Does it matter if speed rating is different on front tyres?

vishy01234

I have Bridgestone "205/65r16 95t" tyres on rear of my Honda CRV. It's a really old trusty car, but starting to limit my spend on it so getting a bit budget conscious. Needs new front tyres. I've been offered a fair deal on a pair of new tyres: Nexen "205/65r16 95h" 
Does it matter that the speed rating is H and slightly higher at the front? Not an expert on this stuff. Just want to make sure it's safe to proceed with these tyres and won't cause any issues with insurance, safety, stuff like that.

facade

Higher is fine, the insurance tend to pull faces at lower, even though the rating is vastly above the speed at which you would lose your licence in the UK.

MinuteNoodles

I know you're trying to save money on it but tyres which are the thing in contact with the road along with brakes and steering are not the place to be saving your money. Your tyres affect not only cornering but braking distances and handling in the wet. The difference in stopping distances in the dry at 60MPH can be measured in multiple car lengths between the best and worst and several car lengths in the wet. Given we're often talking differences of £20-£30 a tyre at best between a decent performing tyre and a budget at that size it just isn't worth the savings.

I sold my Mondeo to my parents last year. I only ever fit leading tyres on my cars and that had Goodyear Four Season Gen 2s all round even though it was on 155,000 miles. They used to fit whatever was cheap on their car and not care. One of the first comments my mother made was how well it cornered as they live in the countryside down windy roads. Yeah mum your car would too if it had decent rubber.
I've had tyres so bad that I've changed them within a week. I fitted a set of National Tyres "four for £130" 10 years ago to a Ford Capri. They were so bad that it would powerslide out of a roundabout on a hot sunny day even though I was accelerating away normally and this was a gutless 1.6L. They were on a week before I decided it was better to bin them than to continue to use them.

DoaM

10 years ago you had a Capri? And you sold it? (Hopefully for a good profit).

onlyfoolsandparking

Unless your driving like Lewis Hamilton when he's going for pole in qualifying the speed rating on standard road tyres wont matter. Nothing wrong with using Nexen tyres for a CRV. 

Herzlos

onlyfoolsandparking said:

Unless your driving like Lewis Hamilton when he's going for pole in qualifying the speed rating on standard road tyres wont matter. Nothing wrong with using Nexen tyres for a CRV. 

As long as it's above the manufacturers recommendation.

onlyfoolsandparking

Which a Nexen tyre is and if they are good enough to be fitted to Porsche SUV,s as standard then they are surely good enough for a Honda CRV

AdrianC

onlyfoolsandparking said:

Which a Nexen tyre is and if they are good enough to be fitted to Porsche SUV,s as standard then they are surely good enough for a Honda CRV

TBH, I'd be surprised if T speed-rated (118mph) was.

Is there a tyre pressure label on the car, OP? What does it say?

But, yes, the Nexens will be perfectly fine. They aren't Alibaba-by-the-container off-brand rubbish. They're a perfectly respectable low-to-mid-market mainstream Korean tyre manufacturer.

onlyfoolsandparking

The Nexen tyres fitted to Porsche SUV,s as standard are 'Y' rated so no speed problems there. As regards a 'T' rated tyre would that speed rating be a problem on what the OP states is a 'really trusty old car' would you even want to go quicker than 118mph in an old Honda CRV,lol.

I agree with you though, definitely not rubbish, having used Nexens a few times, have to say I'm impressed with the quality, ride, wear but most of all price.

onlyfoolsandparking

MinuteNoodles said:

I know you're trying to save money on it but tyres which are the thing in contact with the road along with brakes and steering are not the place to be saving your money. Your tyres affect not only cornering but braking distances and handling in the wet. The difference in stopping distances in the dry at 60MPH can be measured in multiple car lengths between the best and worst and several car lengths in the wet. Given we're often talking differences of £20-£30 a tyre at best between a decent performing tyre and a budget at that size it just isn't worth the savings.

I sold my Mondeo to my parents last year. I only ever fit leading tyres on my cars and that had Goodyear Four Season Gen 2s all round even though it was on 155,000 miles. They used to fit whatever was cheap on their car and not care. One of the first comments my mother made was how well it cornered as they live in the countryside down windy roads. Yeah mum your car would too if it had decent rubber.
I've had tyres so bad that I've changed them within a week. I fitted a set of National Tyres "four for £130" 10 years ago to a Ford Capri. They were so bad that it would powerslide out of a roundabout on a hot sunny day even though I was accelerating away normally and this was a gutless 1.6L. They were on a week before I decided it was better to bin them than to continue to use them.

How well a Mondeo cornered? what was your parents last car, a model T ford.

vishy01234

Thanks for you help and advice folks. In the end I got a stonking deal on a pair of Bridgetstones with exact spec as the old ones, so became an easy decision to make. Otherwise based on the advice here I'd have been comfortable to go for the Nexens.