on their car 😂
Tyres actually tell a lot about the owner. Cheap tyres on couple of years old performance car means the owner probably isn't as rich as the car might suggest and cheap tires on boring car means the owner probably doens't care and doesn't know a lot about cars.
@@HenkkaWRC what does expensive tires on Prius mean???
@@ralanham76 That the owner probably cares about his/her safety and wants to make the car drive as good as possible. Also he/she is probably not poor.
Sometimes cheap performance tires are better than higher priced tires. When I used to own a 03 tiburon gt, I bought a set of nixens ZR Y summer tires $90 a tire ($360). All the other tires that were slightly more expensive had T and H ratings. I couldn’t afford to spend $1000 for name brands like Goodyear or continental. Anyhow the cheap summer tires were great with all forms of traction. The treads crapped out around 20k. Seems like these tires were definitely made to for people to use on a track as a low budget option
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires are about the best tires that you can buy for warm weather.
I have four of them.
265 35-18
I use Michelin Pilots on my Ducati.
Not going to take advice from an Oompa Loompa.
True Donald
@@benefactionhindrance welll... I’m sorry that your so narrow minded
Perhaps you could make a video about no of bolts, their distance, center diameter and mounting offset.
And also how the height of the tire combined with different sized rims will fit or not on your car.
And perhaps a word on tightening force and why it's a jolly good idea to use a copper based lubricant?
It would probably be around this time of the year that the northern hemisphere starts to changing to summer tires, a refresh on how and what kind of tires you could slap on successfully is probably needed for most of us.
Niklas Paulsson not only offset but scrub radius as well.
@@Xyleksoll English isn't my native language and I'm unfamiliar with the term "scrub radius", I'll get googling and today will be a good day as I hopefully will learn something new!
@@Xyleksoll Yes, I did learn something new today, great!
I'm an electrical engineer by training, but I've taken a greater interest in mechanical things in general, mostly cars and motorcycle over the years.
I've actually noticed that newer cars have wheels offset more inboard, now I know at least part of the explanation why that has changed.
@@NomenNescio99 all these factors influence the way a car handles but most people are ignorant of them. I am currently living in Texas and I can see a lot of lifted trucks with incredible offsets (wheels pushed out) that I wonder how they can actually go down the road...
Thank you! I'm a newbie tire owner, but now I know how to 'read' tires. Associatively relevant (meaning not relevant), "object video explanations" like this are so useful! Ex. tips for buying a hookah: the width of the vase is most important, not its length; buy rubber hoses ect. Simple advise for those in want educates us as consumers. Thanks again!
WOW, three minutes ago, Jason, now you are facing the audience from world wide! 加油!
This video is nothing short of excellent. Everything you ever wanted to know about tyre markings but were afraid to ask.
Tons of straight forward info there explaining markings we pass by everyday, paying no attention to.
Thanks for the vid. 👍🏼😁🇨🇦
Thanks for the video started working at a new tire shop and was doing a computer learning simulator and couldn't understand jack because of all the people coming in and out. I do appreciate this video it taught me more than what they were teaching me. Thanks again.
should have explained also the red/yellow dot, red being the heaviest part of the tire, yellow being the lightest thus yellow marking should be aligned to the heaviest part of the rim -- the part with tire valve. if there is only red dot, then it should be at the opposite side aligned with the tire valve.
My tires don't have any colored dots, and are brand new.... Nitto Trail Grappler M/T 37x12.5r17... Why?
I dont know exactly why, but not all tires have that, the colored dots or markings its just for easier balancing of tires,. even all the details discussed by jason here, some of them are missing for some tires
Or just balance them
Its for easier balancing, less balancing weights to none at all.
wertyamatz22, true, plus it also helps for having a lower road force rating- meaning an better/smoother ride.
Thank you! I worked at a huge tire company which sent their employees to all sorts of educational courses and I became an "expert"... yeah right! I just learned so much more in your sweet short video than in the years I was a "professional tire guy". Wow, LoL! Thanks again. P.S. obviously I did not name that tire company due to prudence, but f.y.i., it was the leading tire company in the U.S. during the time I worked there. Anyways, great job and thanks again! Stay Up!
