Tyre speed ratings and what they mean

obi_waynne

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Have you ever spotted or realised the speed rating on your tyres?

Here are the speeds converted to MPH and the ratings they refer to.

Speed Rating "N" For vehicles capable of reaching 140 kph 87 Mph
Speed Rating "P" For vehicles capable of reaching 150 kph 94 Mph
Speed Rating "Q" For vehicles capable of reaching 160 kph 100 Mph
Speed Rating "R" For vehicles capable of reaching 170 kph 106 Mph
Speed Rating "S" For vehicles capable of reaching 180 kph 113 Mph
Speed Rating "T" For vehicles capable of reaching 190 kph 119 Mph
Speed Rating "U" For vehicles capable of reaching 200 kph 125 Mph
Speed Rating "H" For vehicles capable of reaching 210 kph 130 Mph
Speed Rating "V" For vehicles capable of reaching 240 kph 150 mph
Speed Rating "W" For vehicles capable of reaching 270 kph 170 mph
Speed Rating "Y" For vehicles capable of reaching 300 kph 186 mph
Speed Category "VR" For vehicles capable of reaching over 210 kph 130 Mph
Speed Category "ZR" For vehicles capable of reaching over 240 kph 150 mph
ZR+ Speed Rating "W" For vehicles capable of reaching between 240 kph to 270 kph (150-170mph)
ZR+ Speed Rating "Y" For vehicles capable of reaching between 240 kph to 300 kph (150-186mph)

Do you think this matters much? What speed rating do you have on your car? I just bought a set of V rated tyres for mine.
 
You must fit tyres that meet the manufacturers recommended speed rating. So, yes it does matter if you want to keep your insurance valid.

I also think that if you compared two tyres, identical other than speed rating, that the one with the higher rating will require less balancing due to closer manufacturing tolerances.

An interesting point is this though: If I Wanted to fit winter tyres to my car I'd have to fit a T rated tyre as there is no V rated winter fitment for my car. At least, I've not yet found one. So, technically, even though I've fitted ;em in the interests of safety I could still find my insurance void.
 
One piece of logic says,

In a country where the national speed limit is say 80mph or 130kph, why do you need tyres that are speed rated more than say 10 or 20% above that limit, as long as the tyre load rating is also complied with.

On the other hand every movement of the car is transmitted through the tyre contact patches and it is in the best interest to have the tyres that provide the best grip and consistency available.

As they say.....You can have the best car in the world, if you don't have the best tyres on it you no longer have the best car in the world.

I'll take a set of YR rated tyres that are deemed to be the best available after checking out any tyre test information I can find (Autocar, Tirerack.com etc). Even if I do drive a cheap Australian Opel.
 
Yep! you have to have the correct speed ratio tyres fitted, I run on Goodyear F1's ZR+ 'Y' rating, as I love going to Germany and finding an autobahn ( unrestricted ), not to many left now.
 
What are the F1 GSs like to drive on. I'm about to replace all my tyres and it's likely to be either Conti Premium 2 or Sport Contact.

I used to rate Goodyear tyres enormously but they've all changed now, apart, it seems, from the GSD2 and GSD3
 
I'm not sure on the Gs as you describe, I run on Goodyear Eagle F1's, rear 255/45/18 & 235/50/18 at the front all ZR+ Y, how are they ? in 2 words ' Absolutely Brilliant' in all seasons, wet/dry ice/snow just mega and Im driving over 2 tonne of metal, as for wear well now 4 yrs old, the rears are down to 5mm, fronts at 7mm these measurements I had taken a month ago at the MOT from the wear markers.

So need I say more?

Yes .................you get what you pay for.....Example buy a B&Q drill as opposed to a Dewalt........the rest is or will be history.
 
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Yes .................you get what you pay for.....Example buy a B&Q drill as opposed to a Dewalt........the rest is or will be history.[/quote said:
However. site workers now buy the cheapest drills etc from B&Q due to constant theft of their expensive ones! They treat them as throw away items: Use on a job then throw away and buy a new one. Much cheaper than having to keep replacing stolen ones :)

With regard to why have tyres rated far above the national speed limit, the higher rated tyres are also designed to cope with the acceleration. braking (thanks HD) and handling as well as top speed of a fast car.
 
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I thought the Goodyear designation was Eagle F1 GSD2 or F1 GSD3. Both have very striking tread patterns, obviously directional and very pretty ones as well.

I've never been a fan of cheap tyres but I've tried a couple of sets of Viking (which is a Continental branded tyre) Protech IIs. They grip and corner very well. That is to say, as well as you can expect a FWD car to corner with a nose heavy and probably overly torquey diesel engine. Too much work for a pair of steered wheels.

Sadly, they wear at a hell of a rate. That's perhaps to be expected, given the price.

I'm thinking of reverting to Continental Sport Contact or Bridegstone's Potenza RE-720 (if I can find any).

But I'm a long time fan of Goodyear's directional tyres. I had very good results with goodyear's Ventura on my Primera as soon as I got rid of the factory fitted Dunlop Sport something or other things that it came with from the factory.

