Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

Outline General
1. General
Stopping
Centrifugal
force Curving Braking force Tires are installed on the vehicle
together with disc wheels.
Vehicles ride on pneumatic tires filled
with pressurized air. Tires are the
only vehicle components that come
Running into direct contact with the road sur-
Driving
Weight face.
force If the tire air pressure is improper,
this can cause abnormal wear and
lower the driving performance.
Tires perform the following functions:
Tire
• The tires support the overall weight
Lessen the shock
of the vehicle.
• The tires directly contact the road
Disc wheel
surface and therefore transmit the
vehicle's driving and braking forces
to the road, thus controlling starting,
acceleration, deceleration, stopping,
and turning.
• The tires attenuate (reduce) shock
caused by irregularities in the road
surface.
(1/1)

Outline Construction
2. Construction
Tubeless tire Tubed tire
(1) Tires
The types of tires are tubed tires and
tubeless tires.
Also, there are radial tires and bias
Inner liner
Tube tires, both of which comprise the fol-
lowing parts.
<1>Tread
Valve
Valve <2>Belt (rigid breaker)/Breaker
Radial tire Bias tire <3>Carcass (cross plies)
<1> Tread
<4>Inner liner
<2> Breaker
<5>Bead wire
<2> (rigid
Belt
breaker) There are also other types, such as
compact spare tires (temporary tire
<3> (cross
Carcass
plies) types) used for punctures and other
<4> Inner liner emergencies, and run-flat tires on which
you can drive a certain distance even
with a puncture.
<5> Bead wire

©2003 TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION. All right reserved.

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

(2) Tire size

The size, performance, and the con-
struction of the tire are indicated on
Tire width
the sidewall of a tire.
The diagram on the left shows the
names of the sizes of the various
areas of a tire.
Tire height

Tire external
Wheel rim diameter
diameter

(3)Disc wheels
Pressed-steel disc wheel
The size of the wheel is indicated on
The size of the wheel
the rim of the disc wheel.
<1> Wheel rim <2>Wheel rim
width flange shape <1>Wheel rim width
<3>Offset <2>Wheel rim flange shape
<3>Offset
<4>Wheel rim diameter
<5>Wheel rim center
<6>P.C.D. (Pitch Circle Diameter)
<6>P.C.D
Cast light alloy disc wheel (pitch circle
<4>Wheel rim
diameter
<7>Hub mounting surface
diameter)

The size of
the wheel

<7>Hub mounting
<5>Wheel rim surface
center

(1/1)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

Tread Patterns Tread Patterns

1. Types of tread patterns
A wide variety of patterns are molded into the tread
(1) Rib pattern (2) Lug pattern
both to help drain away water, and to cope with vari-
ous factors dictated by the conditions of the road sur-
face and the type of the vehicle being used.
(1)Rib pattern
The rib pattern consists of several parallel zigzag
grooves that run along the circumference of the tire.
This pattern is best suited for traveling on paved sur-
faces at high speeds and is used for a wide variety of
automobiles, from passenger cars to buses and
trucks.
(3) Rib & lug pattern (4) Block pattern
<Characteristics>
• The rib pattern minimizes the resistance of the tire
to rolling.
• Greater resistance to side-slipping provides good
vehicle controllability.
• Tire noise is reduced.
• Traction is somewhat inferior to that of tires with the
lug pattern.
(2) Lug pattern
The grooves in the lug pattern run at roughly right
Rib pattern Lug pattern
angles to the tire circumference. Frequently used on
construction machinery and truck tires, this tread pat-
tern is suited for driving on unpaved roads.
<Characteristics>
• The lug pattern provides good traction.
• Tire rolling resistance is somewhat high.
• Resistance to side-slipping is smaller.
• Tread in the lug area is susceptible to uneven
wearing.
• Tire noise is greater.
(3) Rib-and-lug pattern
This pattern combines the rib and lug patterns to pro-
vide stable driving performance on both paved and
unpaved roads.
<Characteristics>
• The rib pattern running along the center of the tire sta-
bilizes the vehicle by minimizing tire side-slipping,
while the lug pattern on the edges of the tire enhances
driving and braking performance.
• The lug portion of the pattern is more susceptible to
uneven wear.
(4) Block pattern
In this pattern, the tread is divided into independent
blocks. Used on most snow tires and studless tires,
the block tread pattern is now coming to be used on
radial-ply tires for passenger cars as well.
<Characteristics>
• The block pattern provides better driving and braking
performance.
• The block pattern reduces slipping and skidding on
muddy or snow-covered roads.
• The tires tend to wear faster than those with the rib
and lug patterns.
• Rolling resistance is slightly greater.
• The tread is susceptible to unusual wear, especially
on hard surfaces.
(1/2)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

HINT:
Unidirectional Pattern Tires
These are tires with a tread pattern, which has direction-
ality with respect to the direction of rotation. Lateral
Mark indicating
direction of
grooves in the tire tread are given directionality in order to
Forward rotation Reverse rotation
rotation improve performance on wet roads, making it easier for
the tires to drain off water. The performance of these tires
on wet roads worsens if they are mounted in the wrong
direction.

