Well, we did it again…the Technical control (MOT) rules for tyres have been adapted in a rather absurd way.
From now on, you may fit tyres with a lower speed index (minimum accepted speed index is 160 kp/h) than the top speed of your car…if your car is faster than the speed-index on your tyres then you will have to apply a sticker on your dashboard mentioning that you shouln’t drive more than the speed-index on your tyres… :
You also may have different tyres (brands, profiles,speed index…)on the same axle as long as they have the same dimensions.
These new rules in combination with our infamous Paris-Dackar style roads will certainly make sad headlines on the news…
Welcome in Belgium ( Absurdistan), champion of silly rules…
If the profile of a tyre is different, then the size is different.
You don’t have to have matching tyres for the UK MOT, and there isn’t really an issue. And there is no compunction to stay with the manufacturer’s original speed rating. Its not recommended, but not illegal. It has not lead to spectacularly unsafe cars.
The use of the 'stan term seems OTT and provocative.
Resident tyre expert says even a H-rated tyre would be on in the UK, on the basis of speed rating.
Profile…was the wrong word, as English is not my 1st language i struggle sometimes using the right words…pattern is more the word i was supposed to use (tyres with few grooves/raintyres/uniderictional tyres etc…)
But it is my conviction that using two different tyres on one axle is …far from ideal (worse example; one rain tyre and one summer or semi track day tyre…) this setup can now also be repeated for the second axle. … About the speed rating: yess if you feel driving faster than 149…you should be able to do that in a safe way, that’s (my opinion) why there are speed ratings in the first place.
About the 'stan word; help me out please (if possible explain) as i never tought that it might be OTT or provocative…that word is very common use in Belgium and far from provocative. If it is in UK i will avoid the use of eventual 'stan words in the future.
I doubt you will get 149mph out of a MX5. And some of these MX5s are coming with W-rated tyres. Do you seriously think you need a tyre rated to 168mph on a MX5? Tyre Speed Rating are pretty broad classifications. Some tyre sizes are only available in some Speed Ratings. That doesn’t mean if you fit some kickin’ big wide W-rated tyres, your MX5 now goes faster.
Of course, mixing tyres is not recommended, and ultimately, in the event of a claim, the tyres on your car might count against you. So it seems that the Belgian authorities being rather pragmatic, and conferring more responsibility on the driver.
“iStan” is a derogatory suffix that appeared in the lexicon from 2001. You must surely know the context. I suppose it was once in the common lingo of the soldier, but now has crossed a line and used by civilians as some sort of absurd insult. Its used in the UK. And it is insulting and borderline coarse. And ignorant.
I guess someone in a little broom cupboard in the Belgian Ministry of transport thinks ABS and Traction Control found on many new vehicles can take up the slack having tyres with different levels of grip on the same axle, sounds positively daft to me, lets hope I am wrong and the man from the ministry is correct
Jeepers I did not realiase how seriously out of touch I am, live and learn, thanks for the tip
Well, when i said 149 mp/h i was refering to "other/faster " cars (they exist) and in my opinion there’s a hugue difference between Q (up to 160 kp/h …as a minimum request by law now) and al the speed rating above this (like W) …might be a bit over-regulated indeed but i can hardly believe it’s safe to drive above (let’s say) 220kp/h ish speeds with Q-rated tyres (160kp/h) there simply has to be a limit .of what these (Q rated) tyres can handle…
The iStan words, i will read the (long) article and will never use it again, promise!
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