Interpret Yokohama sidewall dots and distinguish tread paint stripes

On a new Yokohama tire, a red dot on the sidewall marks the point of maximum radial force variation. That is the spot on the tire where the force it pushes toward or away from the wheel's center peaks as it rolls. A yellow dot marks the tire's lightest-weight point. These definitions come from Yokohama's own mounting documentation. Other tire makers may use different colors or meanings, so for any other brand, check that manufacturer's information. The colored stripes painted around the tread are a separate kind of mark and are not explained by the dot definitions.

What the red and yellow dots mean

No tire is perfectly uniform. Yokohama describes radial force variation as the fluctuation in force a tire produces as it rotates under a specified load and speed. "Radial" here means acting along a line from the axle out to the tread. As the tire turns, small differences in its construction make that force rise and fall slightly over each revolution. The red dot shows where the variation reaches its maximum.

The yellow dot is about mass rather than force. It shows where the tire is lightest around its circumference, which matters when the tire and wheel are assembled and balanced as a unit.

Both dots mark a location on the tire. Neither one is a pass or fail verdict on the tire. A red dot on a new tire does not mean the tire is defective. It tells the installer where one particular characteristic peaks.

How the dots are used when mounting a tire

Yokohama treats the two colors as references for two different mounting methods.

Uniformity method (red mark): Wheels are not perfectly round either. Run-out is how far a wheel's rim deviates from a true circle as it spins. This method depends on knowing where the wheel assembly's minimum radial run-out point is, and that information has to come from the wheel manufacturer. The tire's red mark is then interpreted relative to that point, so the tire and wheel variations are considered together.
Weight method (yellow mark): Yokohama names this as the alternative when the wheel's minimum radial run-out point is not marked. It uses the tire's lightest point as the reference.

The choice between the two methods depends on what is known about the wheel. It is not a fixed rule that one color always takes priority over the other. A tire carrying both dots does not tell the installer which method applies. The wheel's documentation decides that. Tire mounting and balancing should be done by a qualified tire service following Yokohama's mounting instructions and the wheel manufacturer's information.

Dots versus tread stripes

Colored lines running around the tread are identification ink applied at the factory. A coatings engineering paper describes the application equipment as customized for each production facility. The number of stripes, their colors and their arrangement all vary. There is no universal color decoder for tread stripes, and a stripe does not record an inspection result. A blue stripe on a Yokohama tire therefore has no meaning you can read from the red and yellow dot definitions. It stays unexplained unless the tire maker supplies a legend for that product.

Mark	Where it appears	Meaning	What you need to interpret it
Red dot (Yokohama)	Sidewall	Point of maximum radial force variation	Yokohama's definition, plus wheel-maker information on the minimum radial run-out point for any mounting interpretation
Yellow dot (Yokohama)	Sidewall	Lightest-weight point of the tire	Yokohama's definition; relevant to the weight method when the wheel's run-out point is unmarked
Colored stripes	Around the tread	Factory identification ink; varies by plant and product	A product-specific legend from the manufacturer; no universal decoder exists

How to record and interpret the marks on your tires

1. Identify the tire. Read the brand and model on the sidewall. Apply Yokohama's dot definitions only to Yokohama tires.
2. Identify the wheel. Note the wheel maker and any model or part number. You need this before you interpret any mark in terms of mounting.
3. Classify each mark. Separate dots on the sidewall from stripes around the tread.
4. Record each mark. Note its color, its shape, where it sits on the tire, and a photo reference.
5. Match each dot to a documented definition. For a Yokohama tire, red means maximum radial force variation and yellow means lightest point. Note which manufacturer document the definition comes from.
6. Check the wheel documentation before drawing any mounting conclusion. Find out whether the wheel manufacturer identifies the minimum radial run-out point. If it does, the red-mark uniformity method is relevant. If it does not, Yokohama's stated alternative is the yellow-mark weight method.
7. Leave stripes unresolved unless the manufacturer provides a legend for that specific product.
8. Stop before doing any mounting work yourself. Hand over remounting or rebalancing to a qualified tire service.

You are finished when every mark in your log has either a documented definition with its source document named, or is explicitly marked as unresolved. No mounting-related interpretation should appear in the log unless a wheel document supports it.

Illustrative example of an observation log, using a hypothetical tire and wheel:

Tire:            Yokohama (brand/model from sidewall)
Wheel:           maker and part number as marked
Wheel document:  minimum radial run-out point identified? [yes / no / unknown]

Mark  Color   Shape   Location   Photo  Definition                         Document
1     Red     Dot     Sidewall   P1     Max radial force variation         Yokohama mounting guidance
2     Yellow  Dot     Sidewall   P2     Lightest-weight point              Yokohama mounting guidance
3     Blue    Stripe  Tread      P3     Unresolved (no product legend)     None

Mounting interpretation: only after the wheel document field is completed

What the marks cannot tell you

Sidewall dots and tread stripes are production and mounting references. They say nothing about whether a tire's size or model is right for your vehicle. That question is answered by the vehicle maker's tire specifications, not by the paint on the tire.