Ive been searching for a set of replacement tires and finally decided on the Continental TrueContacts, they have an excellent rating both on Tire Rack and as well as from some people on here. Called my favorite tire store, who also has quite a big franchise in the area, who nixed this decision. Said they cant responsibly install T speed rated tires on a vehicle that requires an H rating, and if you check it out, Mazda requires an H rating on their 17 inchers and a V rating on their 19 inchers. In fact, if you go to the Continental tire website and punch in the CX5 for 17 inch tires, nothing comes up. I know, no one plans to go 118 mph (T rating), but the speed ratings mean more than how fast youre going. So, I guess Im going to go with the Altimax RT43. I put these on my stepdaughters CX5 last year and she likes them a lot. Trouble is, these are always in demand around here and you usually have to wait for them to come in if I dont go to a Tire Rack installer. Sucks about the speed ratings, but theyre there for a reason.
Tire speed ratings
- Thread starter madar
- Start date
leeharvey418
Member
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- 2019 CX-5 Signature; 2014 CX-9 Touring AWD
There's more to a speed rating that the ultimate speed you intend to achieve. Heat and load tolerance are built into speed ratings to some degree, and you're eating into your tires' safety margin by going with a lower speed rating.
That said, the Altimax RT43 is a fine tire, and I wouldn't think of them as 'settling' at all.
That said, the Altimax RT43 is a fine tire, and I wouldn't think of them as 'settling' at all.
Only if you exceed the new tire's speed rating. If a tire has the same load rating and UTQG rating, it will perform safely up to its speed rating.
My Miata came with W-rated (168 mph) tires. It won't go over 138 mph down hill! But, I have never found a V-rated 205/45-17 tire.
A stock CX-5 cannot readily exceed 130 MPH, so there is no engineering reason for a V rated tire other than that is all that was available in the desired size, or it met some measured wear/performance spec that the H rated tire did not. While most tire makers do things similarly for a given size, there is not uniform standard for tire design. Check out the Tire Rack spec charts to see the variance in tread width and overall diameter for any given size. Once you change brand or tire model, you have begun your own tire R&D and none of the factory research or testing is valid, including any attributes that may, or may not, come with speed rating.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
+1
To OP, Tire Rack lists Continental TrueContact 225/65R17 102T for CX-5 with 17" tires. Here is one member uses Continental TrueContact 225/55R19 99H for his 19" tires. Continental TrueContact is one of the best and cost effective tires around. It meets "102" load range. And I wouldn't discouraged to get it only because the speed rating is one lower than OEM tires and these disclaimers to avoid the lawsuit. As you said, you don't drive over 118 mph anyway. I bought "S" rated Yokohama tires for our CR-V once which has "H" speed rating on OEM. Discount Tire had no issues to order and install them.
Noted, but I'll stick with manufacturer recommendations. Did some calls to various shops around here, most willing to only install the H series, liability and all that. Safest bet. Appreciate the input.
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Jim_Nazium
Member
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- 2014 CX5 Grand Touring
After much research I was ready to buy the TrueContacts. Did a search on Continental's website & my size was not found. Strange, I've seen them in my size. I emailed Continental & they replied with: "We offer a replacement tire in the size, (225/55R19 99 H. Unfortunately; this tire has an H speed rating, (130 mph, and your vehicle requires a V speed rating(149 mph). Although you would never drive at this speed, design and performance expectation are based on a tire constructed to archive a V speed rating." So, there may be more to speed ratings than I know. I probably could get them anyway & be very happy with them but I'm no tire expert so after more research I plan on getting V rated Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires. My wife makes a few 12 hour drives at 75 mph in 100+ degree weather every summer, roads are hot enough to cook steaks on & I don't want to worry if I've compromised on tires or not. Yes 75 is the speed limit on that desert highway.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Based on Tire Rack, Pirelli's Cinturato P7 All Season Plus 225/55R19 is rated 99H. CX-5's with 17" wheels are all have 225/65R17 100H tires. The maximum speed is the same between Sport, Touring, and GT. There is no reason to think H rated 225/55R19 tire is not safe for our CX-5 GT unless you drive over 130 mph! I'd not hesitate to get Continental's TrueContact 225/55R19 99H when I need a new set of tires. The test result and customer's reviews on Tire Rack are simply too good to pass.
Speed rating is for speed limitation only and there is nothing more. The load index is more important than that. In Europe, car manufactures have to fit the tires with speed rating higher than the maximum speed of the car. If you worried about temperature, look at the UTQG rating and make sure to check your tire pressure more often.
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- 2015 CX-5 Grand Touring AWD w/ Mazda3 18 rims
I was thinking of the 17 inch H rated version of the Pirelli P7 plus whenever the time comes. Does this meet OEM requirements? Am I dense/(missing something)?
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- 2015 CX-5 Grand Touring AWD w/ Mazda3 18 rims
There ARE H and V rated versions of the tire you asked about
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Factory specs for speed rating on tires are H for 17" tires and V for 19" tires. That's why H rated tires are fine for our CX-5. BTW, Continental's TrueContact tire is one of the best tires available on the market based on Tire Rack's test and customer's reviews.
