Interpretation ID: 18592.wkm
Mr. G. S. Edington
General Manager
KUMHO Technical Center
3500 Embassy Parkway, Suite 150
Akron, OH 44333
Dear Mr. Edington:
This responds to your letter to this agency regarding the metrication of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (Standard) No. 119, New pneumatic tires for vehicles other than passenger cars. You referred to the final rule published in the Federal Register on May 27, 1998, (63 FR 28912) in which we changed paragraph S6.5(d) to require that the maximum load ratings and corresponding maximum inflation pressures be shown in metric numbers, followed by English numbers in parentheses, effective May 27, 2003. You asked whether you could continue to show the load ratings and inflation pressures in English units, followed by metric units in parentheses after the May 27, 2003 effective date. The answer is no.
Standard No. 119, subsection S6.5, Tire markings, specifies the labeling that is to be placed on tire sidewalls, the placement of the markings on the sidewalls, and the measurements of the required markings. Paragraph (d) requires that the maximum load rating and the corresponding tire inflation pressure of the particular tire be shown as follows:
For tires rated for single and dual load:
Max load dual kg ( lb) at kPa ( psi) cold.