2007 Mercedes C-Class Owner's Manual - Page 300

Operation Tires and wheels Load identification In addition to tire load rating, special load information may be molded into the tire sidewall following the letter designating the tire speed rating 6 ( page 295). No specification given: absence of any text (like in above example) indicates a standard load (SL) tire. XL or Extra Load: designates an extra load (or reinforced) tire. Light Load: designates a light load tire. 1 Load identification DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN) U.S. tire regulations require each new tire manufacturer or tire retreader to mold a TIN into or onto a sidewall of each tire produced. The TIN is a unique identifier which facilitates efforts by tire manufactures to notify purchasers in recall situations or other safety matters concerning tires and gives purchasers the means to easily identify such tires. The TIN is comprised of "Manufacturer's identification mark", "Tire size", "Tire type code", and "Date of manufacture". i For illustration purposes only. Actual data on tires is specific to each vehicle and may vary from data shown in above illustration. C, D, E: designates load range associated with the maximum load a tire can carry at a specified pressure. 299