Safety Knowledge to Consider Before Buying Tires For Your Car

Your vehicle’s safety is arguably all controlled by the tires, so it’s time to learn about them. In today’s discussion, we will focus on safety knowledge to consider before buying tires. Any driver should take it upon themselves to be familiar with all the signs, symbols, and imprints on their tires for the safety of their vehicles.

First, a long series of codes and numbers on the tire represent different meanings. Only by knowing these parameters can you have a basic understanding of the tire. Therefore, in this article, we will first talk about the more important signs on vehicle tires.

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Table of Contents

1. What Do AT, MT, and HT Stand On Tires Stand For?

Can you explain the meaning of AT, MT, and HT on tires? Well, I will be discussing this below:

AT.

That is, All-Terrain, refers to off-road tires suitable for all road conditions. The advantage of AT tires is that they can be used off-road and for regular trips. Of course, off-road performance is still limited. The disadvantage of AT tires is that the road performance is reduced, and the noise is generally higher because the tread and spacing determine the tire noise. In addition, the maximum speed of general AT tires is not too high; try not to exceed the maximum speed marked on the tire.

refers to “highway terrain” off-road tires suitable for urban roads. The sidewall of HT tires is soft, and the tread pattern is relatively delicate, which can create a quieter driving environment. If the vehicle is mainly used in urban areas, you can consider changing to a set of HT tires.

is Mud-Terrain, that is, mud tires; MT tires have hard walls and exaggerated tire teeth, and the distance between tire teeth is obviously too large, which is convenient for slow mud discharge or high-speed mud dumping when driving on mud. Increasing adhesion on harsh ground, such as uneven rocky ground, is easier. The MT tires are loud when driving on the road. Braking and steering performance is much different from the HT tires, and getting out of control on rainy pavement is easier.

MS or M&S

Mud and snow tires are all-season tires approved for use in muddy and snowy conditions by the Rubber Manufacturer’s Association.

HP: This indicates “high performance tires“

2. Production Date

The production date marked on the tire is 1514, where 14 means 2014, and 15 means the 15th week of production, so the production date of this tire is the 15th week of 2014.

3. Tire Identification

205/55/R16 is the most important factor in choosing tires. First of all, 205 represents the width of the part of the tire that touches the ground, that is, 205mm; 55 represents the tire’s aspect ratio; that is, the aspect ratio is 55%; R16 refers to the size of the wheel/R. The 91 in 91W refers to the load index.

Conclusion

To make your vehicle drive safely, Please, master this basic common sense; at least you know what kind of tires you want to buy when changing tires.

In addition, some tires will have more complex parameters such as speed level, J value, wear resistance index, temperature, etc.