Hobbies Cars & Motorcycles Read Your Tires Share PINTEREST Email Print Cars & Motorcycles Cars Tires & Wheels Buying & Selling Basics How Tos Reviews Tools & Products Classic Cars Exotic Cars Corvettes Mustangs Motorcycles Used Cars SUVs Trucks ATVs & Off Road Public Transportation By Sean Phillips Updated January 13, 2020 01 of 39 European Standard Tire Sidewall Markings The sidewall markings of a standard European tire. Tire Guides, Inc. Here you'll find larger sized images associated with my articles. From our article: How To Read Your Tire 02 of 39 Finding Tire Size and Aspect Ratio How to Determine the Standing Height of Your Tire. Sean Phillips From my article: Plus and Minus Sizing Your Tires 03 of 39 Silver Painted Wheel This BMW wheel is painted a standard flat silver color. Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. From my article: Wheel Cosmetics: Painted Wheels" 04 of 39 Chromeplated Wheel Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. 05 of 39 Salt Damage: Full View Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. This is what road salt can do to chrome. 06 of 39 Salt Damage: A Closer Look. Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. A closer view. The chrome has completely flaked off in a large patch. 07 of 39 Salt Damage: Bottom Edge Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. The bottom edge. Note that the chrome is continuing to peel and flake even beyond the original damage. The peeling edges are extremely sharp. 08 of 39 Tire Bubble Sean Phillips When the radial plies are damaged by impact, the tire loses its ability to hold against air pressure at that point. We call this a "bubble." 09 of 39 Tire Bubble Sean Phillips Tires with this kind of damage should be replaced as quickly as possible. The bubble will only get worse as the sidewall delaminates, and eventually the tire will lose the battle. Unfortunately, bubbles on the suspension-facing side of the tire, as with this one, cannot easily be seen. If you feel that an impact could have "pinched" the tire sidewall between the obstruction and your rim, be sure to check both sides of the tire for signs of damage. 10 of 39 Cutaway view of a standard tire Discount Tire Inc. 11 of 39 A cross-section view of a standard tire Public Domain 12 of 39 Polished Wheel Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. 13 of 39 Ultra Baja Champ Polished Wheel Tire Rack, Inc. This Baja Champ wheel by Ultra might not have come polished in the days before clearcoat, particularly with the hard-to-repolish oval decorative pockets along the outer flange. 14 of 39 Full-Face Machine Polishing Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. 15 of 39 Machined Interference Patterns Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. The surface has a chromatic effect not unlike a CD's surface as light waves scattering off the concentric lines interfere with each other. 16 of 39 BMW M-Parallel Wheel: Paint in the Pockets Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. This BMW M3 wheel is machined along the outer flange and high spots and has paint in the low areas along the spokes. This creates a nice two-tone finish that can be further punched up by varying the paint colors. 17 of 39 Paint In The Pockets Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. Another example of paint in the pockets. 18 of 39 Flange Cut Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. Lathing only the outer flange of the wheel and leaving the center painted is called a flange cut. 19 of 39 3-Piece Wheel With Polished Lip Sean Phillips A 3-piece Porsche "deep-dish" aftermarket wheel. The center piece is machined, with paint in the grooves. The outer lip, a separate piece held on by the rivets, is ball polished. 20 of 39 A Donut-Style Temporary Spare Sean Phillips 21 of 39 TPMS Valve Stem Type Monitor Public Domain This is the most common type of TPMS monitor. The black module on the left is the pressure sensor, radio transmitter and battery casing, which sits under the valve stem inside the tire. 22 of 39 Aftermarket TPMS Setup Tire Rack, Inc. An aftermarket TPMS set, consisting of four monitors and a dashboard mounted multifunction display. 23 of 39 The Hakka Sipe Sean Phillips 24 of 39 Rain Sipes Sean Phillips 25 of 39 3D Self-Locking Sipes Nokian Tyres, plc 26 of 39 WRG2 Self-Locking Sipes 3D Self-Locking Sipes. Nokian Tyres plc 27 of 39 Nokian's Pump Sipes Nokian Hakka R Pump Sipes. Nokian Tyres, plc 28 of 39 Bright Hypersilver Rim And Wheel Works, Inc A BMW wheel finished in bright hypersilver. 29 of 39 Smoked Hypersilver Rim And Wheel Works, Inc A BMW wheel finished in smoked hypersilver. 30 of 39 The Evolution of Tire Studs Nokian Tyres, plc From circular points to square edges to the new trapezoidal look, Nokian has been at the forefront of tire stud design. 31 of 39 Nokian's AirClaw Studded Tread Block Design Nokian Tyres, plc Nokian's Hakka 7 studded snow tire features the AirClaw tread block, which is purpose-built for studs. Note the circular pump sipes just ahead of the stud for clearing water off the surface, and the long trapezoidal stud design which provides maximum biting edges. 32 of 39 Nokian's Eco-Stud System Nokian Tyres, plc Nokian's Eco-Stud system places a soft layer of padding between the stud base and the tire to reduce noise and pavement damage. Note also a cross-section of the pump sipes just in front of the stud. 33 of 39 Wheel Anatomy Public Domain 34 of 39 Wheel Anatomy Structural Face. Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. 35 of 39 Deep Dish Wheel Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. 36 of 39 Forged Wheel w/ Bent Lip Rim And Wheel Works, Inc. The lip of this wheel is much easier to bend because of the distance between the lip and the spokes. 37 of 39 Negative Offset Discount Tire Direct, Inc. 38 of 39 Positive Offset Discount Tire Direct, Inc. 39 of 39 Zero Offset Discount Tire Direct, Inc.