What Does It Mean If Your Tires Have a Red or Yellow Dot?

If you just got new tires, red and yellow dots of paint on the sidewall are perfectly normal. We'll explain why they're there.

Do the paint dots in red and yellow on the tires mean they are on sale? Are there problems with tires that have these dots on them? Do the dots show where the tires were made or when?

Yes, no, and no. What is really going on with these dots is this: Because it's almost impossible to make a perfectly round, perfectly balanced tire, these dots of paint help manufacturers find any flaws. Then, the dots help service technicians put the tire on the right and make sure it's balanced. Tires and wheels that are properly balanced are important for driving safely and comfortably, and these paint dots help make sure that happens.

Where Do You Put the Dots of Paint?

The yellow dots show where a tire weighs the least, which is also where it weighs the least. The yellow dot better be lined up with the valve stem, which is the heaviest part of the wheel.

The red dots show where the tire is mostly flat or where it is lowest. The red dot should be right across from the wheel's highest point, which is usually marked by a colored dot or a notch.

If a tire has both a yellow and a red dot, the red dot is what you should pay attention to.

Why do these dots on the tires matter?

The yellow and red dots show that there are differences in how much a tire weighs, how it's made, and how it is put together, which can make it vibrate when it is spinning. Tires that vibrate and aren't balanced can hurt the ride quality, gas mileage, and stopping power, among other things. A tire/wheel assembly that vibrates makes it harder to control your vehicle, especially at high speeds, and can make it take longer to stop.

When stopping, a wheel or tire that is hopping loses full contact with the road, so there is less friction. Keep in mind that the part that actually touches the road isn't much bigger than the palm of your hand. This part of the tire is called the contact patch or footprint.

What does it mean to balance a wheel?

When a wheel is balanced, the tire and wheel are spun to find out where weights need to be put to get rid of vibrations and make the tires roll more smoothly. Tires that are out of balance can get dangerous bald spots, which can result in tread wear and shorten tire life. Out-of-balance tires can also have premature suspension component failures.

Dynamic and match-balancing are the two most common ways to balance wheels. During dynamic balancing, weights are added to the wheels to fix the unevenness in the tires that cause them to hop. Match balancing lines up the low point of the tire with the high point of the wheel, making for a smooth ride.

Tires are expensive. Ask the person who is putting your new tires on and balancing them if their wheel balancing equipment can match-balance tires. This is important, especially if your wheels don't have any markings.

What makes a tire not be in the right place?

When the weight on the tires and wheels is no longer spread out evenly, the tires are no longer balanced. These things could be to blame:

• As tires wear, the tire/wheel assembly gets lighter.
• Tires are over- or under-inflated.
• When the wheels aren't properly aligned, the tires wear unevenly.
• Wheel weight is no longer there.
• A bad repair on a wheel or tire.
• Leaky valve stem replacement.
• "Flat spots" are caused by cold mornings.
• If the car had been in the same spot for too long.
• The wheel is broken because it hit a pothole or a curb and bounced off.

Check the tire pressure and rotate the tires and wheels every 5,000 to 8,000 miles to make sure the tires last longer and wear evenly. But if you feel vibrations while driving, you will need to have the tires balanced by a professional.