Jeezzz, I always thought R stands for the Radius of the tyre. Thanks for the in depth info again Jason! Keep it up!
crazy2242 ditto
why would you?
it's an uper case R, the symbol for radius is a lower case r.
as a kid i always thought it meant "RIM" lol i was so sure of it
@@TheLobesrm I see R in the list of tire shops means "rant" as it is rim protection !! and XL means extra load tobe stronger side walls
Also there is usually a colored dot on most tires. It's easy to miss unless you stare at the tire. I learned the reason for that dot is helpful when mounting/balancing the tires. Line the dot up with the valve stem
True . not many know this
It's been a while since Jason did a video about tyres. I was starting to worry his love for them has faded.
Never!
I'm sad to say I get a little rush with the new rubber smell at the fitters 😆
like a Warn Out tire haha... I have no friends
Great explanation to all the info on the side of a tire. I was only aware of less than a fourth of that before I watch this video. Thank you.
As a Discount Tire employee, I approve of this knowledge. 👍🏻
As another Discount Tire employee I also approve
As someone that knows someone that works at discount tire I approve of this message.
I once bought tires at Discount Tire and I am glad some of the Employees do understand this information. 8^)
Today I had to have my tire repaired due to a nail. It's time to replace the tires anyway. This video's timing was perfect for me. Thanks!
You missed the E2 finishing by S2WR2 marking and so on next to the DOT.
It is actually for Europeans the information about how the tire perform according to the R117 of Geneva text. So it is an information about wet handling, dry handling and noise test.
I'm so glad you made this video because i never learned everything in school when we went over tires
Great to see people in this kind of informative channel
Huh. This is very handy. Just bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S a few weeks ago, now I know how to make this even more annoying for all my friends than it already was. Thanks, Jason!
Also red/yellow/green dot on the outside side of a tire marks lightest part of tire and as usual should be placed near the tire valve.
vGamBITx what if there are both red and yellow dots?
its amazing how many car salesman and used dealerships that dont know how to read tire information. I had to school a salesman who tried selling my friend a car with 'new' tires on it. They were 5 years old, just never used. Got him to put on brand new tires if my friend bought it. Then I scanned the system engine codes with my scanner, he said 'its just an oil light'. It had like 6 or 7 faulty sensor codes including o2 sensors, which can be pricey. My friend didnt buy that car, or any from that dealership ^_^
As far as this video goes, great information! The important one to remember besides the obvious tire sizes is the date manufactured. Any time you buy a used car, verify the dates. most inspection facilities or tire shops wont even touch a tire if its more than 8 years old, 5 in some places. And by then the tread has gotten hard and choppy in most cases and probably is not safe at highway speeds in the event you slam on your brakes or do a higher speed curve and load the outside of the old tires.
Can you do a video on FOAM vs NO FOAM. Is it really that much of a difference??
Mr. Ramirez no difference. Foam is supposed to quiet them. That’s about it
@@nl9887 that was my question. Does it really make them quieter and if yes, how much?
Tire pressure is so important, but so many people run the wrong pressure. I work at a lube shop and most people have too much pressure. One lady was running 60 psi for a Honda Accord (max: 44 rec: 30)!! Not only will it wear your tires incorrectly and make for a harder ride, but you also have less traction. When I got my gf new tires, she complained that she was having trouble cornering because she felt like she was sliding out a bit. I drove it to work to check the tire pressure and felt what she was talking about. Turns out, they over inflated the tires by 10 psi in the rear and 8 in the front (40 psi all around, subaru, math, you get it lol). Since I adjusted the pressure, all the issues she was having went away and she loves the tires now!
I feel so jipped- I just bought tires and I have to wait years to use this knowledge 😂.
Hey, if you cheaped out, you can put this knowledge to use now
I am consistently amazed by the number of people I speak to who fill their tires to the "max pressure" or near the max pressure and who consistently wear out the middle of the tire.
wanted a vid on youtube of this for ages!
There has been many tyre parameter details put out into this world, you have covered this very well, Thank you.
Please make a video on motorcycle suspension Rebound & Compression
MCN have a decent video on the topic. Usually it's the preload you are adjusting together with rebound dampening.
@@NomenNescio99 could you provide the link please?
Look up Dave Moss if you want the best information. He explains it well and the information is correct.
