How dangerous is it to go 100-120 mph on "H" rated tires on stock rims??

its on stock 95 SE rims...tires are Bridgestone Potenza Re930i

i know the heat caused between the tire and the road is what cause the tire to heat up but will "H" handle it ?

Thanx a lot

Ant

 

Tire letter grades & speed rating:


Q - 99 MPH
S - 112 MPH
T - 118 MPH
U - 124 MPH
H - 130 MPH
V - 149 MPH
W - 168 MPH
Y - 186 MPH
Z - 149+ MPH

 

I have Bridgestone Potenza tires on my 90 SE 5-spd with stock wheels. I have gone 100-120mph and I think it's unsafe. My front tires are also 60% worn so I guess it's unsafe either way.

 

I would not do it for an extended period, you might pull a firestone at way higher speeds.

 

Burbenstien: just curious as to where you got that table from and thanx for the info..

Skymax: my tires have bout 3K miles on them so they are brand new..

Canuck: how long is an extended period ? ..for 1 min ?

Ant

 

to worry about... but less the speed rating

speaking of heat.. I can only imagine what my tires were doing (OEM toyos) while blasting down those TX interstates at 80-85 with 115+ degree temps (the asphalt had to be 135 degrees). All I know is that I checked my PSI during a stop, all at 33+.. then a week later they were all about ~25 after a temp drop.

 

you got the stock tOYO AO5's on your car?
are they the proxes that come with the SE or the 15" for the GLE ones?

 

on numerous occasions... How long do you plan on maintaning that speed???

 

for you guys who have been speeding along the road at that speed--do you guys notice any steering wheel vibration at that speed--even the slightest? I notice some around 80-85mph in my car but then by 90-95 it is gone...interesting there...but how about the wind noise? is it bearable at that speed without the radio on?

i hear wind howling at 75--so i am sure at 100--it is pretty defening...

 

I can pull 120 for long periods in my 1988. I got new tires and its smooth all the way up there.

 

Wind noise? YES.
Vibration? NO.

The car feels smooth even at 120+. (I still wonder how that driver felt in that "phat" civic when he tried to match my speed. ha!)

I cruise at 80-90 most of the time and I have never felt any vibration at all. Do you have a nose mask? That thing will cause serious vibration at speed more than 70, especially on windy days. I took my mask off for quite a while since I got addicted to spirited driving.

 

16" stock proxies.. (GLE)

 

Even an S-rated tire can prolly break it's 112 MPH limit for a little while. I mean, if it does 120MPH for like 5 seconds, it's not going to blow up.

I think that you can safely go up to the limit for the tire for at least some period of time, like 15 mins. I mean, why does the tire say "H-rated" if it can't pull that speed for sustained periods? It's a bad idea to go 130MPH for an hour on any tire, and it'll prolly wreck your engine too.

I've gone 120MPH on my old Potenza RE930's on stock 15" GXE rims. It takes a while to get up to 120MPH, so I was cruising over 100MPH for at least 1 minute. Didn't feel too uncomfortable, except for the fact that with stock suspension, it's Buick City at 120MPH.

 

Ah yes... when I was late for an appointment in Houston... made it from San Antonio to Houston in 1 hour and 15 minutes... (usually a 3 - 3 1/2 hour drive) going 120 the whole way in the Altima... with S rated tires. Those Kumhos are strong .

 

don't know my firestone sh30s stopped this 1k ago and 6k old
so i guess it's time to get 'em rotated

wind noises cured by bose.

 

have I got a story to tell you. I got the same tires you have now--I went to firestone and bought the SH30's. I believe it was sometime I ago that I put forth a post about these tires and a lot of people have good feedback on them and after driving them, I think they are pretty good tires.

In any case--I have had these things balanced twice at firestone since purchasing them in last aug. The first time they scratched two front rims with the machine, so the entire rim has a circular scratch on it--looks horrible. Not only that they broke a stud with the nut off the front passenger side wheel. I had to go back the next week t have the stud replaced. A week later I felt steering wheel vibrations at aorund 70mph and went back and had them rebalance--which they did...only they didn't take off the original lead weights and now I got 2 pieces of lead weights on 3 wheels.
looks ugly
it only made the steering wheel vibrations occur around 80 now...but it disappers around 90 again...so--it baffles me~~~ if this is a bad tire balance thing.

in any case--what was solution to the steering wheel vibration? just have the tires rotated?
btw, do you have the sh30 in 215/60 15" or the 215/55 16"??

thanks Kenneth.

