B arry's T ire T ech

This is a series of articles on the technical aspects of tires, their care and usage.

My primary purpose in these articles is to help people understand tires and thereby reduce the risks we all face every day.

..........and since tires is just about the only thing I know about..........

Please drop me a note if you have a topic you want to see:

Barry@BarrysTireTech.com
Main Page:

I hope you enjoy my website, but more importantly, I hope you learn something as well.

I am not going to pretend that this website is going to cover everything. In fact, I'm only going to cover subjects that either need clarification or have not been covered somewhere else. That means this is going to be fairly advanced - not for the beginner!

If you ARE a beginner - or don't find what you are looking for, may I suggest you visit:

Tire Rack's Tire Tech Area.

But before going much further, I want to make a few things clear:

  • The information published here is the best information I have available. Like a great many things, it is not absolute.

  • Some of what is here is my opinion and I have tried to make it clear when I am expressing my opinion and when I am presenting facts.

  • I've tried to confine my discussions to Passenger and Light Truck Tires but most of the information applies to tires regardless of the vehicle they are designed for.

  • I have copied some copyrighted material onto these pages. If I understand the laws correctly, I am allowed to do this so long as I didn't copy it in its entirety (which I didn't), and it is for educational (I sure hope this is educational!!) or entertainment (That would be a plus!) and not for commercial purposes (OK, if I make a few bucks off this site, I'll share it. I doubt that will happen!!).


BTW, I want to publicly point out how much work it is to put one of these web sites together. Hats off to those of you who do this every day!!

Barry's Tire Tech - Tire Standardizing Organizations

Barry's Tire Tech - Load Tables

Barry's Tire Tech - Dimension Tables

Barry's Tire Tech - Rolling Resistance and Fuel Economy

Barry's Tire Tech - Original Equipment (OE) tires

Barry's Tire Tech - Speed Ratings

Barry's Tire Tech - 16.5" Tires

Barry's Tire Tech - Air or Tire?

Barry's Tire Tech - Vibration: Balance, Runout, and Uniformity

Barry's Tire Tech - Directional and Asymmetrical Tires

Barry's Tire Tech - Serial Number / DOT Codes

Barry's Tire Tech - Idealized Alignment Recommendation

Barry's Tire Tech - The Ford / Firestone Controversy

SAE Paper 800087 - The Effect of Inflation Pressure on Bias, Bias-Belted, and Radial Tire Performance - by B. L. Collier and J. T. Warchol, B. F. Goodrich, February, 1980

My Credentials