Guide to Tyre Wall Markings

Nearly all modern tyres are of Radial construction, as in this example.

Required by USA consumer information regulations (not required in UK).

In this example, Made In Great Britain

In this example, Energy

(This marking is not on all tyres.) Tread wear indicators are moulded into the base of the main tread grooves and are set at the minimum legal depth of 1.6mm. These act as a visual warning when the tyre tread starts to approach the minimum legal depth. On Michelin tyres, a small Michelin man is used instead of “TWI”

Compliance symbol and identification number (not required in UK).

These numbers represent the week and year the tyre was made. The first two numbers are the week, the second two are the year. In this example, 1607 means the 16th week of 2007.

This proves that the tyre has been tested and passed European safety standards.
‘S’ = Sound (the tyre complies with EC noise directive).

In this example, Michelin

Not to be used for setting pressures. Use the vehicle manufacturer recommended pressures.

This indicates the width, height and construction type of the tyre, and the diameter of the wheel it is designed for. In this example, 205/55 R 16 means:

205 - the nominal width of the tyre’s cross-section in millimetres.
55 - is the ‘aspect ratio’ - the ratio of the sidewall height to the cross-section width.
R - stands for radial construction.
16 - stands for the nominal diameter (in inches) of the wheel that the tyre is designed to fit.