What Is the Speed Rating on Tires?

What Is a Speed Rating?

The speed rating on a tire indicates the maximum speed that you can drive before the tire begins to lose performance. The good thing about these speed ratings is that they are much higher than legal speeding limits. This means that as long as you're following speed guidelines, you won't need to think much about the speed rating of your tire affecting your performance.

Speed ratings range from 75 MPH to over 186 MPH and are denoted by letters like L, Q, T, S, Y. The letters T, H, V, W, and Z are the most common speed rating codes that you'll find on vehicles on the road, with the last four found on many sports cars.

What Tires are Right for My Car?

Knowing the manufacturer recommended speed rating for your tires will help you maintain safety, handling, and performance. This is because your specific tires are built to handle vehicles of a particular weight and with particular performance needs.

While you can use other types of tires for your vehicle, you will notice a difference in the way your car drives as well as how long those tires last. Essentially, it's crucial to get the right tires for your specific model.

Knowing your speed rating is especially important when you're replacing one or two tires, rather than all of them. Choosing tires with different speed ratings can cause excess or uneven wear on your tires. As a result, you might need to change your tires sooner.  

Tips To Keep Tires Healthy in Lubbock TX

Once you have the perfect set of tires equipped on your car, it's important to keep them in good shape.

One easy way to keep your tires in great condition is to make sure they are properly inflated. Both over and underinflated tires are prone to blowouts and can cause your vehicle to underperform in inclement weather. Check your tire pressure regularly to ensure that your tires are inflated to your manufacturer's recommended PSI.

Moreover, performing periodic visual inspections can help you spot irregularities or uneven wear early and have the issue or issues corrected. Sometimes tires need to be balanced or rotated to prevent uneven wear or damage.