TIRE STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Highway Traffic Act
Code de la route

R.R.O. 1990, REGULATION 625

Amended to O. Reg. 318/03

TIRE STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Historical version for the period July 31, 2003 to November 30, 2005.

This Regulation is made in English only.

1. In this Regulation,

“aspect ratio” means the height of the tire section divided by the overall width of the tire, multiplied by 100;

“bead” means the part of a tire that is shaped to fit the rim;

“cord” means the strands forming a ply in a tire;

“groove” means the space between two tread ribs;

“ply” means the layer of parallel cords used in forming the tire carcass;

“sidewall” means the portion of a tire between the tread and the bead;

“siping” means small, straight, angular or curved slits, other than grooves, molded or cut in the tread surface of a tire;

“studded tire” means a tire, the tread of which has embedded therein, hard devices that project beyond the tread of the tire;

“tread” means the portion of a tire that comes in contact with the road;

“tread rib” means a tread section running circumferentially around a tire. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 1.

2. A tire,

(a) shall have no exposed cord;

(b) shall have no tread or sidewall cuts or snags deep enough to expose the cords;

(c) shall have no abnormal visible bump, bulge or knot; and

(d) other than a tire specifically designed for regrooving or recutting and marked as being so designed shall not be regrooved or recut. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 2.

3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a tire shall not be worn to the extent that in any two adjacent major grooves at three equally spaced intervals around the circumference of the tire,

(a) the tread wear indicators contact the road; or

(b) less than 1.5 millimetres of tread depth remains. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 3 (1).

(2) A front tire on a motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 4,500 kilograms shall not be worn to the extent that less than three millimetres of tread depth remains in any two adjacent major grooves at three equally spaced intervals around the circumference of the tire. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 3 (2).

(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), siping on a tire, other than a tire forming part of a dual tire set on an urban transit bus, does not constitute tread. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 3 (3).

(4) Where the tread pattern on a tire is of such a design that no major grooves are present, the tread depth shall be determined by measurements at the locations designated by the tire manufacturer for this purpose at three equally spaced intervals around the circumference of the tire. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 3 (4).

4. (1) Tires shall be installed on a vehicle so as to avoid,

(a) a mixture of construction types consisting of radial ply tires on the front and bias ply or belted bias ply tires on the rear;

(b) a mixture consisting of 50 or 60 aspect ratio tires on the front with any aspect ratio of tires other than 50 or 60 aspect ratio, on the rear;

(c) a combination of construction types or sizes of tires on an axle, except where such types or sizes are equivalent by tire industry standards; or

(d) contact between tires in a dual set or a difference in overall diameter between tires in a dual set of more than thirteen millimetres or a difference in circumference of more than forty-one millimetres. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 4 (1).

(2) Clause (1) (a) does not apply to tires fitted on a vehicle with dual rear tires. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 4 (2).

(3) Clause (1) (c) does not apply to a temporary use spare tire, specified by a vehicle manufacturer as suitable for emergency use, if not more than one temporary use spare tire is installed on a vehicle. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 4 (3).

5. A tire fitted on a vehicle shall not,

(a) be of a smaller size than the vehicle manufacturer’s specified minimum size; or

(b) contact any vehicle component so as to affect the safe operation of the vehicle. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 5.

6. A tire shall not be installed on a motor vehicle or trailer that bears,

(a) the words “not for highway use”, “farm use only” or “competition circuit use only”;

(b) the letters “SL”, “NHS” or “TG” after the tire designation; or

(c) any other wording or lettering indicating that the tire was not designed for highway use. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 6.

7. (1) No person shall operate on a highway a motor vehicle, trailer, device or apparatus equipped with tires that,

(a) bear the words “not for highway use”, “farm use only” or “competition circuit use only”;

(b) bear the letters “SL”, “NHS” or “TG” after the tire designation;

(c) bear any other wording or lettering indicating that the tire was not designed for highway use; or

(d) were not manufactured to comply with the standards prescribed under the Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Act (Canada) and the regulations made thereunder as they existed on the 28th day of February, 1985. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 625, s. 7 (1).

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an off-road vehicle being operated under Ontario Regulation 316/03 (“Operation of Off-Road Vehicles on Highways”) made under the Highway Traffic Act or under subsection 2 (2) of the Off-Road Vehicles Act. O. Reg. 318/03, s. 1.

8. (1) A front tire on a bus shall not have been altered by the addition of material to produce a new tread surface. O. Reg. 495/93, s. 1.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a tire on a trolley bus. O. Reg. 495/93, s. 1.

9. No person shall operate a vehicle equipped with a studded tire on a highway. O. Reg. 495/93, s. 1.

10. Revoked: O. Reg. 382/02, s. 1.

11. Revoked: O. Reg. 495/93, s. 1.