Water is drained off Water is sucked in

(1/1)

2. Pattern noise
Pattern noise is the most distinctive operating sound
of the tire. The tread grooves coming into contact with
the road surface contain air, which is trapped and
compressed between the grooves and the road sur-
face. When the tread leaves the road surface, the
compressed air bursts out of the grooves, generating
noise.
Pattern noise increase if tread design is such that air
is more liable to be trapped in the grooves. The block
or lug tread pattern, for example, is more likely to gen-
erate noise than the rib pattern. The pitch (frequency)
of the noise rises as the vehicle speed increases.
Since pattern noise thus depends on tread pattern,
the pattern can be designed to minimize this. What
appears to be a simple repetitive lug and zigzag pat-
tern, for example, may contain subtle variations in pat-
tern spacing.

(2/2)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

Tire Types
There are various ways to classify tires. The type of tire
according to the road surface which is used is empha-
sized and the functions and characteristics of each type
of tire are indicated.
1. Snow tires
The snow tire is designed to maintain maneuverability
on muddy or snow-covered roads. This is done by
providing a greater number of blocks in the tread pat-
tern, and making these blocks deeper and further
apart from each other. It combines the lug tread pat-
tern, which effectively transmits driving force, and the
rib pattern, which minimizes side-slipping.
<Characteristics>
• Less side-slipping and better traction, and greater
steering stability during braking.
Normal tire
• Greater maneuverability when turning and changing
lanes.
All-weather
tire
• Easier escape from wheel ruts.
• Smaller rolling resistance.
• Less vibration and noise.
Snow tire

Since snow tire tread is less rigid than normal tire tread,
50 60 70 80
on the other hand, it is less capable of stabilizing a vehi-
Tread contact area ratio (%) cle traveling at a high speed on a dry road surface. Cor-
nering especially suffers in this respect.

2. Spiked tires
Snow tires perform well on snow-covered roads, but
have little road-hugging ability on icy roads. The
spiked tire has been devised to provide greater driving
stability under such conditions. It features snow tire
tread, combined with metal spikes, which bite into the
surface of the ice to transmit the vehicle's driving and
Spike
braking forces. Nevertheless, equipping the vehicle
with the spiked tires alone does not ensure complete
Tip
driving safety on snow-covered and icy roads. The
Body
vehicle must still be operated with the utmost care.
Also, use of spiked tires on road surfaces that are free
of snow and ice must be avoided since this not only
accelerates spike wear, but also could damage the
road surface and pollute the air with concrete and
asphalt particles.
Authorities in some countries or localities restrict or
prohibit the use of spiked tires and even tire chains for
these reasons.

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

3. Studless tires
In the past, spiked tires had primarily been used on
ice and snow. However, since the use of spiked tires
has recently been restricted or prohibited in many
Sipes countries, studless tires have been developed to facil-
itate vehicle travel on icy roads without the use of
spikes. Studless tires use a special tread rubber that,
in addition to the capabilities of snow tires, also pre-
vents loss of flexibility even at extremely low tempera-
tures. This enables these tires to ensure sufficient
contact with the surface of the road even when the
road is covered with ice or snow. In addition, due to
the provision of many small cuts in the tread surface,
called "sipes", or by other means, the tire is able to
effectively dig up and throw off ice and snow, enabling
Snow
tires
Icy roads it to obtain adequate driving force and braking force.
Snowy roads However, there are cases in which the performance of
studless tires cannot be sufficiently demonstrated
Studless
tires under certain road conditions and with certain driving
styles. It is therefore important to drive with caution on
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 (m)
icy roads and use tire chains and so forth as neces-
sary.
Example : Comparison of braking distance between
snow tires and studless tires
(Speed : 40 km/h [ 25mph ] )

4. All-weather tires (All-season tires)

The all-weather tire is a regular tire that has been
Rolling
modified to enhance driving performance on sandy
resistance and snow-covered road surfaces. It is a multipurpose
Driving stability on tire, which can be used throughout the year, because
dry surfaces Driving
comfort it features characteristics of both normal and snow
tires.