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- Fredericton Canada
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- 2018 CX-5 GT
I was in to my local Costco who carry the Pirelli Cinturato P7+ in 225/55/19 but in H rating. Since my CX-5 GT requires a 19" V rated tire the Costco rep says that while he could sell me the P7+ he couldn't warranty it. The reason being was that the sticker on the P7+ tire says:
"REPLACEMENT TIRES MUST ALWAYS HAVE A LOAD INDEX AND SPEED RATING EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THOSE FITTED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. He suggested I stick with V rated tires.
Now, the guy at Costco went on to say that if I got the P7 tires installed elsewhere he could then warranty them. Go figure. I have read a lot of good reports about the P7's BUT I would never buy a tire that I couldn't get warrantied. Who is to say, in addition, that if I was in a major accident caused by a failing H rated tire the dealer might not be able to be sued, should they renege on the warranty since I ultimately had the wrong rated tire on my CX-5.
Even more confusing is that my Mazda dealer also said they would sell me and warranty the P7's, but, once again who would I sue should Pirelli not back the dealership in a warranty challenge?
There just seems to be too much risk for my liking, in using an H rated tire on my V rated CX-5. BUT, maybe Pirelli is the only manufacturer that has this concern in going down a speed rating from the oem's.
"REPLACEMENT TIRES MUST ALWAYS HAVE A LOAD INDEX AND SPEED RATING EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THOSE FITTED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. He suggested I stick with V rated tires.
Now, the guy at Costco went on to say that if I got the P7 tires installed elsewhere he could then warranty them. Go figure. I have read a lot of good reports about the P7's BUT I would never buy a tire that I couldn't get warrantied. Who is to say, in addition, that if I was in a major accident caused by a failing H rated tire the dealer might not be able to be sued, should they renege on the warranty since I ultimately had the wrong rated tire on my CX-5.
Even more confusing is that my Mazda dealer also said they would sell me and warranty the P7's, but, once again who would I sue should Pirelli not back the dealership in a warranty challenge?
There just seems to be too much risk for my liking, in using an H rated tire on my V rated CX-5. BUT, maybe Pirelli is the only manufacturer that has this concern in going down a speed rating from the oem's.
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Okay, NOT my CX-5 but had a similar problem with speed rating before in a different high-end car. Local Costco was having a road show with senior executives from Michelin present. Upon talking with them this is what I gathered and I'll to juxtapose it between V and H ratings. Basically, a higher rated (H) tire can safely go up to (say) 150 mph. However, as you approach the speed and much before the speed there's some serious traction, friction, etc. the tire trend/rubber is absorbing. That RATE of absorption is higher for H verses V. The tolerance levels are higher. In other words traveling 70 miles at 90 mph does more damage to V rated tires than H rated. That's point #1. Next, as the delta between max allowed and your current speed decreases, what also decreases is the tire's road handling/braking performance. In other words, at 90 a V rated tire might brake at a longer distance than H rated, all other things being equal. All of this - affects warranty and thus its recommended to go only for manufacturer recommended speed rating.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Actually "V" rated tires have higher speed rating than "H" rated tires.
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- Fredericton Canada
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- 2018 CX-5 GT
I have also read some good reports on the TrueContacts, BUT, tire testing reviewers comment on the lower mileage rating of that tire compared to most. For example, Consumers Reports say that the TrueContact has a 60,000 mile warranty, which is the second worst tread-life warranty in their top 10 tested all-season tires(8 of those 10 tires have over a 60,000 mileage warranty). This may be one of the reasons that they didn't give it a "Recommended" rating even though it came second in their testing for other reasons. Most important, at least for me, is that the TrueContact DOES NOT come in a V rated version( in any of it's 31 sizes), other than 215/45/17....go figure!!!
Now, is there a perfect tire for everyone... in my view absolutely not, but I have relented to the fact that I need to decide what factors of a tires performance are most important to me. Since I live in a winter snow belt up here in Canada I run separate winter tires on separate rims so ice and snow performance are not important features of my all seasons. My AWD takes care of any late fall snow traction issues before my winters get installed.
So, it comes down to the following tire performance concerns(in a V rated tire): hydroplaning, ride comfort, handling, noise, rolling resistance and treadwear.
My current plan is to go with the Premier LTX(when it is released in June) because it is the tire that Costco carries (other than the Bridgestone Dueler) that also comes in a V rating that meets most of my criteria.
Why would I want to stick with Costco you may ask. Overall customer service I have found over the years to be exceptional. After the initial installation costs(which are cheaper than most) they have free nitrogen, free rotations, free rebalancing, free tire repair to name the key features. I have found other tire dealers, at least here in Canada, just nickel and dime customers to death in extra add on fees. One dealer even wanted to charge me $5 a tire plus tax to reset the pressure sensors, which I can do in about 15 seconds! Or how about $8 for shop supplies. What shop supplies!!! WTF!! Be sure to get a detailed written quote before you purchase your tires and don't be a afraid to question ANYTHING on the bill. This is why I love COSTCO...no hidden or absurd charges and the best prices for the brands they sell.
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