Identify blackwall, whitewall and tire-lettering appearance codes
OWL means outlined white letters; BW or BSW means a plain black sidewall. Learn how to decode tire appearance codes and tell whitewalls from tread stripes.
Contents
An OWL tire has its brand and model lettering in white with an outline. The rest of the sidewall is black. A BW tire has a plain black sidewall with no white decoration. Tire makers use these appearance codes in their product documentation to describe styling. The codes are not part of the tire size. Yokohama writes the black version as BW (Blackwall). General Tire and Continental write it as BSW (Black Sidewall). The same model can be sold in the same size in both styles under different part numbers. To know which version you are getting, check the appearance code, or better still, the part number.
What the common sidewall codes mean
Each code belongs to the company that publishes it. BW and BSW both mean a black sidewall, but different issuers spell them differently. Always read the legend of the document you are using rather than assuming one brand's abbreviations carry over to another.
| Code | Meaning | Where it is defined |
| BW | Blackwall | Yokohama consumer data book |
| BSW | Black Sidewall | General Tire product guide; Continental |
| OWL | Outlined White Letters (Yokohama), Outlined White Letter (General Tire), Outlined White Lettering (Continental) | Manufacturer documentation |
| RWL | Raised White Letters | EDIWheel catalog glossary |
| WW or WSW | White Sidewall | Continental |
| PW | Pinstripe Whitewall | Continental |
| Narrow, medium or wide whitewall | Width of the white sidewall band | EDIWheel catalog glossary |
RWL and the whitewall width terms come from a catalog data glossary, not from one tire maker. Confirm that the manufacturer of your tire actually uses the term before relying on it.
How to tell the styles apart on the tire
- Black sidewall (BW or BSW): the sidewall and all of its molded lettering are black.
- Outlined white letters (OWL): the characters, such as the brand and model name, are white with an outline. The white appears only in the lettering, not in a band around the tire.
- Raised white letters (RWL): white lettering described as raised. The name does not mention an outline, so compare it with the maker's product images if the distinction matters to you.
- Whitewall (WW or WSW): a white band runs around the sidewall, rather than white appearing only in the letters.
- Pinstripe whitewall (PW): a whitewall styled as a thin white stripe around the sidewall.
Some styles are easy to confuse. OWL and RWL both put white on the lettering. A pinstripe whitewall and a narrow whitewall both describe thin white rings. The names alone do not give exact widths or letter profiles. When the difference matters, use the manufacturer's code for your exact size together with its product photo.
Tires with white or colored stripes
"Tires with white stripes" can mean two unrelated things. If a white ring circles the sidewall, it is whitewall styling, coded as PW, WW or WSW depending on its form and the issuer. If colored or white lines run around the tread of a new tire, they are tread stripes. Tread stripes are not an appearance option. A technical paper from APV, a coatings company, describes them as identification ink applied during manufacturing. The number of stripes, their colors and the equipment used to apply them vary from one production facility to another.
There is no universal public legend for tread stripe colors. A stripe's color therefore does not tell you the tire's appearance code, size or performance. Record it separately, and leave its meaning unassigned unless you have that factory's own legend.
Choosing between OWL and blackwall versions
The appearance codes define styling only. Size, load index and speed symbol appear separately in the tire designation, and those are what you compare for anything beyond looks. A General Tire example shows how close the two versions can be. Its 2024 Canadian guide lists the Grabber HTS 60 in 245/75R16 111S twice: article 04504610000 is BSW and article 04504620000 is OWL. Size, load index and speed symbol match, and only the appearance and article number differ.
The two styles are not always offered in the same sizes. In Yokohama's product table, the BW entry shown is 205/70R15 96H (part 110101873). The OWL entry is 215/70R15 98H (part 110101874), which is a different size with a different load index. Before deciding on a style, confirm that your exact designation is listed in that style. Offerings also vary by market and catalog year, so use the current guide for your region.
Identify the appearance variant step by step
- 1. Write down the brand, model name and complete size designation from the sidewall, including the load index and speed symbol.
- 2. Note what you see: plain black, outlined white lettering, raised white lettering, a white sidewall band, or a thin white pinstripe.
- 3. Find the manufacturer's current product guide or data book for that model, and read its appearance legend.
- 4. Find the row that matches your full designation. If the same size appears more than once, choose the row whose appearance code matches what you observed.
- 5. Record that row's part or article number, the code, and the document and page.
- 6. Record any tread stripes as a separate item. They are not part of the sidewall code.
- 7. Completion check: you are done when the issuer-defined code matches the styling on the tire and the size in that row matches the full designation. When ordering replacements or matching a set, give the part number rather than the code alone.
Example identification record
Illustrative example: suppose a new General Grabber HTS 60 in 245/75R16 111S has white outlined lettering and a single blue stripe around the tread. The stripe is hypothetical. The appearance code and article number come from General Tire's guide. Keep two separate records:
Record 1 - sidewall styling
Brand: General Tire
Model: Grabber HTS 60
Designation: 245/75R16 111S
Observed styling: white outlined lettering, black sidewall
Issuer code: OWL (Outlined White Letter)
Product identifier: article 04504620000
Source: General Tire 2024 Canadian product guide, Grabber HTS 60 table, page ___
Record 2 - tread paint
Observed: one blue stripe around the tread
Meaning: unassigned - no applicable factory legendRelated articles
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