Tires, DOT, Flats, and MPG

Choosing the right tires for your rig, motorcycle or daily driver makes a world of difference in the overall performance of your vehicle. You can have the most insane rock climbing Jeep in the world, but if it has track slicks on it, you will not be climbing rocks anytime soon. In this article, I am going to show you how to look at a tire code and be able to get a quick snapshot of what it does. Also, there are going to be some basic tips and tricks on how to maintain and get the best performance out of the tires you currently have.

Reading Tire Codes

In the United States, the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, a component of the Department of Transportation, is one of the agencies tasked to enforce the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)(source). This basically means that every tire that you purchase has gone through a regulation process by the federal government. Let’s look at how to actually, read the codes on the side of the tire.

The Anatomy of tire codes:

Some of these are self-explanatory, so I am going to go into detail about the less well-known ones.

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[li_item icon=””] “P” prior to wheel size: means that it is intended to be on a  passenger car.  [/li_item]
[li_item icon=””]US DOT#: This is the number assigned by the Department of transportation. It also has the week and year that the tire was manufactured.[/li_item]
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Tips and Tricks

Re-seat tire bead quickly:

Fire!

Quickly get better MPG:

Have your tires partially over inflated. This will actually reduce friction, by propping your tires on a higher ride field! An easy way to boost your mpg!

Drive Safe!

Winter driving conditions are upon us, don’t forget to replace your tires and service then ones you currently have.