@@rohitbauri5958Enjoy your bike and ride safe!
new to the trade formally, I got a job as a tire tech. this video has been invaluable. super thanks!
I wonder how those tyres with the foam inserts cope with having tyre sealant on it.
My Nankang Ns20 noble sports have the highest of highest ratings on all catagories except the treadwear being 240 (30 series). Thanks for the info and gives me something really good to say to all the doubters. Thanks! Great video
Drinking game: take a shot every time he says “tire”
Its an amazing video. I am also a huge tire nerd and these informations are incredibly helpful when checking the best tires for your needs.
A Ford GT with 2500 crank HP broke the 300mph barrier. Do a video about that Jason!
In just a mile! Quite cool. :)
What kind of tires can handle 300mph?!?!?
Is there a link to the video/article about this?
@@ZR_1121 the video came up in my recommended. Haven't watched it yet because I thought it was clickbait
@@skmetal7 That is what's bothering me!
Fantastic video. Never saw foam in a tire before. Now I’m wondering if I could install foam like that in my more pedestrian tires to reduce road noise.
Foam in your tires? What a time to be alive lol
That was definitely Elon's idea. The chosen one will take us far.
I really love these types of videos.
Could you do a video talking about VINs?
That's some really geeky stuff, but does have some uses (like what country the car was made in for the first digit).
I look at VINs all day for my job so I've learned a lot of that stuff over time.
Thanks for making me a tire nerd lol
What are the chances, yesterday I changed my tires and I was looking for info of course to refresh my memory and on the same day he releases a video talking about tire sidewalls. It was helpful though and appreciate the content.
Just started my job as a tire technician this week 😏
most informative tyre explanation by a far margin! great work once again Jason!
In F1 (and other racing series with multiple tire options), there is always an inverse correlation between tire traction/grip and durability/wear; eg compound A might have a 10% higher coefficient of friction than compound B, but compound B will last 10% more laps than tire A. Is this the case with road tires? Can I buy tires that offer both better grip and durability than discount tires, or is there an inherent tradeoff between grip and durability?
TL;DR Is the grip vs wear tradeoff in racing tires a natural or artificial feature?
Remember, that is about wet braking. Not an actual grip compound. You can have a hard truck tire wet brake better than a slick sticky tire because of Tread.
@@killaj419 Actually it is tread design, tire compounds and construction differences (the types of layers and materials used to build them).
Yes, there are large differences in consumer road tires. In racing, you only have a few variations and cost is not a primary driver in variation like it is with consumer tires. Also note that there are effectively "generations" of tires. The average tire is improving slowly but steadily with each new model released. In general, in the same class of tire, you are making tradeoffs of dry grip, wet grip, cornering, tread life, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), comfort, energy loss (fuel economy), and price.
@@kodiak2fitty I totally agree, but the "Traction" rating on DOT tires only rates wet braking on even pavement. That is it. Nothing else. It is a federal law. Yes, you can get more technical data from the manufacturer of the tire.
This neatly packs together what I spent a couple of hours worth of googling on when I had to buy new tires.. As @Elliott Gardner said .. this should be mandatory knowledge for people that are looking for new tires.
Could you put that info in a text file so I can print it and go tyre shopping please ?
Figure out what your car require, then google what that mean in "tire lanuage".
Sizes are limited by the rim and your car. Most cars have a very limited range of tire it can use, depending on rim size.
Load and speed are just upper limits on the tire, you want as low as possible above what your car is capable of (dont need a truck tire load and 186mhp on a prius)
Have always been a Michelin buyer and I tell everyone they make some of the best tires out there. I like when I suggest to someone that I personally would buy a Michelin tire and when they do and come back and say it's the best tire they have ever driven on.
10:55 the most important part of the video
I was surprised that the tread rating isn't uniform among all tire manufacturers... makes sense as michelins don't seem to last as long as pirellis with same rating. Any more information on how to compare this piece of info across brands? Thanks! Great video!
"The video will get far less interesting"
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I really enjoy your humor and when I buy new tires for my rv, it will be after I review this and have taken notes.
Appreciate you watching!
That settles it, when I get new tires, I'm gonna buy some foam and some tire glue to make my tires quieter!
