Quick Question - Original Tyre Spec

[highlander]

Hi guys,

Need some help, sharpish - I ordered a set of Bridgestone B250 tyres from BlackCircles, and picked out 195/65/R15 T

Just had a call from the guys at BlackCircles who are "concerned" about the T speed rating; they think it should be higher for the car I have.

Can anyone tell me quickly the type of tyres and the speed rating that were originally fitted to the car?

Mine is a D9 1.8i LX

If I don't contact them today, I won't be able to get them fitted on Saturday morning.

Kind regards,
Graeme

[steve_earwig]

I'd really need your chassis number to tell you what it came out the factory wearing. It should say on the tyre pressure thingy on the driver's A-post (where de hinges is.)

As Black Cicles own website says, if you don't get it right your insurers might use it as an excuse not to pay out...

Looking elsewhere I'm getting 195/65R15 91H. Why on earth your tyres should be capable of 130mph in the UK is anybody's guess. I'd say T (118mph) is more than adequate.

[highlander]

I'd really need your chassis number to tell you what it came out the factory wearing. It should say on the tyre pressure thingy on the driver's A-post (where de hinges is.)

Why didn't I think of looking there? It's where I got the paint code for getting my spoiler sprayed, so I really should have checked there first.

Thanks Steve, I'll go look.

I would have thought T would have been perfectly adequate; I'm not one to break the speed limit, and certainly not to 118 MPH as the T rating suggests...

[highlander]

Yep, it was on the door post:

195/65/R15 91H

Seems that Peugeot decided the car should have tyres that allow me to drive safely at up to 130 MPH.

Am I mistaken, or is that about 20 MPH higher than the actual top speed of the car...?

Bonus: The same tyres with the higher "H" speed rating cost £7 less per corner. Result!

[DaiRees]

A fine result!

I also could never understand why the speed ratings need to be so much higher than the speed limits or the vehicle's top speed. But as mentioned above, it seems that if the speed rating isn't the same as (or higher than) the original manufacturer's spec then the insurance companies tend to be arsey at pay-out time.

The last couple of sets I've bought, "V"s have been cheaper than "H"s....

[steve_earwig]

Probably safety margins and all that guff, maybe the tyres start to melt if you hold them too near their design limit for too long.

Still, can't see much point in having anything more than say Q (99mph) in the UK, that should give a big enough safety margin.

"Oh no Mr Highlander, as your tyres were only T rated and they're meant to be H we're not paying out." "But I was doing 27mph..."

Economies of scale I reckon Matt, they shift more Vs so they can afford to make them a tad cheaper. Or they're trying to phase out the Hs.

[Doggy]

The last couple of sets I've bought, "V"s have been cheaper than "H"s....

Mine came with V's - work that one out!