What do the DOT numbers mean?

Example:
Ecsta MX 275/40ZR17
DOT H2MW YAU 3701

Let's break it apart:
DOT o H2 o MW o YAU o 3701

"DOT" means the tire is certified to meet or exceed the standards of the Department of Transportation's safety standards.

"H2" designates at which manufacturing plant this tire was made at.

"H2" is KUMHO's Kwang ju, South Korea plant.

"YO" is KUMHO's Koksung, South Korea plant.

"4T" is KUMHO's Nanjing, China plant.

"MW" is the tire size (in this case, 275/40ZR17).

These codes differ from size to size and even between manufacturers."YAU" is a grouping of 3 or 4 characters that can be used by the manufacturer to designate the brand or other significant characteristics of that tire."3701" is a date code stamp. The first two digits represent the week, and the last two the year. In the above example, this tire was made in the 37th week of 2001. (In older tires, this can be a three digit code where the first two digits are the week and the last digit is that decade's year.)

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