Tire speed rating
- Thread starter tinbasher
- Start date
Betarocker
Adventurer
There isn't any section of road in North America where you will approach that speed legally. They can't enforce a tire speed rating if you can't drive fast enough to exceed it.
GoinBoardin
Observer
I just bought Falken Wildpeak at3w in a 235/85r16 and they're S rated. But as stated above, it doesn't matter if you're legally stuck to 80mph or less.
PIC4GOD
Adventurer
Actually it does matter because it has more to do with sidewall integrity and tire heating at normal highway speeds rather than speed for the intended purpose of the vehicle. It enables proper support of the vehicle to handle cornering and loads. Remember the Ford Explorer and Firestone issues with blowouts? This was due to improperly rated tires and recommended air pressure. Both caused massive sidewall failures due to overheating under normal vehicle load conditions. My BFG KM2s are E rated and Q speed rated. I'll tell you now I won't be doing 99 MPH in my truck but I am thankful they won't fail with the loads I carry for overlanding.
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stingray1300
Explorer
Boy, is there a pile of crap on the internet! First off, the Firestone/Ford Explorer debacle was proven (by evidence) in court to be 100% the fault of the Explorer owners that didn't properly maintain/inflate their tires. Ever wonder why the whole issue just disappeared from the news? All the fantastic lawsuits were dismissed.
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A speed rating on a tire is simply a tire's resistance to inertial expansion. NOTHING MORE!!! Off road tires generally don't have speed ratings, but it has apparently become a sales gimmick of late. Pretty useless stuff actually. Kinda like an M+S rating on a car's street tire. Just a gimmick, but useless.
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Do you plan on driving 125 mph in your truck? I didn't think so. Me neither. Get the tires you want, in the proper size, and you'll be fine. I would recommend a 6-ply rating or more though.
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Me: started working in the tire industry in 1976 w/Goodyear. PIC4GOD, please tone down the false information. Sidewall rating/load rating all rests on the ply rating/weight (load) rating.
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
Boy, is there a pile of crap on the internet! First off, the Firestone/Ford Explorer debacle was proven (by evidence) in court to be 100% the fault of the Explorer owners that didn't properly maintain/inflate their tires. Ever wonder why the whole issue just disappeared from the news? All the fantastic lawsuits were dismissed.
.
A speed rating on a tire is simply a tire's resistance to inertial expansion. NOTHING MORE!!! Off road tires generally don't have speed ratings, but it has apparently become a sales gimmick of late. Pretty useless stuff actually. Kinda like an M+S rating on a car's street tire. Just a gimmick, but useless.
.
Do you plan on driving 125 mph in your truck? I didn't think so. Me neither. Get the tires you want, in the proper size, and you'll be fine. I would recommend a 6-ply rating or more though.
.
Me: started working in the tire industry in 1976 w/Goodyear. PIC4GOD, please tone down the false information. Sidewall rating/load rating all rests on the ply rating/weight (load) rating.
Do to way to many rollovers,Ford recommended lowering the psi in order to lower the cog. The consequence was overheating of the tire and the subsequent failure.
PIC4GOD
Adventurer
Stingray1300 you must be a Firestone shill because they claimed it was the customer's fault. Evidence proved otherwise with both Ford and Firestone covering up information from the NHTSA. Both companies tried to avoid reporting and pointed to the other when it became public view. The tires in the end were not rated properly for the weight of the vehicle.Boy, is there a pile of crap on the internet! First off, the Firestone/Ford Explorer debacle was proven (by evidence) in court to be 100% the fault of the Explorer owners that didn't properly maintain/inflate their tires. Ever wonder why the whole issue just disappeared from the news? All the fantastic lawsuits were dismissed.
.
A speed rating on a tire is simply a tire's resistance to inertial expansion. NOTHING MORE!!! Off road tires generally don't have speed ratings, but it has apparently become a sales gimmick of late. Pretty useless stuff actually. Kinda like an M+S rating on a car's street tire. Just a gimmick, but useless.
.
Do you plan on driving 125 mph in your truck? I didn't think so. Me neither. Get the tires you want, in the proper size, and you'll be fine. I would recommend a 6-ply rating or more though.
.
Me: started working in the tire industry in 1976 w/Goodyear. PIC4GOD, please tone down the false information. Sidewall rating/load rating all rests on the ply rating/weight (load) rating.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_and_Ford_tire_controversy
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PIC4GOD
Adventurer
Looks like regcabguy is spot on here. Both Firestone and Ford are to blame here as they tried to deal with the issue rather than recall and put the properly rated tires on the Explorer.
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stingray1300
Explorer
Show me the official nomenclature on this assertion...
Quite the opposite. I would never buy a Firestone tire. Even though Ford and Firestone have about the longest cooperative corporate relationships known to man...
You still trust Wikipedia? Really? Get the court records; learn the truth.
PIC4GOD
Adventurer
You mean the nonexistent settlements instead of an actual class action?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/firestone-tire-settles-with-ford/
Based on Ford settling followed by Firestone settling each class action lawsuit, it is believed that Ford engineers improperly calculated proper tire ratings for the loads their vehicle would be under. Firestone replaced tires under warranty and reported trend to Ford but not the NTSHA. Ford also failed to report issue to the NTSHA. It wasn't until Ford initiated a recall that investigations began. The question remains why did Ford and Firestone settle? Please show me your court documents or some other proof that doesn't lead to the conclusion that the engineers at Ford and Firestone either improperly equipped Explorers for the loads they were under or decided to ignore it to save money. I'd like to see your evidence.
https://www.colson.com/law-firm-in-the-news/press-mentions/ford-settles-tire-lawsuits-quietly
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comptiger5000
Adventurer
IIRC, wasn't the issue that the recommended pressure from Ford was just barely adequate to carry the weight without tire failure (in search of better ride quality)? So when you let a typical owner have the vehicle, tires get a few PSI low, now they're running hot and will come apart after driving for a while.
PIC4GOD
Adventurer
There were two problems with the tires with none of them being related workmanship. First Ford ordered and put the wrong rated tires for the loads experienced from Firestone. The recommended proper tire pressure from Firestone was used and Ford saw an increase in roll overs of the Explorer. Rather than put the proper rated tires on the vehicle, Ford decided to lower the PSI spec which put additional stress on the under rated tires resulting in failure. Firestone then performed warranty work and questioned Ford about the specs.
Ultimately this all came down to money. Ford wanted a certain tire cheap and Firestone gave it to them knowing it was the wrong rating for the vehicle load. Both covered up this fact and could have prevented more accidents by recalling and replacing with the proper rated tires. Simple tire pressure just changed the accident type not the original problem. This is a common problem believe it or not that exists between engineers and cost analysts. Ultimately money wins in the end when a leader makes a decision. Whether or not the leader has all the facts determines whether that decision is criminal or not.
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