Bill Doran

I just had a tire dealer refuse to sell me S rated Yokohoma Avid Touring tires for my 92 GXE. He said my car requires "H" rated and it would not be safe to drive on "S" rated. The S rating is for up to 112MPH. I have never exceeded 90mph. I wanted the Avid Touring because of favorable write ups for snow and rain as well as long life. He said I need Avid H tires.

Should I go with his recommendation? are S tires permissable legally? Thanks for any words of wisdom. Car is used for daily commute to work, smooth ride and wet traction are of most importance to me.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

He knows what he talking about. Tire sellers are required to sell the same or better ratings that came OEM. They could run into liability issues if there was ever an accident because the improper speed rated tires were installed.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

what Jeff said. of course you can always just buy the tires online and tell them you drive an altima or something, then pull the wheels off the car and take them to a local shop for installation.

Tarzan

Mind the speed limit. None of the tires is recommended by the manufacturers for use at the speed above the posted speed limit, so the requirement is BS targeted at selling higher priced **** to a consumer.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Um you sure about that?? I don't think Porsches/Vettes etc... are equipped with tires only rated at 90mph

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

gotta love liability lawsuits.
find a different tire dealer that will sell you the tires, or do as matt said and just bring in the wheels off the car and say they're for your geo metro

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Get the recommend rated tires. I ran some very low speed rated tires for snow tires once. Those damned tires were so squiggely it was ridiculas. The higher speed rated tires should feature a stiffer sidewall for some better performance. And with a stock ballonn 205-65-15 tire, it's much appreciated.

Bman

No, the point is handling. H or higher rated tires usually handle better than S or T rated tires. It is a very loose association, but for lack of anything else to go by, tire shops want you to stay at the same (or higher) speed rating because they will preserve the most handling that your car originally came with. That way it's not their fault when your car doesn't respond the way you expected in an emergency situation and you have an accident.

It's a common misconception that people think "WTF, I don't drive 130 or 149 mph, WTF do I need H or V rated tires for??!?!?", so they end up buying some long lasting S or T tires that they can find cheap.

That isn't to say that you cannot run S or T rated tires, just be aware of the grip and handling sacrifice that you will be making, and you had better lie to the tire guy or he probably won't do it. I still have T rated BFGs (from previous owner) sitting on my stock wheels and they "left a lot to be desired" to put it politely.

Tarzan

Big smile. Grip is rated in the letters AA, A, B, C and is irrelevant from the speed rating point of view. Just choose the S rated tires that are A rated and you are fine. The speed rating is only indication of how well the tire holds your car on the straight line while doing the rated speed without blowing up of heat. Please PAY attention to how the speed rating is tested and NOTICE that nothing is mentioned about braking or doing corners. That is a real common misconception.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Are those traction ratings have any bearing on sidewall stiffness? Because that's what I was referring to. But if you want to put a lower speed rated tire than the manual says go ahead. But I will tell you that the sidewalls will be alot softer. That's been my experience.

Bman

That specification on the sidewall that says "Traction" is ONLY talking about wet braking traction, and not anything else. That is why you get T or S rated tires like the Goodyear Aquatred 3 with an AA traction rating, and why some of the more hardcore competition tires have almost no traction rating. Example: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...del=ECSTA+V710

The correlation between speed rating and handling exists because usually a higher speed rated tire will have more tire carcass reinforcement and grippier, higher temperature rated rubber compounds, which lend themselves to better handling. For lack of any kind of real industry standard to grade handling and traction characteristics (there isn't any) tire techs like to stick with a minimum of the original speed rating for the car.

So Jeff, no, the "Traction" rating on the sidewall has nothing to do with sidewall stiffness, and going with a S or T rated tire usually gives less responsive handling, less grip, and softer sidewalls, as said. Usually.

Tarzan

Totally agree.
Traction rates wet stopping capability only.

But when do you need your tires most? When you are doing 90 mph on a HW or when while doing 35 mph, someone in Ford Windstar ahead of you, following too close, slams on the brakes on a wet October road, covered with leaves and going slightly downhill? Trust me, you are better off with A rated traction in the second scenario, than with the H speed rated in the first.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

For one, you aren't really supposed to be tailing anyone in the rain but, I'd rather have a A traction rating and the proper speed rating.

DARHAW-MAX

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...eral/speed.jsp

Bman

Well, fine, you're welcome to run whatever tire you want, but almost all tires are "A" traction rated already anyway, and the AA traction rating can be found at all speed ratings. Besides, who is to say that the "A" or "AA" rating isn't as meaningless as the treadwear rating? Traction is also tested and graded by the manufacturer. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/utqg.jsp

Go ahead and ask one of the TireRack or other tire techs - they'll still recommend you stick to tires with original speed rating to preserve emergency handling (and handling in general). It's not like I made this up myself... I used to think you could just ignore speed rating.

Bill Doran

Thanks for everyones help, I decided to abide by the H rating and ordered Komho Ecsta HP4's from tire rack. Low priced tire with mostly favorable write ups on tire rack's site.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

I'm running those on my wife's van and on the rear of my maxima