You should always make sure you are buying a tyre with the right speed rating for your vehicle.

All tyres carry a speed rating in the form of letters that indicate the maximum speed for which the tyre is intended. For example a tyre with speed rating 'V' should be run at no more than 149mph and if your vehicle is fitted with a tyre that has a speed rating that's too low then it could render your insurance invalid and could be unsafe. The idea is that the speed rating should be lower than the theoretical top speed of your vehicle in case it was ever driven at that speed.

To avoid any problems, find the speed rating on your existing tyres and use that as a guide to find the best replacement tyres for your vehicle. You should see on the side of the tyre a size like "185/55 R15 91V" and V would be the speed rating you need. The speed rating is usually the last measurement or letter on the side of the tyre.

If you are unsure of the right speed rating for your vehicle, check your vehicle handbook/instruction manual or you could contact the manufacturer or dealer that supplied the vehicle where possible.

You will notice that the speeds associated with each speed rating are pretty high and given the maximum UK speed limit is only 70mph, you will be entitled to scratch your head as to why they are even necessary for every day motoring. Sure enough, at TyreQuote.com we accept that in many cases drivers could take lower speed rated tyres and it wouldn't be illegal to do so, but we would always recommend that you stick with what was supplied by the manufacturer. By all means take a different brand or model of tyre but stick to the same sizes and speed rating because if you ever sell the vehicle a buyer may just pick up on these things. Just because you dont drive at 150mph, doesn't mean they don't have plans for a trip down a continental highway.

If you have ever modified your vehicle or changed the wheels on your vehicle then you will need to find tyres to fit the wheels, however, it still stands that the speed rating should be higher than the top speed of your vehicle.

The table below shows which speed goes with each letter.

Symbol	KPH	MPH
Q	160	99
R	170	106
S	180	112
T	190	118
H	210	131
V	240	149
VR	210	131
W	270	168
Y	300	186
ZR	240	149

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