tire question, V vs H rating
David Harker
I own a '92 Nissan Maxima SE and need to replace the OEM
V-rated Bridgestone tires. I like the handling of the V-rated
stiff tires, but am considering getting H-rated replacements,
for slightly increased ride comfort and better snow traction.
I don't want to do this if handling "quickness" would suffer a lot.
I have read/heard that V-rated tires are worse than H in the
snow/ice (I'm in Minnesota). Is this true?
Please don't tell me to get snow tires for winter - too much
hassle and $$. Yes, I want it all, in one tire, and know that
I'm making a compromise. Handling (dry/wet) is more
important than snow handling to me.
Does anyone have actual EXPERIENCE in swapping
H-rated tires for V-rated ones? Did you notice a big
drop in handling? Did the handling stay (nearly) the
same but w/ better ride? Any difference in snow/ice?
Please reply with e-mail, as I am quite busy and
might miss a posted reply (feel free to post it too).
Thanks.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Harker
IBM - Rochester, MN
dha...@vnet.ibm.com
"Never eat more than you can lift" - Miss Piggy
GHAMMA01
imagine that an H rated (130mph) tire would be plenty for a Maxima. Since
you are looking for an all-season high performance tire I would suggest
the BFGoodrich Comp T/A HR4. I have used this tire on an 84 GTI and 85
STE. I also used the Comp T/A VR4 on an 87 Formula 350. The VR4 has the
same tread pattern and compound as the HR4 however I needed the extra
speed margin. In the case of the GTI I switched from V-rated Yokohama AVS
tires to the H-rated BFG and noticed the same or better turn in response
and only slightly less grip. Therefore, if you aren't planning to go over
130, buy a good HR tire such as the HR4. It has excellent winter/snow
performance (if I could drive a Firebird through the winter in Michigan,
your Nissan should be unstoppable),
Greg
Performance Race Engineering
tm...@earthlink.net
the brakes and suspension with the performance level of tires in mind. If you lower this critical piece of
the puzzle, everything suffers. If you drop to H- rated tires, your braking distance will definatly
increase, you just might meet that bumper of the driver who locke them up in front of you. Your high
speed stability will suffer, less "sure-footedness" making lane changes at 75 mph. The weaker
sidewall and belt edges of the H- rated tire may not handle the stress that your car puts on tires even
driving at 30 mph in town. This can result in a signifigant depreciation in treadlife.
Have I done it? Yes. And my customers continue to ask me to do it, for cost savings usually.
Everytime I go through the entire speel with them, and I usually talk them back into what they had. But
not always. But in all of those "not always" instances, they go back with the better tire on their next
set, ususally because they lasted about half as long as they thought, just like I said they would.
Stick with what you have, speed ratings have nothing to do with winter traction, thats all in the tread
design and compounds.
Ciao... T-Man
George Jefferson
:Be very careful and aware if you intend to downgrade your tire performance rating. Car makers built
Yes be careful *but* speed rating is just that, speed rating. A higher
speed rating doesn`t better performance in every situation.
: If you lower this critical piece of
^^^^
:the puzzle, everything suffers.
Well, switching from V rated gatorbacks to H rated bfg's dramatically
*improved* wet handling (up from criminally bad) and more than doubled
tread life. The change in dry traction was slight but noticable if
you push *really* hard ( one might say more forgiving...).
:Have I done it? Yes. And my customers continue to ask me to do it, for cost
:savings usually.
I had to actually go to a "tire warehouse" place because the 'real' tire
dealers insisted that I would crash the car in a minute if I made
such a change.
:Stick with what you have, speed ratings have nothing to do with winter
:traction, thats all in the tread
:design and compounds.
So you say is is fine and dandy to switch tread design/compound
so long as you keed the speed rating fixed?
--
george
geo...@mech.seas.upenn.edu
Michael Joos
>
>
>
>
> Well, switching from V rated gatorbacks to H rated bfg's dramatically
> *improved* wet handling (up from criminally bad) and more than doubled
> tread life. The change in dry traction was slight but noticable if
> you push *really* hard ( one might say more forgiving...).
????^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^?????????
Well, the gain in tread life did not arise from the mere fact of
making a switch from V to H. The difference is from the fact that
the switch was from a Gatorback to a BFG which is like going from
a Cadillac to a Geo. The BFG is a good all season economy tire which
has a harder compound than the Gatorbacks hence the difference in dry
traction. I think that's what he meant.
> >
> :Stick with what you have, speed ratings have nothing to do with winter
> :traction, thats all in the tread
> :design and compounds.
>
> So you say is is fine and dandy to switch tread design/compound
> so long as you keed the speed rating fixed?
Changing the tread/compound is how tire manufacturers compete and
should not affect the car but the speed rating should probably be
observed.
MJ
George Jefferson
:the switch was from a Gatorback to a BFG which is like going from
:a Cadillac to a Geo. The BFG is a good all season economy tire which
:has a harder compound than the Gatorbacks hence the difference in dry
:traction. I think that's what he meant.
well golly, thats just what I wanted for mom's super market
runner. Pissed me off that all the dealers insisted that
she should drop ~$900 on 150mph rated tires just to have
a car that she was afraid to drive in the rain.
--
george
geo...@mech.seas.upenn.edu
Art Martz
>
>
> :Be very careful and aware if you intend to downgrade your tire performance
> :rating. Car makers built the brakes and suspension with the performance
> :level of tires in mind.
> : If you lower this critical piece of
> ^^^^
> :the puzzle, everything suffers.
>
This piece of crap is one of the biggest scams foisted on performance
car owners. The difference in dry traction is noticable only under track
conditions. And the improvement in wet and snow traction with S and H
rated rubber is remarkable.
> Well, switching from V rated gatorbacks to H rated bfg's dramatically
> *improved* wet handling (up from criminally bad) and more than doubled
> tread life. The change in dry traction was slight but noticable if
> you push *really* hard ( one might say more forgiving...).
> I had to actually go to a "tire warehouse" place because the 'real' tire
> dealers insisted that I would crash the car in a minute if I made
> such a change.
Amen. Try Supershops, if you have one in the area.
> :Stick with what you have, speed ratings have nothing to do with winter
> :traction, thats all in the tread design and compounds.
More BullShit. Speed ratings have EVERYTHING to do with the rubber
compounds, which also DIRECTLY affect wet/snow traction and tread life.
If you've got more money than sense and live in Arizona, then stick with
V rated rubber. Otherwise get a practical tire. H and even S rated
rubber works fine in virtually all street performance applications.
And yes, I do have daily experience living with V-rated, Z-rated,
H-rated and S-rated rubber on my 5.0 Mustang, much of it in Cleveland,
Oh winters.
Art Martz ama...@rbdc.rbdc.com
Kernersville, NC
DOREMIEUX FRANCOIS
>:Well, the gain in tread life did not arise from the mere fact of
>:making a switch from V to H. The difference is from the fact that
>:the switch was from a Gatorback to a BFG which is like going from
>:a Cadillac to a Geo. The BFG is a good all season economy tire which
>:has a harder compound than the Gatorbacks hence the difference in dry
>:traction. I think that's what he meant.
NO. Gatorbacks are way outdated and the BFG, while cheaper, give you actually
much more value for your money.
George Jefferson
actually at the time, the goodyear dealer would only permit me
to purchase the gatorback ( $250per ) so I went down to
a BFG dealer where they would only permit me to buy their v-rated
pseudo-race tire ( $225per ) so I went over to "BJ's" and picked
up a set of s-rated BFG's ( ~$120/per ) and all is happy.
--
george
geo...@mech.seas.upenn.edu