How to choose the right tyres for mobile tyre fitting

Tyres have always made an important contribution to road safety and to the environmental impact of road transport. However, not all tyres offer the same performance and it was hard for the consumer to know how to choose the most safe and efficient tyres. Luckily the EU tyre regulation that was introduced in 2012 enabled consumers to make more informed choices when buying tyres.

The rationale behind introducing regulation was to improve road safety and to reduce the environmental impact of road transport.  Tyres are now graded according to wet grip, fuel efficiency and external noise.

The information is provided  on the now familiar EU energy efficiency label. As seen below

To help you understand a little more what this label is telling you lets look at each section in turn…

The three parameters:

 

Fuel consumption is related to the rolling resistance. By reducing rolling resistance,  the tyre consumes less petrol.

A range 7.5% loss of fuel economy between best and worst class for a full set of tyres fitted to an average car.

Wet grip is one of the most important safety characteristics of a tyre. Tyres with very good wet grip have a shorter braking distance when it rains.

30% shorter braking distance between best and worst class for a full set of tyres fitted to an average car.

Eg 18 m shorter when braking from 50 mph.

The external noise generated by the tyre is expressed in waves: one black wave is the lowest noise level and three the highest. The aim is to reduce traffic-related noise for communities.

3 black bars: above future EU limit

2 black bars: meets future EU limit

1 black bar: at least 3 dB below the future EU limit

 

All new tyres must come provided with this information – if you don’t get it then ask!