Red and yellow dots on new tyres

[Jet a1]

Just had some tyres fitted and they have random red and yellow dots on the sidewalls.
Googling suggests they are for the benefit of the tyre fitter to line up the valve and weights.
Relooking at my wheels and tyres none of them line up with the valves.
Being slightly OCD with stuff like that it bothers me however DOES it really matter.

[haggishunter]

No

[WonkeyDonkey]

You're not even slightly OCD. Stop belittling a serious illness.

[0ddball]

Use some sandpaper to remove the dots. Then paint them back on in the correct places.

[TooMany2cvs]

Jet a1 said:

Googling suggests they are for the benefit of the tyre fitter to line up the valve and weights.

The yellow dot should be lined up with the valve.
The red dot's for run-out, and is pretty much irrelevant outside the manufacturing process, since there's bk-all you can do about that.

The weights are calculated by spinning up the wheel on a balancing machine.

Jet a1 said:

Relooking at my wheels and tyres none of them line up with the valves.

Then there might be a gram or two more balance weight than strictly necessary... Your tyre fitter's a lazy sod who cba to take that couple of seconds to spin the tyre round on the wheel when he first seated it.

Jet a1 said:

Being slightly OCD with stuff like that it bothers me however DOES it really matter.

So you didn't care when you didn't know what they were? But now you think you know, you're worried? Unless somebody random tells you it doesn't matter...?

[HSV_V8]

No, these dots are not random, they are added during production to show the lightest part of the tyre and also tyre uniformity to mount best on a rim with the least amount of balance weight needed (in theory) and optimise radial force variation for the complete assembly.

Does it matter? It matters if you have OCD.

[HSV_V8]

0ddball said:

Use some sandpaper to remove the dots. Then paint them back on in the correct places.

[Ninja59]

Yep the dots are there to identify the heaviest and lightest parts of the tyre in theory you want the yellow dot next to the valve. But as said above some fitters are lazy f*ckers.

Also the lines on the main tyre are there to show how much runout it has. It is amazing on a balancing machine to see which manufacturers have lower tolerances!

[Mr2Mike]

3 points and £100 fine per tyre for not having the balance dot aligned with the valve stem. Child killer.

[Rick101]

Good to see some people actually know what the dots are for. The vast majority have no idea and that includes tyre fitters.

I wouldn't skip a good car because they weren't correct but it would give me an indication of how particular the owner was when they profess no expense spared, obsessively maintained, yada yada yada

[996TT02]

Did you advise your insurance company?

[Far Cough]

You must always park in a way that all the dots are in the same place on each tyre. Incorrect alignment and the tyres will deflate.

[Silverbullet767]

If the dots are in the wrong place, throw a can of red bull, reject the car and claim for maximum compensashun.

[Biker's Nemesis]

The Red dots are for police marksmen if you are involved in a high speed persuit and the need to shoot your tyres.

[66mpg]

I had a 2007 Ford Ranger which had red dots on the rims. Their function puzzled me for a long time until I found out about the red and yellow dots on tyres. Basically if you have a red dot, or similar mark, on the rim then fit the tyre so the red dots line up. Otherwise fit the yellow dot by the valve.

Two tyres on my Yaris were fitted with the yellow dots by the valve. The other two, fitted by a different tyre fitter don’t. They required more weight adding to balance the wheels than the ones with the yellow dots correctly aligned.

[V8LM]

TooMany2cvs said:

Jet a1 said:

Googling suggests they are for the benefit of the tyre fitter to line up the valve and weights.

The yellow dot should be lined up with the valve.
The red dot's for run-out, and is pretty much irrelevant outside the manufacturing process, since there's bk-all you can do about that.

The weights are calculated by spinning up the wheel on a balancing machine.

Jet a1 said:

Relooking at my wheels and tyres none of them line up with the valves.

Then there might be a gram or two more balance weight than strictly necessary... Your tyre fitter's a lazy sod who cba to take that couple of seconds to spin the tyre round on the wheel when he first seated it.

Jet a1 said:

Being slightly OCD with stuff like that it bothers me however DOES it really matter.

So you didn't care when you didn't know what they were? But now you think you know, you're worried? Unless somebody random tells you it doesn't matter...?

I thought the red dot trumped the yellow and, if present, that should be by the valve unless there is a mark on the rim.

I was looking at the tyres on the new Aston Martins in the local dealership the other day. Most, but not all, had their red dot lined up (correctly).

[Pica-Pica]

HSV_V8 said:

No, these dots are not random, they are added during production to show the lightest part of the tyre and also tyre uniformity to mount best on a rim with the least amount of balance weight needed (in theory) and optimise radial force variation for the complete assembly.

Does it matter? It matters if you have OCD.

It matters more, I guess, now we have in-tyre pressure monitoring sensors that add to rim imbalance (unless those rims are made to accommodate the extra mass of the TPMS.

[frozen-in-wiltshire]

yup, as said above, red dot is heavy spot - should be opposite valve - unless a t**t fitted the tyre

[Mr2Mike]

frozen-in-wiltshire said:

yup, as said above, red dot is heavy spot - should be opposite valve - unless a t**t fitted the tyre

Yellow dot should be adjacent (not opposite) to the valve unless the wheel has a minimum radial run out marker, in which case the red dot should be placed adjacent to that.