Explain DOT Tire Certification
I'm researching tire prices for a set of 295/80R 22.5 tires. The prices vary "all over the place" from the "junk" Chinese brands to $800-$900 for American brands like Goodyear. When someone posts on h...
Forum Discussion
Any "spec" is usually a minimum specification that something has to meet. I don't think I've heard of a maximum specification - excluding something like size or weight when it matters.
Here's a example on tyraps and specifications. I used to work in the Telecom industry and we used an awful lot of tyraps. A vendor came to visit one day and wanted to know why I had stopped buying their brand of tyraps since their brand met the same mil specs as the two brands I would accept. I went out to the warehouse and got some of the small 4" ones we were buying. I took mine, and her samples, and fastened them into small circles. I then had her try to break / pull apart, the ones we switched to. She couldn't break them. Then I had her try to break hers, and she broke three of them in a row. I didn't doubt her that theirs met the same mil spec as what I had changed to, but the new ones far exceeded the mil spec. I never heard from that vendor again.
I suspect the DOT specs are the same - they are the minimums a tire must meet for such items as weight capacity, heat, tread wear, traction, sidewall strength, tread depth, etc. Some tires will just meet the specs and other tires will probably far exceed them.
Bill
Here's a example on tyraps and specifications. I used to work in the Telecom industry and we used an awful lot of tyraps. A vendor came to visit one day and wanted to know why I had stopped buying their brand of tyraps since their brand met the same mil specs as the two brands I would accept. I went out to the warehouse and got some of the small 4" ones we were buying. I took mine, and her samples, and fastened them into small circles. I then had her try to break / pull apart, the ones we switched to. She couldn't break them. Then I had her try to break hers, and she broke three of them in a row. I didn't doubt her that theirs met the same mil spec as what I had changed to, but the new ones far exceeded the mil spec. I never heard from that vendor again.
I suspect the DOT specs are the same - they are the minimums a tire must meet for such items as weight capacity, heat, tread wear, traction, sidewall strength, tread depth, etc. Some tires will just meet the specs and other tires will probably far exceed them.
Bill
