The 4 newly installed tires on my daughter's car have the following markings:
(outside sidewall) R-42515 K-32923 DOT PLC6 F5KR
(inside sidewall) R-42515 K-33013 63R DOT PLC6 F5KR 4905
All 4 tires have the same markings except that one tire has 63L
instead of 63R before the DOT. Can someone explain the meaning of the
markings that come before DOT? What do these markings mean?? |
Request for Question Clarification by
byrd-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 09:20 PDT
Hi pparisien-ga,
It is usually possible to decode those cryptic markings on tires, but
could you please clarify a few points and provide the following
additional information?
1) Please verify that you purchased the tires in the U.S. If not, in what country?
2) What is the brand name on the tires?
3) Is your daughter's car a passenger car, a light truck, or some
other type of vehicle?
4) At what kind of store did you purchase the tires?
5) Exactly where on the sidewall are these numbers located? Most tires
have three lines of markings: one with larger letters/numbers on the
outside next to the tread, one with somewhat smaller letters/numbers
on the inside next to the rim, and one between, with very small
writing. In which band did you find the markings you give here? If you
can't describe it, would it be possible to take a photograph, upload
it, and provide us with a link? http://www.photobucket.com is one
site that lets you do that for free.
6) Have you transcribed the markings exactly as they appear? For
instance, dashes (-) are not common on tire markings, but slashes (/)
are. Just trying to verify the markings on your daughter's tires are
typed exactly as they appear.
7)Is there anything else stamped on the tires that you haven't given
us? Position of the markings is important, but so is what
precedes/follows any given sequence of numbers.
Please try to be as specific as possible when describing these
markings. Also, you can respond to the clarification request while the
question is locked.
Thank you,
Byrd-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 10:37 PDT
Hi byrd-ga - to clarify firther: 1) the tires were purchase in Canada;
2) the tires are KELLY EXPLORER 195/65R15; 3) my daughter's car is a
Chevy Cavalier, 2003; 4) tires were purchased at the local garage/auto
repair shop from where I live Windsor, Ontario - my daughter lives 50
miles away in Chatham, Ontario); 5) there are two main "bands" around
the tire. The upper larger band about 1.75"wide contains the words:
Kelly (and) EXPLORER (and) M + S P195/65R15 (and) STEEL BELTED
RADIAL. Above the words STEEL BELTED RADIAL and within the same band
are two rows of much smaller lettering. This is a Safety Warning about
tire pressure/risk of explosion and the need for qualified people to
install the tire. The second, inner band is smaller in width at about
.88". This smaller band is divided into 15 segments or panels(having
embossed lines within the band that create a panel effect) --- 14
panels then are roughly 3.75" in length measured midpoint along the
radious of the band; the one large panel is roughly 6.75" in length.
Working my way counterclockwise beginning with the large panel as
panel #1 and describing the markings found on the smaller band, we
find: (large) Panel #1: DOT PLC6 F5KR 4905; Panel#2: 63R Panel#3:
--is blank-- Panel#4: Load and Pressure numbers: Panel #5: (2 rows)
top row = STANDARD MAX; 2ND ROW = LOAD MAX;
The large panel contains the markings . (I am describing here the
inside sidewall of the tire) Imeediately preceeding the large panel,
in one of the 14 panels are the markings: 63R
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 11:18 PDT
It appears that I flipped the tire and have been transcribing info re.
the smaller band from both the inside and ouside sidewalls.. they are
not the same.. in positioning nor in contents.