Braking on
The graph in the left plots all-weather tire performance
Noise
wet surfaces relative to that of an ordinary tire (the circle in the
graph). The further the value falls outside the circle,
Bad
the higher the corresponding performance.

Braking on Resistance The all-weather tire has a steel-belted radial-ply car-

dry surfaces to wear
Good cass and a densely-siped block tread pattern to
improve traction and resistance to side-slipping. The
tread grooves of the all-weather tire are shallower
than those of the snow tire but deeper than those of
Performance on Performance on the ordinary tire. This means that they can stabilize
snow-covered roads ice-covered roads
the vehicle by digging deeply into the snow in order to
get secure grip on the road.

Ordinary tire All-weather tire Snow tire

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

5. Sand tires
These tires are designed to be able to run on roads in
areas with soft, sandy terrain.
The tread of these tires is wide, and the tread pattern
is ribbed with shallow grooves which prevent it from
breaking through the top layer of the sand or soil.
The inflation pressure of these tires is lowered when
running on sandy terrain in order to maximize the sur-
face area that contacts the road surface.
Therefore, the carcass of these tires is constructed to
be able to bear heavy loads even at low inflation pres-
sures.

Tire Uniformity Tire Uniformity

Tire uniformity refers to uniformity of weight, dimensions
Uniformity (in the general sense) and rigidity. However, since uniformity of weight is ordi-
narily called "wheel balance", and uniformity of dimen-
sions (or rather, the lack thereof) is called "run-out",
Uniformity in uniformity alone usually refers to "uniformity of rigidity".
weight Wheel balance
distribution These greatly affect driving performance.

Dimensional
uniformity Run-out

Uniformity in
rigidity Uniformity

LFV TFV

RFV

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

1. Wheel balance
Static balance
It is necessary to balance the wheel assemblies prop-
erly in order to eliminate vibrations and this operation
is what is called wheel balancing.
Wheel balancing involves balancing the weight of the
entire wheel assembly-that is, the disc wheel with the
A (Heavy spot) tire attached.
Wheel balance can be divided into "static bal-
Centrifugal
force ance"(that when the wheel assembly is at rest) and
Radial
vibration "dynamic balance" (that when it is rotating).
HINT:
Dynamic balance There are off-the-car balancers that balance the tires
alone and on-the-car balancers that balance the tire with
A B
the rotating parts such as the disc brake rotor and axle
hubs.

G0
G0

B A

2. Run-out
Radial Run-out
Run-out is defined as the apparent change in a tire
dimensions during rotation.
Run-out is measured by holding a dial gauge against
the surface of the tire, rotating the tire, and observing
the fluctuations of the indicator needle on the gauge.
There are two types of run-out: that in the tire's radial
Off center
Out of round (Eccentric) direction (radial run-out), and that in the axial direction
(lateral run-out).

Lateral Run-out

Warping Non-perpendicularity

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

3. Uniformity
A tire may be thought of The tire is subject to subtle fluctuations in the way it
as a collection of springs. flexes as it rotates. These fluctuations introduce a
periodic variation in the force which it receives from
the road surface. This force can be resolved into three
components:
• Radial Force Variation (RFV)
Fluctuation in the vertical force acting upwards toward
the tire's center. (parallel to the tire's radius)
• Lateral Force Variation (LFV)
Fluctuation in the horizontal force acting parallel to the
tire's axis.
• Tractive Force Variation (TFV)
Fluctuation in the horizontal force acting parallel to the
tire's direction of motion.

LFV TFV

RFV

SERVICE HINT:
• Vibration
Tire vibration problems are divided into body shake,
steering flutter, and steering shimmy.
Body shake is defined as vertical or lateral vibration of
the vehicle body and steering wheel, along with vibra-
tion of the seats.
Shimmy and flutter are defined as vibration in the
steering wheel in its rotational direction.
(1/1)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

Tire Wear Tire Wear

1. General
Tire wear is the loss of or damage to tread and other
rubber surfaces due to friction generated when the tire
slips on the road. It varies with inflation pressure, load,
vehicle speed, braking, road surface conditions, tem-
perature, and other factors.
Inflation pressure
(1) Inflation pressure
Insufficient inflation pressure accelerates tire wear by
allowing the tread to flex excessively as it contacts the
road.
inflation pressure = 100]

SERVICE HINT:
[durability at standard
Durability index (%)

• Hard riding:
Higher inflation pressure means greater tire rigidity. If
it is too high, however, the tire will fail to absorb
shocks from the road surface, leading to hard riding.
Each vehicle model has a recommended tire inflation
pressure that is best suited for the intended load and
application. Installing tires that are more rigid will
make the ride harder.
Inflation pressure (%) [standard = 100]
• Hard steering:
Too low an inflation pressure makes the tread contact
surface wider, increasing the resistance between the
tire and the road surface and thus making the steering
more sluggish.
• Car pulls to one side during normal driving:
If the inflation pressures of the right and left tires differ,
there will be a difference in the rolling resistances of
the tires and the vehicle will tend to veer toward the
right or left.

