gregB Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I just started to look at replacement tires for my wife's 2008 Outback 2.5i Limited. It currently has Kumho KH16 225-55-17's. Like to stay with reasonable wearing All-Seasons. If it is going to snow alot, she usually works from home, so straight winter tires are sort of overkill. I've got a paid for Cherokee if its real bad. The place I stopped at over lunch said flat out they would not sell me tires below the MFG OEM Speed rating! Can someone explain why the OEM tire carried a speed rating of "V" or 149mph? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Blame Ford and Firestone. Ever since the Explorer rollover recall case, the Big brand tire shops use that as a reason to have to sell you an Excact replacment. I mean, it was nice of subaru to spec such a good tire.......but as we all know......a tire rated for 112mph would be just fine;) Funny enough I ran into this issue with my old 85 GL turbowagon. It was in Wisconsin, the car was so rusty I didn't drive it on the freeways, or anywhere over 45MPH (I delivered pizza with it in winter to save my other Sube). Tire place would not sell me a tire that wasn't "H" rated. Even though there is absolutely no suspension differences (except springs) between turbo/non EA82 cars, Subaru still gave the turbo cars a "H" rated tire. I had to take my rims in off the car, and have a cheaper tire mounted, then take em home an install on car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I don't know how they pick the original tires, but I think pretty much all chain stores will say they will not sell you a tire lower than the original speed rating. I even had to fight with my local tire chain to get the size tire I wanted installed. I had aftermarket wheels of a different size, and, hence the tire nominal size was different. I had to sign some disclaimer that since the tires were not the original size if I had a warranty issue with the tire I would have to work with the manufacturer on it since it wasn't the original tire size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I know my '03 LL bean outback has tires rated one notch higher than the 4cyl outbacks, supposedly because the greater weight necessitated stiffer sidewalls for adequate performance during accident-avoidance maneuvers. Of course tire shops will let you put 80mph rated snows on it, so it's all a bit crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 The US Federal Goverment requires car manufacturers to equip their cars with tires rated for the maximum possible speed of the car. That is the reason the 2.5 L is governed to a maximum speed of 105 mph. High speed tires are expensive. The consumer is NOT required buy tires with the same speed ratings as one supplied by the factory. The tire chains are trying to force you to buy more expensive tires with speed ratings that you will never use. I never go 105 mph in my Forester. I might, momentarily, touch 85 mph when passing a car on highway with a posted speed of 70 mph. I don't need tires rated for 105 mph, why should I enrich some tire chain CEO by allowing him to bully me into buying a more expensive product that I do not need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Just comes down to liability. They put on tires with the wrong rating, someone gets in an accident because of a blowout, tire shop gets sued. Simple as that. They're covering their own because when their insurance finds out they didn't mount tires that match or exceed the factory specifications, insurance tells them they're on their own. And the lawyers will eat them alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 (edited) Just comes down to liability. They put on tires with the wrong rating, someone gets in an accident because of a blowout, tire shop gets sued. Simple as that. They're covering their own because when their insurance finds out they didn't mount tires that match or exceed the factory specifications, insurance tells them they're on their own. And the lawyers will eat them alive. No, what you are quoting is the tire chain BS. I am of legal age and sound mind. I am legally responsible for my own decisions. The tire chains could probably handle this whole situation by using a disclaimer on their sales invoice. Example For Discussion Only "the purchaser has been advised by our company of the speed rating of the OEM tires on his vehicle. Despite being advised of the original tire rating, the customer has elected to purchase tires with a lower speed rating. The purchaser assumes all risks and perils steming from his/her decision. ___________________ _________ Signature of purchaser Date Disclaimers are simple, and when properly written, they hold up in court. Companies use disclaimers all the time. To me, this an extremely obvious example of a company using a non-applicable piece of legislation to coerce customers into buying to expensive tires that they do not need. Edited November 21, 2012 by The Dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregB Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 I stopped at the local Goodyear tire store on the way home yesterday. Told the counter guy, who I have delt with before, what I was looking for on the Outback. Believe it or not the first tire he wanted to sell me was not a Goodyear. I did ask him about speed ratings. The tire he quoted me was only about 10% higher in price for the V speed rated that Subaru spec'd. What he did tell me is besides the "higher "speed rating , there are construction differences to acheive the speed rating that stiffen the sidewall. This stiffness gives a more stable tire and contact patch during aggressive evasive manuvers. He will sell me either tire, but for the difference I'll take the stiffer tire for the wifes car. That is now that I have a reasonable explaination as to the Why question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 No, what you are quoting is the tire chain BS. I am of legal age and sound mind. I am legally responsible for my own decisions. The tire chains could probably handle this whole situation by using a disclaimer on their sales invoice. I'm glad you think that way, but there are a LOT of people who don't. It only takes one ********************* person to put a business under and ruin the reputation of (and possibly imprison) a good person such as yourself who is trying to make a living selling tires in his/her shop. Nearly every shop that does any type of automotive work has a disclaimer already on their invoices, and require that you sign the invoice stating that you firstly: authorize the shop to work on your vehicle, and secondly: understand the risks that may be involved, and thirdly: release the shop of liability if a part fails, except in the case that said part is covered under a warranty, which is usually also included on the invoice. What's BS is that they have to have that disclaimer at all. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be needed. But in a perfect world, we would all drive Lamborghinis and Ferraris (or what-have-you) and would never have to worry about tires, or anything else for that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankosolder2 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Just a hypothetical example: Suppose _you_ never drive over 80MPH, so you spec lower speed rated tires. Now, suppose down the road, you sell the car to someone who doesn't check the speed rating of the tires and they like to max the car out... or suppose you loan the car to someone who maxes the car out, or suppose your teenager borrows the car and maxes the car out.... All of these are unlikely scenarios, but I wouldn't say that a tire store would be totally unreasonable to refuse to mount tires which don't meet or exceed OEM speed specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Tire speed rating takes into account friction, rolling resistance, weight of the vehical, weight of cargo, barking loads, side loads and possible road hazards. If you had your own private highway and was the only car on it, then yes, fine put on wagon wheels and risk your own neck. But you are sharing the road with 100's of other cars, and a tire failing does not just affect you, but can affect someone else too. http://blog.tirevan.com/2011/01/18/tire-speed-rating-its-not-just-about-how-fast-you-drive/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I am really happy with the Yokohama Avid Acsent tires (1000 miles). Very good in wet. Pretty smooth on highway. IDK what speed rating is, seems like higher spped rating tires would be stronger, less "rubbery". These are made with oil derived form ORANGES, supposedly give a more temperature stable compound than pure petroleum rubber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I take my cars to discount tire. They give me the tire I want, have an excellent non prorated warranty. Never a fuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedwagon Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Just a hypothetical example: Suppose _you_ never drive over 80MPH, so you spec lower speed rated tires. Now, suppose down the road, you sell the car to someone who doesn't check the speed rating of the tires and they like to max the car out... or suppose you loan the car to someone who maxes the car out, or suppose your teenager borrows the car and maxes the car out.... All of these are unlikely scenarios, but I wouldn't say that a tire store would be totally unreasonable to refuse to mount tires which don't meet or exceed OEM speed specs. How would any of those scenarios be any different than someone buying a proper speed rated tire, and continuously driving on it underinflated or overloaded(which can result in a blowout)? They are all operator negligence, not tire store negligence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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