SPEED RATINGS

All modern passenger tyres carry a speed rating. This shows the fastest speed a tyre can be driven at before it ceases to perform as designed.  The most commonly used speed ratings are:

T    up to 118 mph (190 kph)
H    up to 130 mph (210 kph)
V    up to 149 mph (240 kph)
W   up to 168 mph (270 kph)
Y    up to 186 mph (300 kph)
Z    over 150 mph (240 kph)

LOAD RATINGS

This code shows the maximum weight each tyre can carry.

For more information click here:     Load Index & Speed Ratings

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT TYRES

Increasingly, tyre manufacturers are being asked by the car makers to develop specialised tyres for their high performance models.  These tyres are identified by additional letters and sometimes numbers after the size marking - 'MO' for Mercedes, 'L' for Lamborghini, 'F' for Ferrari, 'NO', 'N1', 'N2' etc for Porsche, and so on.
There's much heated debate on the internet motoring websites over the benefits of these OE marked tyres, their differences and the legal position of not fitting them, but to help you make your own mind up on this subject, take a look at this:       Original Equipment Tyres

EU TYRE LABELING

Passenger car tyres now carry information on fuel economy, wet braking and fuel efficiency.

FUEL EFFICIENCY
Tyres are rated from 'A' (the most fuel efficient) to 'G' (the least efficient).  Tyre manufacturers tell us that a car fitted with four A-rated tyres will use 7.5% less fuel over the lifetime of those tyres compared with G-rated tyres.  Results can, of course, vary with the type of car, driving conditions, tyre pressures etc.

WET BRAKING
In theory, on a wet road, braking from 50 mph, a car fitted with four A-rated tyres will stop up to 18 mtres, or 30% shorter than a car fitted with G-rated tyres. Of course, there are other factors can affect this, but a tyre with a higher rating WILL stop quicker in the wet.

EXTERNAL NOISE
The label shows the tyre's noise level in decibels.  The "wave" pictogram shows how it relates to future European mandatory limits:
3 black waves = greater than the future limit, but still legal today
2 black waves = noise is equal to or below the future limit by up to 3dB average
1 black wave = 3dB or more below the future European limit

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