Because tires play such an important role in determining vehicle performance, many vehicle manufacturers require tire suppliers to identify some of their tires as original equipment (OE) with symbols or codes marked on the sides confirming the use of tires as the first installation on certain cars.

The goal of vehicle and tire manufacturers is to make it easier for owners to identify and select the correct replacements when the original tires wear out, because matching the original tires helps maintain the personality and performance of the vehicle.

Unfortunately, many vehicles wear tires in pairs (instead of installing four) due to lack of maintenance or when equivalent tread wear cannot be achieved by periodic tire rotation. While it can’t make up for differences in performance due to tread depth, the most important thing is to align the new tires with those originally used on the vehicle when replacing tires in pairs.

The following list provides the symbols or codes currently in use:

Alfa Romeo                         AR, ARR

Aston Martin                       AM

Audi                                     AO, AOE, RO1

BMW                                   *

BMW & Mercedes               * MO (E)

Ferrari                                  K1, K2, K3

Jaguar                                  J

Lamborghini                         L

Land Rover                          LR

Jaguar & Land Rover          JLR

Lotus                                    LS, LTS

Maserati                              MGT

Maserati & Jaguar               MGT J.

McLaren                              MC

Mercedes                             MOE, MO, MO1

Nissan                                  NR1

Porsche                                N0, N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6

Tesla                                     T0, T1, T2,…

Volvo                                     VOL