Needing to get new tires for my car, I have learned more about them than I would probably need to know. So, I thought I would share my knowledge...

Be it for cars, motorcycles, or other vehicles, every tire has size and speed rating information printed on them. The format is always the same:

Pxxx/yyyRzz s

Where "xxx" is the width of the tire in millimeters, "yyy" is the height of the tire in a percentage ratio to its width, "zz" is the size of wheel rim that the tire fits in inches (to be consistent, I guess), and "s" is the speed rating for the tire.

The "P" stands for passenger, and the "R" stands for radial. There are other categories, but unless you are into racing, you will probably never see them.

My tire had the following specs:

P225/50R16 Z

So, it is 225mm wide, 112.5mm high (50% of 225), fits a 16 inch rim and has a tire speed rating of Z.

Now you know...

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