My new tires have a small red dot on the sidewall. Does the red dot mean anything?
The red dot is painted on by some manufacturers after tire production. It shows the point of maximum radial force variation. This is roughly the same as the stiffest area of the sidewall. It is somewhat like the highest point in the tires, though not exactly. The red dot is normally aligned with the valve stem, during tire mounting. The valve stem shows the heaviest point of the wheel. This way the area with maximum variation may be partially counteracted by the heavier part of the wheel.
