Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 08:35:28 -0700
Reply-To: Ari Ollikainen <Ari@OLTECO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ari Ollikainen <Ari@OLTECO.COM>
Subject: Speed Rating EXPLAINED
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>Pat Dooley wrote:
>> If your tires are "H" rated, it doesn't stand for highway.
>> I see people driving 45-145 mph on the highway. Doesn't really narrow it
>> down.
>> "H" is a speed rating, as is Z,T and many others.
>
>Actually the H rating is something like 85 m.p.h. (hence my "highway").
>I was gonna get the "Z" rated tires because I will probably travel at
>sustained speeds over 120 m.p.h. in my two ton loaf, but only through school
>zones and in town.
>I would therefore assume "Z" is for zero because how many people drive at
>sustained speeds over 120 m.p.h. anyways?
>[You live somewhere where vehicles travel at 145 m.p.h. on the highway
>routinely? Must be the fabled German Autobahn? Funny, the stoic Germans have
>the greatest incidence of overtaking collision in the World; where death,
>dismemberment and serious injury occur routinely. A little too much faith in
>the flashing of their Bosch headlamps?]
<gmph> Almost lost my mouthful of latte...
It must be Friday since the misinformation is especially dense...
OR you forgot to append an (F) or smiley to your post.
Soooo...in an effort to cut through the fog of fuzziness, I give
you the following factual explanation of the Speed Rating system as
found at: http://www.internets.com/tirenets/glossary.htm
SPEED RATING: A system designed to establish and label the high-speed
capability of a tire based on a letter designation
identifying the tire's high speed durability on an indoor
test wheel. This is not the same as a speed rating for a
vehicle. TireNets recommends Speed Ratings at or above the
Original Equipment for your vehicle.
Letter Speed
Q 99 mph
R 106 mph
S 112 mph
T 118 mph
U 124 mph
H 130 mph
V 149 mph
W 168 mph
Y 186 mph
Z greater than 186 mph
For tires having a maximum speed capability above 149 MPH, a "Z" may
appear in the size designation. For tires having a maximum speed
capability above 186 MPH, a "Z" must appear in the size designation.
OLTECO Ari Ollikainen
P.O. BOX 3688 Networking Architecture and Technology
Stanford, CA Ari@OLTECO.com
94309-3688 415.517.3519