Mickey Thompson® is pleased to advise you that all Baja Radial MTX™ light truck tires will be identified with a yellow "match mounting mark" (yellow dot) on the sidewall (see Figure 1). The purpose of the match mounting mark is to provide an aid in matching these tires to a rim, when the tire is first mounted, to provide the best possible ride.
Details and procedures for proper match mounting are as follows:
Rim Details:
New passenger and light truck vehicles:
(A) Ford and Chrysler passenger and LT steel rims, and most steel replacement rims, have a paint dot or small painted daub in the drop well portion of the rim at the rim low spot.
(B) GM and most Japanese vehicle manufacturers use the valve hole to mark the low point.
(C) Other manufacturers are using a removable colored sticker or a brightly colored washable paint mark on the rim flange area of the rims. These are generally removed by the vehicle dealer upon sale of the vehicle.
Aluminum and polycast rim low spots are located at the valve hole.
Unmarked rims of all types generally have the low spot at the valve hole.
Procedures:
Locate the yellow dot on the sidewall of the Baja Radial MTX tire. On a raised white letter tire, the round yellow dot will appear on the white sidewall side (either above or below the white sidewall). Blackwall tires will have the round yellow dot on the sidewall opposite the tire identification number (also known as the D.O.T. or serial number). This indicates the high spot of the tire. Note, the match mounting mark on a Baja Radial MTX tire will only be in the form of a round yellow dot. No other marks or any other colored dots should be considered as a match mounting mark.
Using the rim guidelines above, try to find the low spot mark on the rim. If no mark is evident, then use the valve hole as the rim low spot.
Lube both tire beads and the rim on both outer flanges (where the bottom of the tire beads will make contact with the flat portion of the rim when seated).
Proceed with assembly, mounting and balancing in accordance with RMA procedures.
After the beads have been seated, visually check the positioning of the tire bead aligning rings molded into the tire. If spaced uniformly around the rim above the flange, the tire is properly positioned on the rim. If the tire is not positioned properly on the rim, deflate the tire and relube both tire beads and the rim before proceeding with reassembling.
The match mounting mark has been applied with paint. It is designed to remain for a period of time in the event future service is required. Should the consumer desire the mark be removed, it may be removed with a moistened steel wool soap pad or a small amount of bug and tar remover. You should not use petroleum based solvents to remove the paint mark as these may cause rubber degradation and lead to tire failure.
Additional uniformity improvement on larger radial LT sizes may be gained by:
Locating the yellow match mounting dot at the 12:00 position when tightening the wheel nuts.
On dual tires, each tire/wheel assembly should be installed with the valve 180 degrees opposite each other.
Ride will be optimized if the above match mounting procedures are followed during mounting. Mickey Thompson recommends tires be dynamically (spin) balanced.