Let me try again: describing the contents of the panels along the
smaller band -- clockwise to make it easier -- this are the marking on
the inside of the sidewall:
Panel#1 (larger panel) contains: DOT PLC6 F5KR 4905
Smaller panels going cw:
Panel#2: is BLANK
Panel#3: KELLY SPRINGFIEL MADE IN U.S.A. (this appears in two rows
within the panel)
Panel#4: THREAD 3 PLIES SIDEWALL (also in 2 rows within panel)
Panel#5: (2 rows) top row = ( 1 PLOYESTER CORD + 2 2nd row = 1 PLY POLYESTER
Panel#6: (2 rows) top = STEEL CORD ) lower row = CORD )
Panel#7: M + S
Panel#8: P195/65R15
Panel#9: RADIAL
Panel#10: PLY TUBELESS
Panel#11: (two rows) top row = KPRE-45 lower row = R-42575 R-33013
Panels#12 & 13: refers to standard load and maximum loads
Panel#14: --- is BLANK----
Three of the tires have the marking 63R while obe tire had the marking 63L
The outside of the sidewall have more or less the same info with
slight variation in position and some info is omitted, also the
K-33013 appears as K-32923 on the outside sidewall.
Note that the bar code stickers are located on the insdie of each tire
bar code number on one sticker reads: 48946815
thank you for your continued help, paul
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 13:45 PDT
pics of the outside sidewall and inside sidewall are pocted at photobucket
under tire pics --
|
Request for Question Clarification by
byrd-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 18:34 PDT
Hi pparisien-ga,
Many thanks for the clarifications, and posting a picture of the tire.
I'm pretty sure we'll be able to get this deciphered shortly. Just a
couple more things:
1) In your second clarification, are you saying the 63R/L are in the
outer band of information or inner? If outer, in exactly which
position relative to the other information? If inner, then in exactly
which "panel," and also in relation to which other information? I'm
not quite sure from your description.
2) While I appreciate your posting the pictures on Photobucket, I'm
afraid that without a direct link I am not able to view them. Simply
searching for "tire pics" brings up numerous pages and images, and
it's impossible for me to know which, if any, are yours. You should be
able to get a "public url" for your pictures, which you can then post
here, and I can then use to view them.
Thanks,
Byrd-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 19:15 PDT
63R immediately precedes the DOT panel on the same smaller band
thus if the tire is positioned so that the DOT markings PLC6 F%KR 4905
are at noon then 63R is at roughly 11 o'clock
aggain the 63R appears only on the inside sidewall of three of the
tiores while the fourth sidewal has the markings 63L immediately
before the DOT markings
I don't know how to post a link from the photobucket but will as soon
as I olearn how
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
01 Sep 2006 19:19 PDT
http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l106/pparisien/
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
02 Sep 2006 07:49 PDT
I took the tires to a Goodyear retailer who examined the tires but
was unable to identify the markings - though he was fairly cetain that
the bar code was a "retread bar code" used by some retreaders to track
their tires...
The bar code "sticker" is in fact embedded right into the rubber, and
not just an add-on sticker as it appeared to be to me.
Based on his visual examination however, the Goodyear guy could not
determine if the tires were new or had been retreaded.
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
02 Sep 2006 08:07 PDT
to further clarify--- more of my mistakes
the pics are mislabelled the outside sidewall is the inside and the
inside sidewall pic is a picture of the outside sidewall. Sorry again
-- the bar code then is located on the OUTSIDE sidewall (its near the
rim and wasn't visible before the tires were removed) so I assumed
thet were on the inside- my mistake again -- I apologize for any
inconvenience or confusion I may have caused
|
Request for Question Clarification by
byrd-ga
on
02 Sep 2006 08:32 PDT
Dear pparisien,
Thank you very much for all your clarifications, and the photos.
However, although they were very helpful, I think I am going to have
to condede defeat here. I've spent hours searching, and while I've
found some information, I've not been able to completely decode your
tire markings.
Part of the reason why is that, although the government requires tire
manufacturers to stamp certain information on the tires, not all the
information found there is mandated by law, and manufacturers can and
do use a variety of codes and stampings, for which there is no
standard. What that means is that on any given tire there is a
combination of government required codes, and optional manufacturer
codes. The first are possible to find; the second are not, at least
not always in all cases. So, I'll give you what I have just so it
doesn't go to waste, and then reopen the question in case another
Researcher may have more success with the rest of it.