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

Tire Wear Standing Wave & Hydroplaning (Aquaplaning)

1. Standing wave
Standing wave When the vehicle is running, the tire continuously
flexes as a new section of the tread comes into con-
tact with the road surface. Later, when this section
leaves the road surface, the pressure of the air inside
the tire and the elasticity of the tire attempts to restore
the tread and carcass to their original state. At higher
vehicle speeds, however, the tire rotates too quickly to
allow enough time for this.
This process, continually repeated at such short inter-
vals, gives rise to oscillations in the tread. These oscil-
lations, which are referred to as standing waves,
Hydroplaning (Aquaplaning)
continuously propagate around the tire. The majority
of the energy locked up in the standing waves is con-
verted into heat, which sharply raises the tire tempera-
ture. Under certain circumstance, this heat build-up
Water film can even destroy the tire in the space of a few minutes
No contact by leading to separation of the tread from the carcass
Hydroplaning phenomenon (blowout).
2. Hydroplaning
A vehicle skids on a water-covered road if the vehicle
speed is too high to allow the tread enough time to
remove the water from the road surface so that it can
get a firm grip. The reason for this is that, as the vehi-
cle speed increases, the resistance of the water
increases accordingly, forcing the tires to "float" on the
water's surface. This phenomenon is known as hydro-
planing or aquaplaning.
CAUTION:
• Do not use a tire with a worn tread. As the tire wears,
the tread reaches a point where the tread grooves
cannot drain off the water between the tire and the
road fast enough to prevent hydroplaning.
• Raise the inflation pressure. A higher tire inflation
pressure opposes the pressure of the water trying to
force itself under the tread and thus delays the onset
of hydroplaning.
(1/1)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

(2) Load
Load
A higher load accelerates tire wear in much the same
way as a reduction in inflation pressure does.

[durability under proper load = 100]

The tire also wears more quickly during cornering
when the vehicle is heavily loaded because the
greater centrifugal force during cornering causes the
vehicle to generate greater cornering force, thus gen-
Durability index (%)

erating greater friction between the tire and the road

surface.
(3) Vehicle speed
The driving and braking forces, the centrifugal force at
cornering, and the other forces acting on the tire,
Load (%) [proper load = 100]
increase in proportion to the square of the vehicle
speed. Raising the vehicle speed therefore greatly
Vehicle speed
multiplies these forces, increases the friction gener-
ated between the tread and the road surface, and thus
[durability at 55 km/h = 100]

accelerates tire wear. In addition to these factors, the

condition of the road also has a great influence on tire
Durability index (%)

wear: a rough road will obviously cause a tire to wear

faster than a smooth road.

Vehicle speed (km/h)

(2/5)

2. Tire wear and braking distance

Tire wear does not greatly affect the
Tread wear indicator braking distance on a dry road sur-
100
face. On a wet road surface, how-
100 km/h
90 ever, the braking distance is
considerably longer.
80
80 km/h Braking performance is poor
1.6mm
70 (0.063in.) because the tread pattern has worn
Braking distance (m)

60 down to the point where it cannot

Tire depth gauge drain off the water between the tread
50
and the road surface, leading to
40 60 km/h hydroplaning.
30 3. Tread wear indicator
20 60 km/h Tire tread wear indicators are pat-
40 km/h terned ridges 1.6mm (0.0630in.) to
10
40 km/h
1.8mm (0.0709in.) higher than the
0 20 40 60 80 100
rest of the tread surface, and are
(New tire) (Completely worn) molded into the tread at four to six
Percentage of wear (%) points along the circumference of the
Wet surfaces
Dry surfaces
tire. As the tire tread wears in time,
the depth of the ridges becomes less
until they become flush with the sur-
face of the tread.
Tire tread wear indicators indicate
the allowable limit of tire wear, show-
ing when it is time to replace the tire.
(3/5)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

4. Unusual wear
(1) Wear on tire shoulders or center
If the tire inflation pressure is too low, the shoulders
wear more faster than the center.
Overloading produces the same effect.
If the inflation pressure is too high, the center wear
more faster than the shoulders.

