What Do Tire Numbers Mean?

When it’s time to buy new tires for your Nissan, you’ll need to know the combination of numbers and letters on the sidewalls of your old tires. What do tire numbers mean? They’re a code used to indicate the size, type, and performance grade of tires you’re using on Antigonish streets, so it’s easy to reorder. Get more information about the tire number meaning with Century Nissan, then visit our tire department when you need replacements.

Determining Tire Number Meanings

You can provide a lot of information to our tires department when you know your tire number meaning. This series of numbers will tell a tire professional the size, load index, speed rating, and type of tire on your vehicle that’ll provide maximum performance. Here’s an example of a tire number:

Example: P215/65R15 95H

Let’s break down what each part of this code means:

Decoding “P”

The “P” stands for “P-Metric tire,” meaning that it is used for passenger vehicles. This is typically what you’ll find on most cars. If your tires read “LT,” this stands for “light truck,” and the tire is intended for light-weight pickup trucks like the Nissan Frontier. If your tire code doesn’t begin with a letter, that means it’s a European-style (Euro-Metric) tire and has different load capacities

Decoding “215”

The first three numbers after the letter indicate the tire width in millimeters from sidewall to sidewall. In our example, that means there are 215 millimeters between sidewalls.

Decoding “/65”

The forward slash indicates an upcoming aspect ratio code for the height of the tire’s cross-section to its width. In this case, the tire has an aspect ratio of 65 percent of the tire’s width. The bigger the aspect ratio, the bigger the sidewalls.

Decoding “R”

The “R” indicates the tire’s construction, with “R” representing that it’s a radial.

Decoding “15”

“15” is the wheel size in inches from one end to the other. This tells us which tire can fit on this wheel. This code tells us that this tire is meant for a 15-inch wheel.

Decoding “95H”

This tire code ends with “95H,” which is the load index is the number and speed rating is the letter for the tire. These codes correspond two sets of codes tire dealers have. In this case, the 95 indicates how much weight the tire can support in a range of 75-105. The H specifically indicates on a scale of A-Z how fast a tire can go. H is a top speed of 200 KM per hour (obviously not recommended in any way).

Save on Your New Tires at Century Nissan

Now that you know what tire numbers mean, it’s easy for you to order new tires for your Nissan and install them yourself! Just contact our service center with your tire number, and we can get the right tires for you. Shop our service specials to save money on your new tires.