Government Makes Tire Ratings Available Online

[IREDLINEMY///M3]

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It can be difficult to choose tires for your vehicle. They all look more or less the same, and the model numbers can seem incomprehensible and hard to tell apart.

To help people make better choices, the government has put its tire ratings online at SaferCar.gov. The site lists ratings for more than 2,200 lines of tires.

Under federal regulation, ratings also must be molded into the outer sidewall of all passenger tires. The site includes a diagram that shows where all ratings are shown on tires, and what they mean.

Tires are rated in three categories: temperature, traction and treadwear.

Temperature grades are either an A, B or C. A C represents the minimum performance standard required by federal regulation. Currently, 27 percent of tires are rated A, 59 percent are rated B and 14 percent are rated C.

Traction also is rated with letter grades, with the addition of a top grade of AA. A tire that carries a higher grade should allow a car to stop on a wet road in a shorter distance than a tire with a lower grade. Three percent of tires are rated AA, 75 percent are A and 22 percent are B. There is only one line of tires rated C.

In grading for treadwear, a control tire is assigned a grade of 100. A tire with a grade of 200 can be expected to last twice as long as the control tire, while a tire with a grade of 80 is normally less durable.

The highest reported treadwear rating is 700; 98 percent of tires rank 600 or below; 92 percent rank 500 or below; 72 percent rank 400 or below; 40 percent rank 300 or below; and 15 percent rank 200 or below.

"Consumers deserve the best possible information for selecting tires, and these ratings will provide information to help make the right decisions," U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. "Well-maintained tires, properly fitted to each vehicle and type of driving, play an important part in keeping families safe."

[E36DJ]

Woowoo! A traction, AA temp.

[Rob ITR1035]

are these ratings standardized, or just what the manufacturers say?

[E36DJ]

Um it's the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration so.. I'd hope they don't just take what they get sent to them. Besides there are 2000+ different tires so it'd be hard for the different companies to be standardized.

I think they mixed up my traction rating with temp rating, there is no AA temp rating.

[Rob ITR1035]

thats my point. If they're not standardized across the board, then comparing ratings from more than one manufacturer is asinine. Our tax dollars at work, awesome.

[E36DJ]

Originally posted by Rob ITR1035
thats my point. If they're not standardized across the board, then comparing ratings from more than one manufacturer is asinine. Our tax dollars at work, awesome.

I was saying that it would have to be standardized, as in.. testing done by the NHTSA. The tires can't go into production if they aren't safety tested. It's the same with most products on cars.

[Rob ITR1035]

what i'm saying is that the nhtsa does not test every single tire they have on there...the ratings most likely come from the tire companies. And since different companies have different methods of testing, comparing ratings from company to company is inaccurate. A better option is definately tireracks system, since they actually test all the tires they have rated...

[E36DJ]

What the hell hahaha. Wouldn't it seem pointless to have a national safety rating for tires if the companies themselves could submit their own results? Everything would be "AA" and treadwear would be 700.

[Rob ITR1035]

I rest my case.


besides, the traction rating is actually a wet traction rating.