Reading and understanding your Accelera tire can be complicated and confusing since there’s a lot going on on your sidewall. But that information is important and can be extremely useful to you! It can help you identify what type of tire you need to buy next, or how high of quality they are, or how fast you can safely drive on them without burning them up, or how much weight you can put on them without blowing them out. With all these newfound uses you now know about, follow along our complete breakdown of how to read and understand your tire.

• The first letter indicates the tire’s class – P = passenger, LT = light truck, etc.
• The section width is the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in mm – e.g. 245mm.
• The aspect ratio is the height of the sidewall (it’s a percentage of the section width).In other words, the ratio of sidewall height to width – e.g. 45% (of 245 which means the section width is 110.25).
• The speed rating is the maximum speed at which a (properly installed and inflated) tire can be driven on. This is indicated by a letter which stands for a specific mph – e.g. S = 112mph, T = 118mph, W = 168mph.
• An R stands for radial construction. This means the tire is a radial tire, which has layers of fabric whose cords run at right angles to the circumference of the tire; this just means that the tread is strengthened by additional layers around the circumference.
• Wheel diameter is the size of the wheel that a tire can fit, in inches – e.g. The tire will fit a 19 inch wheel.
• Load index is the maximum load carrying capacity of the tire. It’s very important not to exceed this specification.
• DOT is the department of transportation number which indicates that the tire has passed all of the minimum DOT standards for sale in the U.S.
• UTQG stands for uniform tire quality grading marking. It’s a rating for treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance:
  • Treadwear rating (a number, such as 200) refers to the durability of the tire.
  • Traction rating (A) refers to the tire’s ability to stop in a straight line or wet road (grades are AA, A, B, or C – AA being the highest).
  • Temperature rating (A) refers to the tire’s resistance to the generation of heat when driven at high speeds (grades are A, B, C – A being the highest).