I might give the F1's a go..... I cannot see the point in fitting a car that's designed to get on with the job at hand with tyres designed to make your Dad's (or, more, accurately, My Dad's Vauxhall Astra 1.something or other litre tiny little engine) Honda Jazz cover 50,000 miles between changes.

It seems that your experience with the F1 patterns might well change my mind.

Let's see what I can source.

Thanks for your input - it's very gratefully received and acknowledged.
 
With regard to why have tyres rated far above the national speed limit, the higher rated tyres are also designed to cope with the acceleration. breaking and handling as well as top speed of a fast car.

Exactly try going to the Nuremberg ring on Falkens or avon or your budget tyre then report back.
 
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will require much less balancing than one with a lower speed rating.

Why? Because the maufacturing tolerances of a faster rated tyre will be tighter.

Quite agree with the above statement, I only get my wheels balanced every 6 months my choice not the 'shimmy' at a certain speed as with cheap tyres that I had fitted years ago I was in there nearly every weak and they were blaming my wheels!!
 
The Focus comes with Michellin Primacy's from the Factory amd they are a very good tyre if a little noisy. but they do grip extremely well in all conditions.
 
The Focus comes with Michellin Primacy's from the Factory amd they are a very good tyre if a little noisy. but they do grip extremely well in all conditions.


Like yourself, many of us are accustomed to the level of grip and driveability that OEM tyres can offer.

Sadly, many car users let this level of performance slip away and replace OEM tyres with cheap aftermarket alternatives.

Over the years I'm not utterly drawn to Michelin. I've used them as aftermarket tyres at times.

Michelin was considered to be THE tyre to have in the 1980s. And I fitted 'em to my cars back then.

I'm just about to replace rubber all round and on this occasion I'm going to revisit Conti.
 
Like yourself, many of us are accustomed to the level of grip and driveability that OEM tyres can offer.

Sadly, many car users let this level of performance slip away and replace OEM tyres with cheap aftermarket alternatives.

Over the years I'm not utterly drawn to Michelin. I've used them as aftermarket tyres at times.

Michelin was considered to be THE tyre to have in the 1980s. And I fitted 'em to my cars back then.

I'm just about to replace rubber all round and on this occasion I'm going to revisit Conti.

Honestly I can say they are amazing. The Primera had good tyre's on and that handled like a dream but I could still get it to break traction. I've tried my hardest to get the focus to do the same but with no results. They really are good gripping tyre's. I had a little race with an R34 Skyline the other night on the country lanes back to my home and he could only keep up on the straights. I promise you I he couldn't keep up in the bends. Purely because the one's he had to brake heavily for I just dropped down a cog and went round it. They really are top notch.
 
However. site workers now buy the cheapest drills etc from B&Q due to constant theft of their expensive ones! They treat them as throw away items: Use on a job then throw away and buy a new one. Much cheaper than having to keep replacing stolen ones :)

With regard to why have tyres rated far above the national speed limit, the higher rated tyres are also designed to cope with the acceleration. breaking and handling as well as top speed of a fast car.

mate i work on sites and have done all over the country and not 1 tradesman (using this word lightly) i have ever seen uses drills from b&q the bits maybe as throw away items but not the actual drills and batteries!!!!

Exactly try going to the Nuremberg ring on Falkens or avon or your budget tyre then report back.

well ive never used falkens (so cant comment on them)
but i have used avon zv3's on 2 of my previous cars and would be confident in them around a track!!!!
and im pretty sure they are used in some sort of motorsport???

The Focus comes with Michellin Primacy's from the Factory amd they are a very good tyre if a little noisy. but they do grip extremely well in all conditions.

do they grip well in snow/ice??? :amuse: :toung:
 
do they grip well in snow/ice??? :amuse: :toung:

Don't know about snow but they grip very well in ice. Today we had really bad rain and on the dual carridgeway everybody else was slowing down but I still had the grip to do 60-70. Even through puddles it was fine. Didn't aquaplane once. Honestly they are amazing tyre's. But saying that they are mated to a very well designed and handling chassis. Although they are very noisy on some road surfaces.
 
Don't know about snow but they grip very well in ice. Today we had really bad rain and on the dual carridgeway everybody else was slowing down but I still had the grip to do 60-70. Even through puddles it was fine. Didn't aquaplane once. Honestly they are amazing tyre's. But saying that they are mated to a very well designed and handling chassis. Although they are very noisy on some road surfaces.

i didnt think you had the focus that long to have drove in ice but you obviously have so you ruined my :amuse: :p

:(
 
mate i work on sites and have done all over the country and not 1 tradesman (using this word lightly) i have ever seen uses drills from b&q the bits maybe as throw away items but not the actual drills and batteries!!!!

I can only speak for the guys I know and sites I visit in Essex. Very few bother with high priced tools because:

1. A high loss/theft to job ratio.
2. Dwalt and B&Q drills drill the same size holes at the same speed.

Besides, B&Q sell Bosch which aren't that bad :)
 
Don't know about snow but they grip very well in ice. Today we had really bad rain and on the dual carridgeway everybody else was slowing down but I still had the grip to do 60-70. Even through puddles it was fine. Didn't aquaplane once. Honestly they are amazing tyre's. But saying that they are mated to a very well designed and handling chassis. Although they are very noisy on some road surfaces.


What's the OEM fitment?
 

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