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Winter tyres T H V speed rating ?

-Rich- said:
Any decent tyre fitter will tell you. Mentioned on the Dunlop site, number 3

http://www.dunlop.eu/dunlop_uk/I_want_new_tyres/winter_tyres/FAQs.jsp

Alot of the big garage chains and dealers also mention it such as Ford and The AA.
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That link (at para 3) does not actually say that winter tyres with a lower speed rating can be used in place of the normal rating specified for your car. It merely states that winter tyres generally have lower speed ratings... I would take this as a warning that it may be harder to obtain the correctly rated tyres if you need a higher spec type (such as a V).

As I posted earlier in the thread, the Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2001 (see section 16, Paragraph 7 states that... "The speed capability of all tyres fitted shall be not less than the maximum design speed of the vehicle.") - http://www.legislati...schedule/3/made and there is no exception mentioned regarding winter tyres.
 
How many cars do you think have been fitted with tyres that don't conform to that legislation though. Class 4 cars don't even need the speed rating checked during the MOT so it's abit pointless really.

There's nothing to interpret, I said will lower (by one letter) speed rated winter tyres affect my cover, they said no. Can't get any clearer than that.
 
-Rich- said:
How many cars do you think have been fitted with tyres that don't conform to that legislation though...
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I bet there's loads. And most of them will get away with it... but some won't. And some will have accidents as a result.

-Rich- said:
...Class 4 cars don't even need the speed rating checked during the MOT so it's abit pointless really...
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VOSA and DoT don't always get their acts together... in a similar vein, cars rendered unroadworthy by having inappropriate HID conversion also pass MoT tests.

-Rich- said:
...There's nothing to interpret, I said will lower (by one letter) speed rated winter tyres affect my cover, they said no. Can't get any clearer than that.
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It isn't clear to me. What's to stop you driving at high speed (above the 'H' rating) along an autobahn after you fit your cheap snow tyres?
 
If something in the policy itself conflicted with the letter there might still be problems.

Personally I'd rather pay the extra tenner a corner for Vs to remove any doubt. And get a stronger set of tyres for my money.
 
Cliffordski said:
If something in the policy itself conflicted with the letter there might still be problems.

Personally I'd rather pay the extra tenner a corner for Vs to remove any doubt. And get a stronger set of tyres for my money.
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Well I am putting H rated tyres on mine as they don't do V rated in Nokian WR D3 :p
I don't drive over 130 mph so it will be OK :rolleyes:
 
Zook31 said:
Have you got your H rated Nokian WR D3 tyres yet Jon ???? :unsure:
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:blush: ... not yet. :p

But if/when I do, i shall be doing so in the knowledge that I would then be fitting tyres which do not meet the requirements specified for my vehicle. And - even if I drive at speeds below 130MPH - certain safety aspects of my vehicle will have been compromised to some degree, which might then cause me serious problems with Police and/or my insurer should I be unlucky enough to be involved in an accident.

I'm not sure that Nokian WR D3 tyres being unavailable in a 'V' rating would be any sort of justification for fitting these 'H' rated tyres though...
 
Jon_G said:
:blush: ... not yet. :p

But if/when I do, i shall be doing so in the knowledge that I would then be fitting tyres which do not meet the requirements specified for my vehicle. And - even if I drive at speeds below 130MPH - certain safety aspects of my vehicle will have been compromised to some degree, which might then cause me serious problems with Police and/or my insurer should I be unlucky enough to be involved in an accident.

I'm not sure that Nokian WR D3 tyres being unavailable in a 'V' rating would be any sort of justification for fitting these 'H' rated tyres though...
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What you trying to say? :unsure:

Tell them the man from alcoholics anonymous said it's OK :lol:
 
Jon_G said:
I bet there's loads. And most of them will get away with it... but some won't. And some will have accidents as a result.

VOSA and DoT don't always get their acts together... in a similar vein, cars rendered unroadworthy by having inappropriate HID conversion also pass MoT tests.

It isn't clear to me. What's to stop you driving at high speed (above the 'H' rating) along an autobahn after you fit your cheap snow tyres?
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I asked my insurer again and referred them to the legislation about speed ratings, they have now retracted what they said and if I fit a H rated tyre my insurance will be invalid! :rolleyes:

I wouldn't be able to drive the autobahn, I don't have Europeon cover so no issues there and I'm sure the insurer would state the car needs to be roadworthy to drive over there. I wouldn't exactly call Michelin Alpin tyres cheap though (which I was going to get), they're one of the best out there but the V rated ones are out of my budget so I've ordered some Toyo Snowprox in a V rating.

I was never going to fit H rated tyres anyway, just saying it's common practise to drop one rating lower. My last car had Goodyear winter tyres supplied and fitted by a garage but they also fitted these in a H rating, I never checked at the time. I started to have issues with them in the wet after a year (still had 6mm tread) and I'm sure it's down to the speed rating. Obviously the faster a tyre can go the stronger it needs to be made so a H and V rated one could have different amounts of silica etc used. This could affect how the car handles on the wrong tyres.

I will always use tyres at the recommended speed (and load) rating now or above.
 
Sorry, just seen you said you've had them before. First time with my Yokohama W drives, and they have been superb.
 
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