Speed Rating for Tires

[LiquidOps]

I am trying to buy new tires, but I keep hearing conflicting information about speed ratings. According to the owner's manual, my car is V-rated so I should buy the same rating. However, I will never come close to those speeds since I live in Vancouver, BC, so it's mostly city driving. I am wondering if I can purchase H or T rated tires instead. What do you think? Thanks for your input.

[kleptodathief]

unless u go over 200klicks i wudn't worry bout tire ratings ;)

M 81 mph 130 km/h
N 87 mph 140km/h Temporary Spare Tires
P 93 mph 150 km/h
Q 99 mph 160 km/h Studless & Studdable Winter Tires
R 106 mph 170 km/h H.D. Light Truck Tires
S 112 mph 180 km/h Family Sedans & Vans
T 118 mph 190 km/h Family Sedans & Vans
U 124 mph 200 km/h
H 130 mph 210 km/h Sport Sedans & Coupes
V 149 mph 240 km/h Sport Sedans, Coupes & Sports Cars

but it is nice to have V(TEC) tires :D

[BartBandy]

The higher the speed rating, the stiffer the sidewall and often, the "stickier" the tire.

If you replace your V-rated tires with, say, T-rated, you will notice a difference when cornering, and probably on the highway as well. The steering response will be a little slower.

H-rated tires aren't a bad compromise, and often "sport" tires have an H-rated and V-rated tire of the same tire model. Again, the V-rated will have a stiffer sidewall, and be more expensive (because it is more expensive to make).

Finally, many cheaper tires come with relatively soft sidewalls compared to name brand competitors. The Falken ZE512 was a very common budget choice, but had a very soft sidewall for the given speed rating.

[ES_Revenge]

Really you should still buy tyres with the same rating as the factory tyres were. There's slightly more to speed ratings than just speed. Not much more but usually generally speaking tyres with higher speed ratings are better tyres overall, speaking of summer tyres anyway.

I would buy at least H rated tyres if you don't want to stick with V.

If you look at that list you will see that M rated tyres are technically good for anywhere in Canada, but you will also never see tyres with that low a speed rating sold. In fact you'd be hard pressed to find all season or summer tyres for a car, that are under the S rating, in the consumer market place. And any tyre you did find below that is probably a very crappy tyre in the first place.

The speed rating simply means that the tyre can withstand that speed, at rated cold inflation pressure, within it's load capability, at a given external temperature (I think it's like 20C) for one hour, in mainly a straight line on a smooth test track, without failure. So as you can see there's a reason why this is overkilled in pretty much every passenger car tyre available for sale. Speed rating is mainly how it holds up to pressure and temperature at speed.

Another clue should be the fact that many compact spares are N rated which is technically to 140km/h. But due to the fact that these are small tyres and load is increased there is probably not a car manual out there that recommends going more than 100km/h on a compact tyre (most manuals say 90km/h actually), N-rated or not.

So just because "you will never come close" to the rated speed of most tyres, doesn't mean you should be trying to buy the cheapest lowest-rated tyres you can find ;)

I don't know what car it is you have, but I wouldn't go below H, given what you've said already.

[EH100501AC]

Really you should still buy tyres with the same rating as the factory tyres were. There's slightly more to speed ratings than just speed. Not much more but usually generally speaking tyres with higher speed ratings are better tyres overall, speaking of summer tyres anyway.

I would buy at least H rated tyres if you don't want to stick with V.

If you look at that list you will see that M rated tyres are technically good for anywhere in Canada, but you will also never see tyres with that low a speed rating sold. In fact you'd be hard pressed to find all season or summer tyres for a car, that are under the S rating, in the consumer market place. And any tyre you did find below that is probably a very crappy tyre in the first place.

The speed rating simply means that the tyre can withstand that speed, at rated cold inflation pressure, within it's load capability, at a given external temperature (I think it's like 20C) for one hour, in mainly a straight line on a smooth test track, without failure. So as you can see there's a reason why this is overkilled in pretty much every passenger car tyre available for sale. Speed rating is mainly how it holds up to pressure and temperature at speed.

Another clue should be the fact that many compact spares are N rated which is technically to 140km/h. But due to the fact that these are small tyres and load is increased there is probably not a car manual out there that recommends going more than 100km/h on a compact tyre (most manuals say 90km/h actually), N-rated or not.

So just because "you will never come close" to the rated speed of most tyres, doesn't mean you should be trying to buy the cheapest lowest-rated tyres you can find ;)

I don't know what car it is you have, but I wouldn't go below H, given what you've said already.


HOLY SH:!:T

Not once did you spell "tire" or "tires" correctly.

[chickenbones]

HOLY SH:!:T

Not once did you spell "tire" or "tires" correctly.

Hint: British spelling.

[corrupt123]

HOLY SH:!:T

Not once did you spell "tire" or "tires" correctly.

He likes to be different, and will come back and prove to you that that is actually the proper way of spelling "tires" - although it is rather old fashioned.

OP - What kind of car do you have? If it's just a sedan or a daily driver, i.e. you are the only driver and know how much you push it, then I wouldn't worry about dropping to T/H. I do however agree with ES_Revenge, because if your manual calls for a V rated tire theres definitly some power under the hood, so one step down is the safest bet. (Besides original)

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

Thicker sidewalls means a stiffer, harsher ride. Most people don't want that.

[BartBandy]

Forgot that point, but at least I prefer to feel the road than float over it. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

[ES_Revenge]

He likes to be different, and will come back and prove to you that that is actually the proper way of spelling "tires" - although it is rather old fashioned.

Haha :lol: I was going to do just that but looks like you guys already did it for me ;)

I stick by saying that's the real way to spell the word (it is!) regardless of the Americanised version that's generally accepted these days, in North America. Hopefully Captain English doesn't come back and tell me I spelled "Americanized" wrong either (perhaps he'll do it in "gray" "colored" text that he discovered at a "neighborhood" store?) LOL.

[warpdrive]

Speed ratings are not just about the maximum speed, they are also differently constructed and tend to have a tread that works better for sporty driving. They also tend to feel more sporty also, more noisy, stiffer ride, more "road feel"

For the most part, I'd say it's fine to go down to an H rated tire from a V rated tire and you'll not notice a big difference at all in normal driving. If you are the type to screech around corners, then stick with the same or go higher in tire ratings.

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

Forgot that point, but at least I prefer to feel the road than float over it. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

Eh. Potholes - you feel one, you've felt them all. After a while it's just lower back pain.

[joegrecoant]

Please try to follow your OE tire speed rating, this is the general recommendation from tire stores and i found it very beneficial (i pull it out from an online tire site):

3. Can I downgrade the speed rating of my tire?
We do not recommend using a tire with a speed rating lower than that which the vehicle manufacturer recommends for your car. Many folks may try to downgrade to save themselves a few dollars, but this is penny-wise and pound-foolish. By downgrading the speed rating of your tires, you will reduce the vehicle's handling and your control in emergency situations. The $50 you save yourself by downgrading won't cover the cost of the tow when you find yourself in a ditch. The industry accepted exception to this rule is that you may downgrade ONE speed rating level when switching over to snow tires. The bottom line is if you want your Geo to handle like a BMW, upgrade the speed rating. If you want your BMW to handle like a Geo...