Under The Hood: Understanding Tire Speed Rating

In this segment of Under The Hood, Sam Raffield gives us tips on a tire’s speed rating. He says a lot of people don’t even know that tires have a speed rating.

“That speed rating can be H, or V, or S, a lot of different speed ratings,” Sam said. “Now explaining that to you, there is a technical side to the speed rating and there’s a practical side. As far as the technical side, the most common speed rating is H. And for an H speed rated tire, that tire’s been tested for sustained speeds for 130 miles per hour.”

Sam says that those speeds are not real practical. He says tires manufactured under such stringent conditions will handle well on your car.

“[The tire] will have quick steering response, your driver belt is going to be excellent, you’re going to have a great grip on the road,” Sam said. “So speed ratings are a real important.”