Note: When replacing a wheel or tire, be sure to replace the rubber valve stem.
Tires and Wheels (on disc wheels) are important elements of the vehicle design.
Mounting and repairing tires requires special tools and professional skills. These jobs should only be performed by specialists.
For safety reasons, tires may only be changed in pairs and only on one axle. The least worn tires should always be installed on the front wheels.
Only radial tires of the same design and size should be installed on all wheels (with the same circumference) and preferably with the same tread pattern. If there is a tread pattern that determines the direction of rotation of the tires, arrows-indicators are applied to the side surface of the tire. In this case, the direction of rotation of the tire must be strictly observed. This ensures optimal performance of the tire, grip on wet road surfaces and reduces wear and noise generated by the tire. If a tire is damaged, as a temporary measure, a tire with a direction of rotation opposite to the specified one can be installed for a short time.
In addition, on a four-wheel drive vehicle, all tires must be the same model and from the same manufacturer. Otherwise, the viscous coupling will undesirably increase the share of traction on the rear axle due to the resulting difference in the rotation speed of the wheels of both axles. This may lead to failure.
Different tread depths of the front and rear tyres, for example due to wear, are not so important. However, it is recommended to fit tyres with a greater tread depth to the front wheels: if the front tyres are worn more than the rear tyres, their circumference is smaller and therefore they rotate faster. As a result, additional stresses occur in the transmission and the tyres wear out faster.
When choosing tires, you need to know their markings.
Fig. 13–2. Wheel: 1 – tire; 2 – valve; 3 – disk; 4 – wheel mounting bolt M14x1.5x27.5, 120 Nm; 5 – lock cylinder; 6 – decorative cover; 7 – decorative overlay; 8 – weights
Fig. 13–3. Location of tire markings
Radial tires (Fig. 13–3) have markings on the sidewall of the tire, for example:
195/70 R 15 89 H, where
- 195 - tire profile width, mm;
- 70 - ratio of the height of the tire profile to its width, %;
- R - arrangement of carcass cord threads - designation of a radial tire;
- 15 - rim diameter, in inches;
- 89 - tire load-bearing capacity index;
- H - speed index, km/h.
| Speed index | Maximum speed, km/h |
| Q | 160 |
| S | 180 |
| T | 190 |
| H | 210 |
| V | 240 |
| W | 270 |
The production date is also indicated on the sidewall of the tire (in some cases only on the inner surface of the tire).
- DOT CUL UM8–507 TUBELESS, where
- DOT - manufacturer;
- CU - manufacturer's code designation;
- L2 - tire size;
- UM8 - tire type;
- 507 - date of manufacture (50th week of 1997);
- TUBELESS - tubeless tire (TUBETYPE - chamber).
Wheel rims are also marked.
For example, the designation 6J x 16 is deciphered as follows:
- 6J - rim width, in inches;
- J - height of the side edge of the disc;
- x - deep disk;
- 16 - disc landing diameter, in inches.
(The original material is located on the website audimanual.ru)