ok... the kumho KU39 has a grade "a" and I found it to be terrible... the maxxis Z1's have a grade "c" which are MILES better than the KU39's at stopping in the rain......

hhhhhmmmmm expierance of your OWN car against generic labelling I think.........

i too have found the maxxis to be extremely good particularly in wet, and kumhos to be nowhere near as good.

It's a test, same as every other test. If you do good in that test, you get a good grade. Simples

I want to know who decides on these Ratings? They can be a bit misleading

For example. I have just looked at Autoexpress Summer tyre test 2012 and found interesting results.

Michelin Energy Saver+, looks on paper the best in wet, being 'A' rated, (the rest being 'B') Yet it came last (8th) in their tests.

"it was the worst performer across our wet track tests. It finished seventh in our wet braking assessment, as it took three metres longer than the best to bring the car to a halt, while it also struggled in aquaplaning and wet handling. You could clearly feel the limited grip from behind the wheel, with poor traction and a lack of balance."

The only good thing was it was the best (1st) for Rolling Resistance. It's B rated and so were the top 3 for that section, the rest being C.

The other surprise looking at tyre sites is how badly the Toyo T1-R come out. The size I use are 'G' RR and 'E' rated for wet grip. These tyre are highly liked by many people. There are few cheap budget tyres that do much better, but I wouldn't touch them!

You can't cheat physics - a tyre will either have good grip, or low rolling resistance! Eco tyres have low rolling resistance, so produce less grip

You can't cheat physics - a tyre will either have good grip, or low rolling resistance! Eco tyres have low rolling resistance, so produce less grip

You're arguing that rolling resistance is a function of compound and not construction?

just been looking on black circles, and the yoko track day tyres (Yokohama Advan Neova AD08) have an A rating for wet stopping! PMSL...... they are cut only to be road legal, not to dispirse water! by all accounts they dont work in the wet..! :think:

just been looking on black circles, and the yoko track day tyres (Yokohama Advan Neova AD08) have an A rating for wet stopping! PMSL...... they are cut only to be road legal, not to dispirse water! by all accounts they dont work in the wet..! :think:

Toyo R888 track tyres are rated 'B' or 'C' in the wet which can't be right.

http://www.toyo.co.uk/tire/pattern/proxes-r888

just been looking on black circles, and the yoko track day tyres (Yokohama Advan Neova AD08) have an A rating for wet stopping! PMSL...... they are cut only to be road legal, not to dispirse water! by all accounts they dont work in the wet..! :think:

The A048 is also A rated in the wet stopping test, good these new labels, they really prove alot

Does anyone have details on how the test is conducted? It may be very different to the usage of many of us.

I've been completely unable to find out whether the "wet grip" test means (1) "surface wet" or (2) "xmm standing water". In case (1), you could get a good performance off of a soft compound full slick.

I don't know how the wet grip is tested... it obviously doesn't conclude with our experiances......

MAGIC BEANS!

That's how.

From blackcircles

"Due to the sheer vast number of tyre models, it was decided that a centralised EU tyre testing facility would be unmanageable and unproductive. Therefore, tyre label testing is self-certified using specific EU standardised methods that every test must adhere to."

How do you spell, not worth the paper they're written on?

I still think the test is worth something, as long as we assume that no-one is insane enough to do their test in 1" standing water when they don't have to. We can probably also assume that maker1 will use the same test conditions for their grannymobile tyes as for their Carlos Fandango performance range.

As earlier, this means that, if the Carlos has better wet grip, we can guess that it's also likely to be softer and offer better lateral grip.

What it does not mean is that an A wet grip Yingtong Ditchfinder will have more grip and shorter stopping distances than a B wet rated Dunchellital monsoon tyre.

To know for certain, someone will have to find which EU or ISO standard is applied and buy a copy.

I don't care that much, where I live gets a foot of rain a year.

The ratings for winter tyres are even more funny. My Ultragrip 8s are apparently total deathtraps and all others are equally terrible.

A lot of the ratings don't seem to match real life experience. As was said before, they pass a specific test, not actual conditions.

agreed. the ultragrip 8's come quite highly in the winter tyre tests, but the laballing says they are crap at wet braking... I know my winters (nangkang SV-2's) are better by miles today (5 celcius, streaming wet) than my previous summers! (KU39's)

ok... the kumho KU39 has a grade "a" and I found it to be terrible... the maxxis Z1's have a grade "c" which are MILES better than the KU39's at stopping in the rain......

I Have the KU39's on the old Audi in 245/45x18 fitment and have no problems with them in the wet or dry, after 9K miles they hardly show any signs of wear either which considering I have full time 4x4 is good considering how little mileage the previous set of budget tyres lasted after being fitted by the previous owner.

The ratings for winter tyres are even more funny. My Ultragrip 8s are apparently total deathtraps and all others are equally terrible.

A lot of the ratings don't seem to match real life experience. As was said before, they pass a specific test, not actual conditions.

Mytyres have an additional note about winter tyres.

Please note: manufacturers advise that the tyre label only offers a restricted overview of a tyre’s performance, particularly in regards to winter tyres, as no form of performance in winter conditions is displayed on the label.