Chevrolet Sonic Repair Manual: Tires and Wheels Description and Operation (Tire Identification)

Identification

• Accessory and warranty replacement must use TPC spec tires.
• An outboard orientation stripe is added to the tread surface, with an offset toward the outboard tire face.
• All GM approved tires (Production, Service and Accessory) have a TPC (Tire Performance Criteria) code.
• A replacement tire that lacks the original TPC code will not meet the performance characteristics of the original tire, even if it is the same brand, model and size.
• Force and Moment
• Residual Aligning Torque (RAT)
• Rolling Resistance
• Braking Traction
• Driving Traction
• Uniformity
• Noise
• Dimensions
• Mass
• Rev/KM
• High Speed
• Air Retention
• Electrical Resistance
• Automatic Mounting
• Endurance (ATE)
• Treadwear
• Chip/tear
• Groove Wander
• Ride and Handling
• Wet/Snow Handling

The TPC system facilitates tire replacement for GM customers on GM vehicle, meeting the same critical performance specifications of GM vehicle original equipment tires.