“But don’t worry this video will get much less interesting”
Watched the whole thing. Not sure why I but I loved it.
Jeez, when we all come to metric system, this is madness.
Huh?
I have no idea what you’re trying to prove.
One more thing of interest. Usually there is a colored dot on the sidewall. I was told that when the tire is amounted the dot should line up with the valve stem. I'm assuming it would help with balancing the tire.
I’m surprised they didn’t rate max load in stones and max pressure in kPascals. 🤫
They did rate in kPa, 340kPa I believe was
You should do a video comparing cheap top selling tires vs expensive top selling tires. Would love to know the difference, thanks your the best!
Do you never tire of tire videos?
Never ever!
@@EngineeringExplained that's one thing we have in common.
This is also the first time I've wver seen foam inside a tire.
I’ve seen so many videos trying to explain this & never understood, but this was super easy to understand thanks for the info love your channel btw
I'm tired already
🤣🤣🤣
Very useful, thanks for the making the video. I wondered what people meant when they talked about radials vs bias ply tyres.
Tires which are "special designed" for some specific car model are one of the funniest joke in auto industry.
Indeed. I see a lot of models on Tire Rack with the note that they are for Mercedes Benzes or Porsches
Why is it a joke? The tire compounds and construction are often tweaked specifically to meet the OEM's requirements. OEMs start from an existing design, multiple versions and iterations (aka submissions) are created and tested by the OEM to check attribute performance before settling on a final tire submission. For example the OEM could be looking for lower noise/vibration/harshness (NVH), lower rolling resistance, changes in dry/wet handling. The tire interaction with the other suspension components on a vehicle is quite complicated. Even the recommended tire pressure placard is determined by a mix of regulation requirements and attribute trade-offs. Going to the OEM dealer to buy replacement tires is the way to get the version the engineers designed. Going to Tire Rack or a local garage is a crap shoot and most places won't match DOT codes; i.e. you could have a mix of Tesla and Chrysler spec'd tires in a set of 4. Source: I'm involved in OEM testing of tires. Nothing against Tire Rack. I bought my winter tires from them.
I remember the Acura NSX came with vehicle specific tires on the rear with incredibly short tread life. About that time Lexus LS400’s were also fitted with unique tires.
My dad is a tire engineer at Michelin and I hear this stuff all the time! I actually new most of the facts in this video!!
The best video on this subject available online
Thank you, I've always wondered what all those hieroglyphs were saying. Very informative.
Great video. I actually learned quite a bit. My tires have a M+S after the speed rating on the tire (105V M+S, example). It wasn't included in your video but, I was driven to painful curiosity to find out what it was for. After using my google machine, it stands for Mud and Snow. I could have probably guessed, but good to know. Cheers.
Always get your tyres balanced AND never let a tyre shop gun your wheels back on. Hand-held impact drivers can be and usually are set to high. Even if the fitter looks up the correct torque they are not precision tested tools like a torque wrench. Bottom line it can cost £80 per nut Or £300 for all for locknuts.
This was far and away the most riveting thing I watched today
Nice video. Would also have liked to see the difference in summer, all-season and winter tyre sidewall markings.
Thank you for actually explaining things! Others don't explain much at all
This guy makes me smile every time. Side note, do you go wheelin’ in that Tesla?
Jason, the index of load for a giving specific tire size can only be 2 possible numbers, the normal load and the extra load, so although there are several numbers out there, for your application that isn´t really, for exemple, I bought for my car one set of 225 50 17 and you can find the load rating of 94 OR 98, there are no other numbers, and the 98 IS extra load. a variaty of load rating is just possible looking into tires of different sizes.
4:46 In case of Michelin it is not an aesthetic choice to put Z on the tire. If Michelin has only Y letter it means it is suitable for speeds up to 300 km/h, if it has both ZR and Y it can take over 300 km/h (not specified how much exactly). For other manufacturers it could be different.
any tire can go faster than it's designation, the designation only states up to which speed the manufacturer guarantees it's perfomrance to be as intended.
Thank you for your information..I am passing your information to my uncle so he will be well informed when buying tires for his rv.....Thank you Bud S.
Love my Mickey Thompson ET street radials, they may have a C in the rain but I give them AAAAA in the dry!
Ha, love it!