Wear on
Under-inflation shoulders

Wear on
Over-inflation tread center

(2) Inside or outside wear

Rounded edge of
Cornering wear, shown in the left, is caused by corner-
outside shoulder ing at excessive speeds.
Positive camber Deformation or excessive play in the suspension parts
affects front wheel alignment, causing abnormal tire
wear.
If one side of the tire tread wears faster than the other,
the main cause is probably incorrect camber.

Rough surface from abrasion

Longer Shorter
Cornering wear

Inside Inside

Inside wear Outside wear

(Negative camber - Too large) (Positive camber - Too large)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

(3) Toe-in or toe-out wear (Feathered wear)

Direction of travel
The main cause of feathered wear on the tire tread is
defective toe-in adjustment. Excessive toe-in forces
the tires to slip outwards and drags the tread's contact
Direction surface inwards on the road surface, producing toe-in
of tire
slippage wear. The surface takes on a distinctive feather-like
Inside
shape - shown in the illustration - that can be identified
by running a finger across the tread from the inside to
the outside of the tire.
Excessive toe-out, on the other hand, producing the
Toe-in wear
toe-out wear shown in the illustration.
Excessive toe-in

Direction of travel

Direction
of tire
slippage

Inside

Toe-out wear

Excessive toe-out

(4) Toe-and-heel wear

Toe-and-heel wear is partial wear that often appears
on tires with lug and block tread patterns. Tires with a
rib tread pattern wear to form wavelike patterns.

Toe-and-heel wear tends to occur more easily when

the tire is rotating and not being subjected to driving
force or braking force.
Therefore, toe-and-heel wear occurs most often in
Direction of non-drive wheels that are not subjected to driving
rotation
force.

In the case of drive wheels, driving force causes tire

wear in the direction opposite that of toe-and-heel
wear.
Braking force also produces similar results.
As a result, there is normally little toe-and-heel wear in
tires on drive wheels.

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels

(5) Spot wear (Cupping)

If the wheel bearings, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc.
have excessive play, or if the spindle is bent, the tire
will wobble at specific, points in its rotation at high
speeds, applying strong friction of causing slippage,
both of which lead to spot wear.
A deformed or irregularly worn brake drum causes the
brakes to be applied at regular intervals, leading to
spot wear over a relatively wide area in the circumfer-
ential direction.
HINT:
A canvas patch applied to the tire tread to repair a punc-
ture or a protrusion produced by separation will also lead
to spot wear.
Sudden starting, braking, and cornering may also lead to
spot wear.
An excessively unbalanced wheel assembly causes spot
wear as well.
Worn tread

(4/5)

5. Tire rotation
Example
Because the load which is applied to
the front and rear tires are different,
and the level of wear also varies.
Front
Therefore tires should be rotated reg-
ularly so that they will wear uniformly.
Tires which the rotational direction is
determined must not be replaced at
right and left.
Tire which the tire size of front and
rear are different must not be
replaced at front and rear.
As the recommended tire rotation
method varies depending on model
and region, refer to the Owner's Man-
ual.

Spare Spare
tire tire

FF vehicle
FR vehicle (except 1 Box type)
Full-time 4WD
Part-time 4WD
1 Box type vehicle

(5/5)

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels
Exercise

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels
Question- 1
Mark each of the statements True or False.

No. Question True or False Correct Answers

1 Tire inflation pressure does not affect the tire wear. True False

For tires with the tread worn, the road contact area is increased so
2 True False
that they are effective even on a wet road surface.

Currently, spike tires are restricted or prohibited in some countries

3 True False
or localities.

For tires with a tread pattern, which has directionality with respect to
4 the direction of rotation, the driving performance will be affected if True False
they are mounted in the wrong direction.

Question- 2
The following illustration shows the disc wheel construction. From the following word group, select the words that
correspond to 1 to 4.

1 Wheel rim flange shape

3 4

Hub mounting surface

Wheel rim center

a) Wheel rim diameter b) Wheel rim width c) P.C.D. (Pitch Circle Diameter) d) Offset

Answer: 1. 2. 3. 4.

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Diagnosis Technicain - Manual Transaxle Tires and Disc Wheels
Question- 3
The following illustrations show the tire tread pattern.
From the following word group, select the appropriate one that correspond to 1 to 4.

1 2 3 4

a) Rib pattern (Suitable for driving on the paved road at high speed)
b) Lug pattern (Suitable for driving on the non-paved road)
c) Rib-and-lug pattern (Stable driving performance can be attained on both the paved and the non-paved roads.)
d) Block pattern (Used in the snow tire or studless tire)

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