Tyre Ratings

Peter C

I recently had new Continental tyres put on my car. I noticed yesterday that on the back axle there is a "v" rated and a "W" rated tyre. front are "v" rated. Tyres are all the same size etc. aprt from ratings. Is it an NCT failure or can any other issues arise?

Seth Brundle

Looking at the NCT manual I can't see any point about them having to be the same - only that they must match the vehicle's max speed.

All you ever wanted to know about tyres but were afraid to ask...

bazz26

I would be a bit concerned about having two tyres with different ratings on the same axle.

mullin

why would you be worried about having different speed ratings on the same axle? specially in this case as a W rating is for speeds up to 168mph and V is up to 149mph......unless your planning on turning the M50 into a race track!!

won't cause a problem with the NCT either

peasant

Never mind the ratings ...I would be worried about having two different tires (threads / makes) on one axle.

Differences in grip could make you more prone to skidding.

RobAMerc

Different tyres on the same axle = BAD
I doubt the NCT will give two fiddlers f*cks

crosstownk

RobAMerc wrote:

Different tyres on the same axle = BAD
I doubt the NCT will give two fiddlers f*cks

Agreed - keep the rating the same across each axle and all will be well.

For those who may not know.......

Tyre size (example) - 205/55VR16

205 = tyre width (mm), 55 = height as a % of width (aspect ratio), V = speed rating, 16 = diameter of the wheel (inches).

Info regarding speed ratings here.

Peter C

Thanks for replies.

Spoke to the garage and they said it is fine to have the "v" & "w" once the tyres were the same brand and size etc.

Seth Brundle

Im not sure if 'same brand' would make a difference but yes it should be OK to have different speed ratings (that match the car's potential) and same tyre size

GTC

Should be fine, had a car that passed with H tyres at the front and T tyres (I think it was T) at the back.

Bradidup

They will really fail you if you mix crossply with radials.

RobAMerc

Peter C wrote:

Thanks for replies.

Spoke to the garage and they said it is fine to have the "v" & "w" once the tyres were the same brand and size etc.

Are you sure he didn't mean model ?

This seems odd to me - Tyres could be the same brand and size but have totally different thread patterns therefore are different tyres - and if they are on the same axle that is a bad thing.

If I have learned one thing in the last few years is do not believe those whom are at the end of a phone - "banking in particular" - People here tend to make up an answer rather than admitting they dont know - this could be dangerous, honestly.

I had a renault 19 16v which had the spare different to the rest of the tyres.
While running on it one time (on back end), almost minutes after putting it on, I lost the back end of the car on a bend I had driven regularly at much higher speeds.
I managed to get it back before dissapearing through the hedge - but lesson learned.