My 1.8 Mondeo has got V rated tyres as original equpment.
The quoted top speed for this car is 126mph so I presume I could fit H rated tyres.
Does anybody know what the actual difference in construction is between an H and a V rated tyre.
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I believe this subject has cropped up before. If the car is meant to have "V" rated tyres, by changing to "H" rated could infringe your insurance were you to have an accident.
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I would suggest that what is specified by the manufacturer is important, not what is originally fitted.
pmh (was peter)
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Its not just the max speed that is the citeria but the loads imposed on the tyre during cornering etc and thats partly a function of vehicle weight. So a vehicle thats not capable of the speed of a V rated tyre may still need that tyre because of the dynamic loads the vehicle can impose. In front of the V symbol is a two figure code called the Load Index. If you can find an H rated tyre carrying the same Load Index as a V you might be okay but in practice you wont find one.
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I have investigated this both with my tyre supplier and insurance company. They both tell me that if a car will in theory do a certian top speed the manufacturers are forced to fit tyres that will be suitable up to this speed. In britain we are supposedly limited to 70mph so this becomes slightly irrelevent unless of course you take your car onto the continent were there are higher or no speed limits, your car would not only be illegal but dangerous. The insurance company in my case Direct Line have no reccomendations on speed ratings, but the advisor I spoke to did not reccomend dropping 1 rating lower than original, the tyre supplier HiQ also advised the same, the lower rating is slightly harder compound costs £10 less and wears for another 4,000 miles. DON'T mix different speed ratings on the front or back, if mixed you can literally steer left or right on the motorway by accelerating or braking, can be scary.
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Thanks for the replies.
I've just read the owners guide and it quotes ratings H to ZR depending on engine size.
I presume they fit V tyres on the 1.8 to save themselves the trouble of having 2 types of tyre on the production line.
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