Tyre Speed Rating

thescouselander

My car needs new tyres but I'm a little unsure about the speed rating. Somehow my car has ended up with W rated tyres on the front and Y rated tyres on the rear. Both ratings are well in excess of the car's top speed but I was advised by the dealer that the car should be fitted with the Manufacturer's recommended rating (which is Y in my case).


My issue is that there seems to be a much better choice of tyres if I went for the W speed rating and I could probably pick up a better deal. What are the rules exactly? Is the dealer right or is it ok to pick a speed rating that is above the top speed of the car?

spiro

You should fit what the manufacturer says you should fit. If you fit anything lower you could have problems with your insurance in the event of a claim.

Lum

What car is it?

Make, Model, Variant, Year and Engine size please?

Going below the minimum speed rating could invalidate your insurance if you were to have an accident that could be seen to have been caused by crap tyres.

thescouselander

spiro wrote: »

You should fit what the manufacturer says you should fit. If you fit anything lower you could have problems with your insurance in the event of a claim.

Yes, I've heard that said but I don't see how an insurance company could refuse a claim based on the difference I describe. W speed tyres are rated up to 168 MPH - there's no way my car could go that fast even down hill with the wind behind it.

Lum - its a 2008 Audi A4 1.8t (160)

I guess its academic now as I have managed to find a good deal for a tyre that fits the manufacturer recommendation. I'd still be interested to hear if anyone has a definitive answer to my original question though.


Edit: I've just had a look through my insurance policy document and the only place where it even mentions tyres is where it stated they must meet legal requirements. The only other mention regarding changing the manufacturers spec refers to instances where performance is improved or when the vehicle is made more attractive the thieves.

I reckon the insurance thing could just be scaremongering.

GolfBravo

The legal requirement is to fit your car with tyres specified on the tyre placard. Not sure about the tyre size, but speed and load ratings on the tyre placard are the minimum values, so you can definitely go higher.

BTW, the speed rating has little to do with car's top speed (legally speed rating must exceed top speed anyway), but since higher speed index indicates more durable tyre, the heavier and more powerful the car is the higher the required speed rating. For example 1.6 Astra would come with, let's say, H rated tyres, 1.8 Astra V rated, 2.0 turbo W or even Z rated.

jase1

I have noticed though that the dealers, tyre sellers etc don't always give out the right info.

Apparently, according to Kwik Fit, and my local Ford dealer, my 1.6 Focus needs 91W tyres.

Problem is, the car itself says 91H.

I'll generally just buy the highest rated rubber that's the same price. I've bought 94H winter tyres, and 91Y summers for example.