What Do Tire Numbers Mean?

With the series of letters and numbers on your tires, you’re getting a complete picture of what type of tire you’ve got in Bel Air. Some of the information that will be communicated to you is the size, load index, speed rating, and tire type. Check your owner’s manual to figure out what type of tire is ideal for your Los Angeles car.

Now, let’s consider this example of a tire and we’ll break down all of the information being communicated to you in the tire number meaning.

P215/65R15 95H

Let’s start with the “P” which stands for “P-Metric tire.” This part of the tire number’s meaning denotes that this is a car for passenger vehicles, as opposed to “LT,” which are suited for light pickup trucks. If you don’t have a letter starting out, that means you’re driving with a European style tire with different load capacities.

After the P is the “215” which denotes how many millimeters span the distance from sidewall to sidewall. As a result, this means that a “215” tire has a 215 mm width.

After the forward slash is the aspect ratio code, here denoted by the number “65.” The ratio is determined by dividing the height of the tire’s cross section to its width, meaning a “65” is representative of a 65% ratio of height to width. The higher your ratio is, the bigger your sidewalls will be.

“R” means your tires are radial tires.

“15” shows you the wheel size from one end of the wheel to the other, giving you an idea of what type of tire fits on this particular wheel. The “15” says this tire is meant for a 15-inch wheel.

All the way at the end, you’ve got “95H,” which tells you the load index and speed rating of the tire. The “95” is the load index, a measure of how much weight the tire will be able to handle at the proper inflation. You’re likely going to find the load index of your tires between 75 and 105. The “H” refers to the speed rating, which goes from A to Z and gives you an estimated top speed for safe driving. For instance, an H rating is designated for a top speed of 130 mph.