Tyre speed rating v vs w vs y

Marc Ellis

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Ok I will need new tyres shortly for my clk c209 56reg r18 any alloys 2.2cdi auto. Searching tyres by reg all the usual suspects suggest 225 40 r18 but varrying speed rating most "Y" being the most exspensive by 20 percent to "w" and then 20 percent cheaper again for "v". Able to get a stinking price for all weather kleber Quadraxer2 (had these on all my cars the last 8 years and they are amazing) but at 225/40 R18 92V XL. It is the v but the xl. So my question is I should be confident and go for them and ignore the higher speed rating suggested by retailers? Cheers in advance.
 

mioba

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erm.... get the speed rating for the speed your likely to do.
 

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What speed rating should the car have? (It will be in the manual and probably inside the fuel filler flap). Don’t drop below the recommendation there and you’ll not have any issues with insurance or driving.
 

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I think V should be ample.
Once the highest speed rating a tirecould have, “V” used to represent a maximum of 149 mph (240 kph) or more. Nowadays, it means 149 mph but no higher.
 

curious

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As above, insurance recommendation is very important. Additionally, it isn't just the top speed thing but, the acceleration and braking that goes with a car that can do those top speeds.
 
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Marc Ellis

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I'll Check what the official rcomeneded is and if necessary I'll cross ref with insurance. Hear the point on NOT JUST TOP SPEED by considering v is 149mph and my average is 70/ 75 with peak being 90 I can't see how with the xl (which is increased strength in side wall to help with deformation in braking and accelerating) I can't see how good quality XL V could not be absolutely fine if not great? Cheers for the information and opinions.
 

d215yq

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Winter tyres often aren't made in the highest speed ratings so it is necessary to drop down if you have a car with a theoretical higher maximum top speed. This is normal and totally fine. Insurance can only refuse to pay out if you speccing a lower rated tyre caused the accident and they can prove that. So unless you plan on getting near 149mph and have a blow out then you will not have problems there.

As for the accelerating and braking forces - it's a c class 2.2 diesel. It's hardly going to be shredding V rated tyres
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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As tyres are rated for use in the EU where Germany allows unrestricted speeds on some roads we all end up paying more for our tyres for no good reason, unless of course you intend to test your car out on the autobahn. V speed rating was always adequate for UK roads and if you felt there was a requirement for extra loading there was the option to increase this as you say with the XL index ie 93, 96 etc.

I’ve just changed the runflats on my 4 series to standard tyres, front runflats were 225-40-19Y 89 load index to 225-40-19Y 93 load index, rear 255-35-19Y 93 load index to 255-35-19Y 96 load index and the transformation is remarkable
 
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Marc Ellis

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all very sound info chaps im going for the bargain v's again many thanks for the input and loving this forum already. all the best
 

Paul1948

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If your tyres do not match the spec given by the makers of the car, the car will fail mot, insurance is invalid it is the same as running on bald tyres. Tyres have to match what the car is capable of and NOT what speeds you drive at. I drive a car capable of 155 mph but never been at that speed even in Germany, so my tyres are capable of 168mph to be legal....use UNIROYAL rain tyres very well recommend on this forum.
 

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V is the speed rating, XL is Extra Load. XL is normally required on very low profile tyres like yours.
My wife's SLK has XL tyres on 18" but not on 17" tyres.
 

sonic

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If your tyres do not match the spec given by the makers of the car, the car will fail mot, insurance is invalid it is the same as running on bald tyres. Tyres have to match what the car is capable of and NOT what speeds you drive at. I drive a car capable of 155 mph but never been at that speed even in Germany, so my tyres are capable of 168mph to be legal....use UNIROYAL rain tyres very well recommend on this forum.
Got to 140 MPH so far in Germany, then the wife woke up!
 

LostKiwi

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If your tyres do not match the spec given by the makers of the car, the car will fail mot,
That's not correct. From the MOT testers guide:
"Tyres
The Tester will inspect that the tyres are suitable for the vehicle with repect to load and speed rating. The tyres must be suitable for use up to 70mph unless the vehicle is a ‘restricted speed vehicle’."

You may have issues with insurance as it will be seen as a modification.
 

d215yq

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If your tyres do not match the spec given by the makers of the car, the car will fail mot, insurance is invalid it is the same as running on bald tyres. Tyres have to match what the car is capable of and NOT what speeds you drive at. I drive a car capable of 155 mph but never been at that speed even in Germany, so my tyres are capable of 168mph to be legal....use UNIROYAL rain tyres very well recommend on this forum.

Running bald tyres does not invalidate your insurance. And using lower speed rating does not invalidate your insurance unless you specifically crash because of it.

Winter tyres are softer and therefore cannot be made in higher speed rating. In germany where winter tyres are practically mandatory 5 months a year this means thousands of amgs and porsches run on v or less rated tyres. Its even recommended to use a smaller wheel and lower width/higher profile too for winters as this gives better grip.

The idea being that you wont crash because of it because you know its winter so why would you do prolonged runs of 150+ mph even if legal in germany. As such it does not affect your insurance unless you exceed them and that causes them to fail. Ironically if, like some on this forum, you drove in the continent with summers because no winters are made with your speed rating and crashed on snow due to no grip its then that you would have insurance issues.
 

Blobcat

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Running bald tyres does not invalidate your insurance. And using lower speed rating does not invalidate your insurance unless you specifically crash because of it.

Winter tyres are softer and therefore cannot be made in higher speed rating. In germany where winter tyres are practically mandatory 5 months a year this means thousands of amgs and porsches run on v or less rated tyres. Its even recommended to use a smaller wheel and lower width/higher profile too for winters as this gives better grip.

The idea being that you wont crash because of it because you know its winter so why would you do prolonged runs of 150+ mph even if legal in germany. As such it does not affect your insurance unless you exceed them and that causes them to fail. Ironically if, like some on this forum, you drove in the continent with summers because no winters are made with your speed rating and crashed on snow due to no grip its then that you would have insurance issues.
Newer Mercedes have an option on the dash to select Winter Tyres, it then gives you a top speed option.
 

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Marc Ellis

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I feel I may of opened a can of worms o this one. I think the majority of opinion is V would be just fine. I'll look into the uniroyal recommended here but I can't speak highly enough of the kleber Quadraxer2 which is all season tyre with snowflake (kleber is effectively Michelin made in germany) they are grwat in all conditions and last for 18 20 thousand miles on front wheel drive cars I have had in the r18 225 40 I can get them at 80gbp each delivered. Thanks for everyone's contribution.
 


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