===============================================================================
63R or L = from everything I've seen this looks similar to the format
for what is called a "service description" of the tire. However, this
combination doesn't really make sense, as it would indicate a very
light loading and low speed, which doesn't agree with other service
descriptions for different sizes of this same tire. For example, 63
would = a load limit of only 600 lbs. (x4 would = a car of only 1200
lbs) and L a speed limit of 75mph/120kph, while R would =
106mph/170kph. Most other sizes of this make/model tire have a load
limit above 89 (1,279 lbs.) and speed code of S (112mph/180kph), so
that's why I'm doubtful this is a service description. But I can't
find any other codes that follow this format or any other explanation
of what it might be. So it remains a mystery to me.
Table of speed ratings:
http://autorepair.about.com/cs/generalinfo/l/bldef_760a.htm
Complete load index:
http://flashoffroad.com/features/Tires/loadrating.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOT PLC6 F5KR 4905 = This I did have some success with, although some
of it is manufacturer specific optional codes that I cannot find
information on. Most sources say these codes are used in cases of
recall of specific tires. Here's how it breaks out:
1st Letter = Manufacturer
2nd Letter = Plant
3rd/4th Letters = Tire Size
5th,6th,7th,8th Letters = Tire Type Code
9th Letter = Week of the Year of Manufacture
10th Letter = Year of Manufacture
So:
P = Kelly Springfield Tire Company (a subsidiary of Goodyear)
L = Tyler, Texas
C6 = can't find information
F5KR = can't find information
49 = 49th week of the year, or in this case December 4=10
05 = 2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M + S = Winter tire, approved for Mud and Snow
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P195/65R15 - This one can be completely decoded; it is the most standard code used.
P = Passsenger vehicle
195 = 195mm, the width of the tire at its widest point
65 = Aspect ratio: height of the sidewall is 65% of the width, or
126.75mm in this case
R = Radial
15 = Rim diameter in inches (381 mm);
Total diameter of the tire would be 634.5 mm or 24.98 (25) inches)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KPRE-45 and R-42575/K-33013 or R-42515/K-32923 = I have no idea
whatsoever about these sequences. I haven't found anything even close.
Best I can tell these are also discrete manufacturer numbers, possibly
referring to the tire line, brand, model, etc., perhaps also there for
contingency's sake in case of recall. For instance, the "K" could
refer to "Kelly", etc. But that's only a guess on my part.
================================================================================
Just for your information, here are some other links that were helpful:
Kelly-Springfield pages on the Explorer tire:
http://www.kelly-springfield.com/kellytires/display_tire.jsp?prodline=Explorer+AS&mrktarea=Passenger
http://www.kellytires.com/auto/products/exp.html
DOT Plant Codes:
http://www.harriger.com/tire3.htm
http://www.tirelitigation.com/html/plantcrossrefer2.html
U.S. DOT - Tire Labeling Passenger Vehicles
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Tires/pages/TireLabelPassVeh2.htm
U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 574, Tire Identification and
Recordkeeping (has diagrams of DOT code content and placement):
http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/documents/cfr/title49/part574.html
1010 Tires - Tire Tech: lots of useful information
http://www.1010tires.com/tech.asp?type=tires
Article: "What's in a Tire? Demystifying the Black Art of Tire Designations"
http://www.ama-cycle.org/roadride/Riderresc/tires.asp
===================================================================================
So again, I'm sorry I wasn't able to decode all the markings for you.
I do hope that another Researcher might have better luck, or perhaps
know of sources of information I wasn't able to find.
Best wishes,
Byrd-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
pparisien-ga
on
02 Sep 2006 10:50 PDT
Assuming for a minute that 63R and 63L does refer to speed and load limits...
Are there tires made that fit within thsoe ranges??
Perhaps tires not emant to eb installed on passenger cars or
possibly retreads (recaps, remoulds) that are sold in other countries
(and perhaps illegally sold here as new tires) Any thoughts?
How about the bar code? Can you identify the tires further using the
bar code numbers?
|
