Fatkill91

I have a 2004 acura tl and I need new tires. Should I buy the V or W rating? The V rating is a little cheaper, but I dont want the tire performance to change. What should I do?

BROlando

??

The type and brand/model of tyre has a lot to do with performance.

What performance are you trying to keep? Wet traction? Dry traction? Lateral grip? Steering response? etc?

Which tyres are you looking at?

V or W in its pure form is a speed rating.
V = 149mph max
W = 169mph max

Its true that *generally*, a W tyre will be a higher performer. But not always.

The car came with V's, I believe.

If you tell us what you're looking for the tyre to do well...we can possibly make logical recommendations.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Original tires were W(93) rated, but certainly there are other variables. I've seen W rated tires, unmounted and stood upright, pushed on the top and the tire will barely move inward and others that could be bent in half, and the handling changes drastically between the two.
As stated above, need to determine characteristics wanted.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Strictly speaking, we shouldn't be putting V rated tires on the 3G TLs. Why? Because the governed speed rating of the car is higher than the V speed rating, and technically that's illegal.

From a practical perspective, at least here in the states, a V rating is irrelevant as you're unlikely to ever get anywhere near the upper limit of the tires (unless you track your car).

Jackass

Easy answer. Buy the exact same tire you currently have on the car. That is about the only way you can truly minimize the change.

But as other's have said, you have a lot of questions to be answered if you really want any useful feedback. For what it's worth, I am running "H" rated on my TL. It is what they had in stock, they tend to wear a little better, and overall I could care less about the high speed ratings....my car rarely sees speeds over 75MPH these days...with traffic, it rarely is over 55MPH anymore.

As a stupidly high level general statement, as long as the speed rating is higher than you will be driving and the load rating is equal to or greater than OEM spec, it will "probably" be fine. There are always trade-offs......always. It may be price, wear, noise, ride quality, handling, traction or just about anything else.

thoiboi

You get what you pay for

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Using a tire with a lower speed rating is not illegal.

Jackass

Correct. Not illegal, just "generally" not recommended by most tire shops.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Untrue; it depends upon location. I'm an engineer and when I was working for Mercedes-Benz North America we had to deal with a class action suit brought by folks who had purchased S-Class cars with summer tires with a W rating. The issue had to do with flat-spotting and a rough ride first thing in the morning after a cold night; the only legal option we had was to put all season tires on the cars and reduce the governed top speed. I say the "only legal option" because back in 1995 there were no all season tires with the necessary speed and load rating available to allow us to legally put them on the cars and leave the governor alone.

BROlando

what is illegal for a manufacturer may not be illegal for a consumer.

as a consumer, I do not believe there is a law against putting whatever tyres you want on your car.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Maybe in your state; unless the laws have changed since 1995, I am quite certain there are states where it is in fact illegal to run a lower rated tire than the top speed of the car they're mounted on.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Maybe you remember that back in 2003 Maine instituted a law stating that any tire replacement must be of equal to or a higher speed rated tire, but in 2005 they scrapped that law.
I'm not aware of any law on the books concerning speed rating when replacing tires. Some shops have a policy of not replacing a tire with a lower speed rating and some also have a policy that replacement tires must be of OEM size, to which I find ridiculous.
Flatspotting has always been my pet peeve as the car manufacturer stipulates that their OEM tires do not have the condition, but a replacement tire, sky's the limit.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Please understand, I am just the messenger here; I could care less if folks choose to use a lower speed rated tire than their can is specified for (as long as they don't exceed the speed rating of the tire). The fact is, when it comes to tire replacement for my own TL, if I find a particular H rated tire a compelling choice, I may well use that tire.

Once again, I am just reporting the facts as I understand them; I do know for a fact there are laws on the books in some states which prohibit this practice. As a side note, there is also some case law where a sharp attorney was able to increase the liability damages from an accident because a lower speed rated tire was used on the car which was deemed to be responsible for said accident.

Jackass

Liability issues/concerns are a completely different beast than the actual legality of something.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

No problems as this is what a forum is all about, a little controversy makes the time go by quickly.

nfnsquared

^^^^^I challenge you (or anyone) to prove this statement.

I know that some retailers/installers have a policy not to install tires with a speed rating lower than OEM recommended rating.

Also, the RMA (Rubber Manufacturers Association) states: " Speed rating must be equal to or greater than what is specified by the vehicle manufacturer if the speed capability of the vehicle is to be maintained ".

But I can find no law, state/federal or otherwise that prohibits "this practice".