Brian =)

 

one Zer blew an H rated tire @ the Texas Motor Speedway.. the dumbass knew he had tires that couldn't handle those speeds and jeopardized the others on the track. luckily no one go hurt during the incident.

you can sustain 100+ mph speeds on them, but don't do it for extended periods since the tire was not meant to handle that kind of heat and pressure.

 

tires fare better at 100mph since they are designed with higher speed ratings?

i wonder how the sp5000 from dunlop would fare--

oh well, I am only 2k into my fireston sh30 so far--so there is another 48K left to go on them

 

i have the 215/60s and some "lifetime" warranty which applies once i hit 6k.
so they are going in tomorrow hopefully for obvious rotation plus balance. i also experienced incompentent people at firestone; 3 hours for front brake inspection, gooons.

i will keep you posted via this thread, in probably a day or so.

cheers.

 

I drove my '87 SE with Pep Boy's futura s rated piece of crap tires from Dallas to Oklahoma City doing about 90-95 all the way home. Sure I was dumb and lucky as crap, but that has nothing to do with it...hehe.

 

Its plenty safe to go that fast on H-speed rated tires. It is not safe to be going that fast though. I have done 138 mph on my H-rated SH30's. No problem. I have done 170mph (thats what the speedo said) on my Z-rated Bridgestone BattleAxe's on my bike. No problem. Again, "WE" shouldnt be going that fast.

 

The chart came from the Tire Rack site.
The thing to remember about the ratings is that they're for a tire in good condition. If you've gone through pot holes, or clocked some curbs, you may have damaged some of the cords in the tires. Do you check your tires for bubbles or ripples? Has the tire ever been patched?
Short bursts past 100 aren't a problem. Sustained 100 MPH+ in 90 degree weather, on so-so balanced, 3 year old tires is not a great idea: unless you're looking to win a Darwin Award.

 

Thanx a lot to everyone...

my tires are near new and the temp is about 50...
reason is i hit 100-110 everymorning on the way to work..(Rt.17 north never a cop)
only for about 1 min tho .. was just worried.. thanx a lot..

Ant

 

Absoultely, please keep me update as to what happens with that firestone issue. I'd be quite interested since they told me that there is "lifetime warranty" on these tires and services but the warranty expires by 6k. That is alright though, since I haven't driven too much of the late.

But they are starting to suck--never again, am I going back to them for tires or anything else.

I think I might need to go back again for some tire balance...

Max96-- how are those SH30's holding up for you? did you get them at a firestone dealership and did they balance them properly for you?

thanks--

Brian =)

 

H rated tires are supposedly safe to 130mph.. I wouldn't stay at that speed too long, that can never be safe. Every once in a while, needs to be done..Enjoy the ride!!!

 

I hear a whistle coming from my passenger side mirror when I have the window up and the radio down.. I don't really blast the radio at that speed unless it's an impromtu race.

 

I went 107mph for a good half hour on S rated tires in a rental car. I was driving from San Diego to Phoenix and it was like 2 am so there was no one on the road (except for the cop that eventually pulled me over)

-Ramon

 

You drive up 17 north? I work right up near there, We gotta meet after work one day... wanna check out your Max.

 

I work in Mahwah...
the Island Rd. Macarthur Blvd. exit off 17
let me know ..


BTW: are you coming to etown ? your in the area i assume..

Ant

 

If it makes ya feel any better, I drove 150 miles at 115mph+ on a set of non-speed-rated Cooper Lifeliners a while back..
since then, I've taken the car well over 125 many many times, and had zero problems with them.

tires are usually built with a huge safety factor in them because of people like me..
I've yet to see a tire blow because of excessive speed- unless it was cut, worn, or low on air.

[Edited by Matt93GXE on 11-02-2000 at 04:08 PM]

 

I've got "V" rated tires on stock GXE wheels now but the previous set was an "H" rated tire. I honestly can't tell the difference between the two, so I'd suggest not wasting money on the "V" rating unless you think you'll need it...there's not a day that the car doesn't see 100+...usually along a 15 mile stretch of I-95 or I-97. no probs so far. No vibration of steering wheel since I got the new tires and had them re-balanced. The only major wind noise that was unexpected was at 125mph into a headwind, and it sounded like the door seals started to leak (sort of like that fart sound if you blow up a baloon and just let it go)...but it went away after I slowed down, and it only happened that one time. No other problems.

[Edited by The_quorum on 11-02-2000 at 10:42 PM]

 

you should be fine up to 120 on any rated tires as long as they are in good condition and you are ONLY going in a str8 line... (If my old escort wagon could take it, then I know my maxima can) its all what you want to risk