Though few drivers would ever drive to these sustained speeds, higher speed-rated tires generally offer better handling and wet grip than lower-rated tires. Use a tire with the speed rating recommended in your vehicle owner's manual or as listed on the tire information placard found on the driver's doorjamb. Climbing up the scale are the letters H (130 mph), V (149 mph), W (168 mph), Y (186 mph), and ZR (149+ mph). What speed ratings mean: On each tire there's a letter that identifies the tire’s maximum speed limit, but it's not how fast you should drive! Standard all-seasons are usually rated S (up to 112 mph) or T (118 mph). That means the tire has undergone additional testing to ensure winter weather usability. With this symbol, a tire is considered severe snow service-rated. All-weather tires can be used all year long, and like winter tires, they have a three-peak mountain and snowflake symbol, which signifies that the tire meets an industry-defined level of snow traction. This is a tire’s three-peak mountain snowflake symbol and is stamped on the sidewall of tires that meet required performance criteria in snow testing. In doing so, they bridge the gap between all-season tires and dedicated winter tires. They provide year-round grip tuned for enthusiastic driving.Īll-weather tires build on the capabilities found on performance all-season tires with additional winter talents. Such tires can better manage heat buildup generated in high-speed driving than those with lower speed ratings. Signaling their road-holding capabilities, they have a V speed rating, which indicates a maximum speed of 149 mph. They place more emphasis on handling, though the trade-off tends to be shorter tread life. Performance all-season tires are a step up from regular all-season tires. Of those, there was a significant difference between the top-performing and the bottom-performing all-weather tire. The five tested all-weather models are (in alphabetical order) the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady, Michelin CrossClimate +, Nokian WRG4, Toyo Celsius, and Vredestein Quatrac 5. The all-weather tires we evaluated were a size that's commonly found on new cars: 215/55R17. We tested several all-weather tires (a subset of performance all-season tires) using Toyota Camrys. A longer tread life reduces your cost per mile, especially when you consider the cost for changing tires, including the purchase, mounting, balancing, and recycling. The length of tread life affects the operating costs.
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