Hi there,

I have discovered a red line in the center of the 2 front tyres of my fiat 500.

Any idea what this means?

I currently dont have the manual to hand so cant consult it, and google wasnt much help.

I have attached two pictures to show you all. not sure if they have reached the end of their life, but the tread doesnt seem that bad on them and they have done 16,500 miles.

something to do with balancing during construction, it's all very technical i can only point you here:

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=165

as i go cross eyed reading it.....

i dont understand much on that link, very jargon'y. Both the red lines are in the middle and i havent had a problem with the car pulling to one side.

being a red line i thought 'danger'... the only thing im really looking to find out is do they need replacing.

Nothing to worry about. Just something for the tyre installer.

brill, cheers!

306maxi said:

Nothing to worry about. Just something for the tyre installer.

Click to expand...

Yeah you find the end and pull it, it peels off and the tyres fall off the car, makes changing 'em easier!

You often see different coloured lines on tyres. I've seen blue and white lines before on tyres I've got fitted. You also see red and yellow spots on the sides.

edit: The red and yellow spots are for high weight spots and high sidewall points.

As your red lines are central it means they should run straight. If they were to the side you should keep both to the inside or outside.

oh Notts, I thought you were going to say that they opened up to reveal a round, bouncy cheese!

Do you have small children with felt tip pens?

When the red line has disappeared you've used all the tread





























(That is a joke by the way)

Deano.UK said:

being a red line i thought 'danger'... the only thing im really looking to find out is do they need replacing.

Click to expand...

Wear indicators are the small square bumps situated in the grooves around the circumference of the tyre. The bumps are 1.6mm high, so when the rest of the tread is level with them, the tyre is on it's legal limit.

Dave.

booklady said:

oh Notts, I thought you were going to say that they opened up to reveal a round, bouncy cheese!

Click to expand...

I wish I had! But at least you did!

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_566811_langId_-1_categoryId_165648

I've got one of these. Great way of keeping an accurate eye on tread depths.