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What Are Original Equipment Tire Designations?

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Since tires play such an important role in establishing the personality of a vehicle, numerous vehicle manufacturers require their tire suppliers identify some or all of their Original Equipment (OE) tires with symbols or codes branded on the sidewalls that confirm the tire's original use. Some symbols are not mutually exclusive, and multiple designations may appear on a single tire.

The vehicle and tire manufacturer's goal is to make it easier for the owners to identify and select exact replacements when the Original Equipment tires wear out because matching the original tires exactly helps maintain the vehicle's intended personality.

Unfortunately many vehicles wear out tires in pairs (rather than sets of four) due to a lack of maintenance or when equivalent tread wear can't be achieved through periodic tire rotationtire rotation. While it can't make up for performance differences due to tread depth, it is most important to match new tires to those originally used on the vehicle when replacing tires in pairs.

The following list provides the symbols or codes currently in use:

Make Vehicle Symbols/Codes
Alfa RomeoAlfa Romeo Some Vehicles AR, ARR
Alpina Some Vehicles ALP
Aston MartinAston Martin Some Vehicles A2A, A4A, A5A, A6A, A6B, A7A, A8A, A8B
AM2, AM4, AM8, AM9
AML, AMP, AMR, AMS, AMV, AMX
AudiAudi Some Vehicles A, AO, AO+. AO1
AOE, AOE1 (Extended Run Flat)
RE0 (Extended Mobility)
RO, RO1, RO2
+
BentleyBentley Some Vehicles "B" in a circle
B, B1
BC, BH, BL
BMWBMW Some Vehicles 5-Pointed Star Symbol*
*1, *11
I*
ChryslerChrysler Some Dodge Vipers C1
Dallara Some Vehicles ME2
FerrariFerrari Some Vehicles F, F01, F02, F03, F04
K1, K2, K3
FordFord Some Mustangs FP
General MotorsGeneral Motors All Vehicles TPC SPEC (Tire Performance Criteria Specification)
TPC SPEC 1156 M+S (All Season Tires)
TPC SPEC 1156 (Non All Season Tires)
GenesisGenesis Some Vehicles GOE
HondaHonda Acura NSX H0, H1
HyundaiHyundai Some Vehicles GOE
H, HN
JaguarJaguar Some Vehicles "J" in a circle
J, JRS
JeepJeep Some Vehicles JP
KarmaKarma Some Vehicles KRM
LamborghiniLamborghini Some Vehicles L, L1
Land RoverLand Rover Some Vehicles JLR
LR, LR1, LR2, LR3, LR4, LR5
LotusLotus Some Vehicles LS, LTS, LTS2
Lucid MotorsLucid Motors Some Vehicles LM1, LM2
MaseratiMaserati Some Vehicles MGT, MGT1, MGT2
McLarenMcLaren All Vehicles MC, MC-C
MC1, MC2
MercedesMercedes Some Vehicles MO
MO1, MO1A, MO1B
MO2
MOE (Reduced-Range Extended Mobility Tire)
MOE-S
MO-P
MO-S
Some Vans MO-V
MiniMini Some Vehicles 5-Pointed Star Symbol
PaganiPagani Some Vehicles HP
PolestarPolestar Some Vehicles POL
PorschePorsche Some Vehicles N0, N1, N2, etc.
911 NA0, NA1, NA2, etc.
Boxster/Cayman NB0, NB1, NB2, etc.
Cayenne NC0, NC1, NC2, etc.
Panamera ND0, ND1, ND2, etc.
Macan NE0, NE1, NE2, etc.
Taycan NF0, NF1, NF2, etc.
RivianRivian Some Vehicles RIV
TeslaTesla Some Vehicles T0, T1, T2, TS0
VolkswagenVolkswagen Some Vehicles A
VO
+
VolvoVolvo Some Vehicles VOL

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The numerical escalation of Porsche N-Spec tires reflect either enhancements to the previous generation of the same tire model, or a change in the design specifications of a tire model used on a current Porsche vehicle to better complement the needs of a new Porsche vehicle.

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