Tyre laws (One for JR?)

[MattC]

What are the rules and regs concerning tyre fitment? It''s common knowledge that you must have sensible pressure and adequate tread depth, tyres sizes must match on an axle, and tyres mustn''t protrude outside bodywork. MOT tester says that this is all they check (oh, and tyre condition too). But I''d like to know about some other stuff: - Speed ratings. If your car can do 180mph do you need Y-rated tyres? Or do you just need tyres adequate for 70mph? (e.g. many winter tyres are Q-rated) - Load ratings. Lots of people recommend "Don''t fit tyres with less than OEM load ratings." But OEM tyres seem to be rated to support nearly twice the vehicle weight. So what are the rules? - How wide/narrow can you go? Too narrow and you may run out of braking/cornering grip. Too wide and you''re more vulnerable to aquaplaning and stuff. If anybody knows for definite, I''m all ears! (I believe the Road Traffic Act is the key thing. Maybe.) Cheers

[john robson]

I will do a bit of homework, but speed ratings are as per the max speed of car, no real rules in the RTA re width etc get back to you soon.

[aproctor1]

Did you ever get an answer to this?

[WTDMM]

A quarter of a century old thread resurrection may be a record....

[Scarletpimpofnel]

WTDMM said:

A quarter of a century old thread resurrection may be a record....

Yep. 25 years on and even if there was an answer it might be out of date now.

[Riley Blue]

I was in my early 50s when that OP was written, I'm 76 now!

[Jo-say8k]

And still waiting for an answer after all these years...

[normalbloke]

Scarletpimpofnel said:

WTDMM said:

A quarter of a century old thread resurrection may be a record....

Yep. 25 years on and even if there was an answer it might be out of date now.

One could say it has perished…

[TwinKam]

normalbloke said:

Scarletpimpofnel said:

WTDMM said:

A quarter of a century old thread resurrection may be a record....

Yep. 25 years on and even if there was an answer it might be out of date now.

One could say it has perished

...lost traction, even?

[E-bmw]

TwinKam said:

normalbloke said:

Scarletpimpofnel said:

WTDMM said:

A quarter of a century old thread resurrection may be a record....

Yep. 25 years on and even if there was an answer it might be out of date now.

One could say it has perished

...lost traction, even?

I think the OP was too tyred to wait for an answer.

[Pica-Pica]

As I understand it the tyre speed rating is identified by speed, but also relates to the torque the tyrre can withstand. Speed is the simplest way to note that capability.

[Sheepshanks]

aproctor1 said:

Did you ever get an answer to this?

I had an issue with a company lease car years ago where KwikFit were apparently told by the lease company to fit lower speed rated tyres than the car came with. I thought "I'll stop this" and called our insurer. They didn't give a toss - they said "you can't do more than 70MPH anyway".

[chris1roll]

Riley Blue said:

I was in my early 50s when that OP was written, I'm 76 now!

My daughter is almost the same age now as I was back then!