kumar

Does any one know what is the required rating for the tire. I am planning to buy a TL, and plan to negotiate to get a different tire. I beleive the rating is "V", but I am not quite sure. I am looking for an all season tire that can handle snow as well. How about Michellin Pilot XGT4 ?

Ron A

This is sure to stir up a lot of controversy, but I will give my opinion anyway.

The speed rating insures that, were you to drive the car to its limits, the tire would be capable of handling that speed.

The original equipment tire is rated W, which is speeds up to 168 mph. An H rated tire is rated for 130mph.

If you don’t plan on driving much over 80 mph, the Michelin Pilot XGTH4, an H rated tire, will work very well.

Let the comments begin.

kumar

I thought the Bridgestone EL-42 that comes with the car is "V" rated, and if any one to change the tire, then the replacement should be "V" rated as well, in order to get the balance. Is this correct, or you can out any rating.

Isn't there a minimum rating required for this car ?

If you are saying Michellin Pilot XGT4 is "H" rated, why do you say, that it can not driven over 80 mph ?

Hybrid

There is no "required" rating. But Acura says to buy what came on the car. (Not required for warranty). However, some tire stores won't sell you anything that isn't "appropriate" for the car. As a general rule, the tire should have a greater speed capability than the car. HOWEVER, if you know that you and other drivers will never drive over a certain speed, there's no reason you can't go to a lower speed rating. Snow-only tires usually have lower speed ratings than summer tires, for example.

It's far-fetched, but if someone borrowed your car, drove it at top speed, and crashed it due to inadequate tires, in today's legal climate you might even be sued. It might even happen if it were stolen and that happened! (But I doubt it, and I sure wouldn't spend extra money on tires just for this kind of reason).

If you are leasing the car, and you return it with tires of a lower speed rating, and if the dealer notices, you could conceivably be charged at least part of the price of new tires. (If I were buying a used TL, and noticed, I'd negotiate the price downward to cover new tires).

Another trend you'll notice is that in the tires that come in the size that fits the TL, they tend to have fairly high speed ratings, as cars that use these sizes tend to not be "slow" cars.

Tirerack.com has lots of info on speed ratings.

Ron A

Sorry for the long reply, but here it is anyway.

I wrote the following and then saw hybrid’s reply. I agree with everything he said, and he has a good point about the liability, but as he said that is something to be considered but shouldn’t be a major factor in your decision. Since I already wrote this I am going to post it anyway, even though it is going in after hybrid’s reply. Also, it is interesting that Michelin supplies the XGT in an “H” rating and the size required by the TL. I would seriously consider the XGT H4. I was going to say it might be better because it doesn’t have a nylon belt, which sometimes causes flatspotting, but I looked it up and it does have a nylon belt. I used this tire on my 96TL and never had a problem with it, even though the 96TL came with “V” (I think) rated tires.

kumar: According to the manual, and according to the actual rating on the tire, the EL-42 is "W" rated. This means it is rated for speeds up to 168 mph. Since the TL is capable of speeds around 140 mph, it requires a tire with this rating in case someone wanted to test out the upper limits of his car.

An "H" rated tire is rated for speeds up to 130 mph. I didn't say it couldn't be driven over 80 mph, I said if you never drive over 80 mph, it would be safe for you.

If you are the type of driver who never goes faster than 80 miles an hour, or even were to go 100 mph once or twice just to see how it felt, you would still be safe with an "H" rated tire, since it is good for speeds up to 130 mph.

Since you haven’t bought the car yet and are planning to negotiate (which I didn’t notice until I reread your post just now) they will probably insist you go with the “W” rated tire, so that makes all this unnecessary, but it is good information if you ever need to replace the tires, and gives you another option. Again, if you never plan on driving at speeds over or even close to the speed rating of the tire, there is nothing wrong with using that tire on your car.

dsc888

Ron A,

Just wanted to point out that Car and Driver got a 152 mph top speed from the 6MT. The speed was actually drag limited. :diablotin

dsc888

Formula 350

Just throwing in some old memories, not backed up by anything....

But, I think the speed rating is for sustained driving at the speed rating. So, an H rated tire would be fine for over 130 mph if you did not maintain that speed for long. The tire will build up heat and fail, so a very short burst will not be bad. BUT, even a good rated tire will fail if not maintained, correct tire pressure etc. Also, I was told by a tire store once, that a patched tire no longer qualifies for their rating. Do not know if they were trying to sell me new tires or were correct.

kumar

Thanks every one. Any recommendation for selecting the tire ? I am looking for an all season tire that can handle snow as well. "H" rated tire would be adequate for my needs.