AA Tires VS AB Tires

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wolf_06

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Hello folks,

I need new tires on my Cruze. I usually buy temperature A traction B with a T speed rated tire.

I was tempting for Michelin Defender, Altimax RT43, but the Continental True Contact are on sale in my area, they are rated 800 AA with V speed rated.

Is a AA rated V tire would ride harder than a AB rated T tire?

I'm doing a lot of highway, I'm looking for ride quality, wet traction and noise comfort.

I would like you opinions on this.

Thanks!
 
You have traction and temp mixed up in your post. The first letter is traction and related wet braking on concrete. The second is temp. No quality tire will have a B traction rating.

H rated or higher will always get a A temp rating. The A government rating means it's good to 125mph and H speed rated tires are up to 130mph.

Generally speaking, the higher the speed rating, the stronger the tire to cope with the centripetal forces. Stiffer tires heat up less.

Each tire will behave differently though. The higher mileage tires will have a stiffer structure to get longer tread life and lower rolling resistance.

I know Conti has a 60 day ride guaranty so you can try them out. Other makers do too.
 
Yeah, I can be confusing, I can get them also in a 205 65 R16 as well, but they are T rated, AA as well.

I'm not sure if I sshould go with the Altimax RT43, they seem very highly rated one here.
 
Originally Posted By: wolf_06
Yeah, I can be confusing, I can get them also in a 205 65 R16 as well, but they are T rated, AA as well.

I'm not sure if I sshould go with the Altimax RT43, they seem very highly rated one here.


Tire Rack should be the first place to visit. It sound like you've checked Consumer Reports because those are the top 3 in their ratings. The Michelin has the longest predicted life, the Conti shows the lowest rolling resistance and the General shows the best snow traction.

You can't go wrong with any of those.
 
Also important to know is you can only compare the traction and temp ratings among a manufactures line up of tires
 
Originally Posted By: panther427
Also important to know is you can only compare the traction and temp ratings among a manufactures line up of tires

The letter codes and treadwear rating (UTQG) are supposed to be standardized .gov tests but each manufacturer does their own testing.

The treadwear number is where you will find the most variation, traction and temp are pretty uniform.
 
I have those Conti tires on a Camry. One can run them at 36 pounds and still get a nice ride.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: LotI
No quality tire will have a B traction rating.


Wow. That's a sweeping statement. Do you want to walk that one back a little?

I guess that means Bridgestone Dueler A/T RH-S tires aren't "quality".
 
Originally Posted By: LotI
You have traction and temp mixed up in your post. The first letter is traction and related wet braking on concrete. The second is temp. No quality tire will have a B traction rating.


Except many oem tires do. For example the yokohama g95a which come on 2009-2013 Subaru Forester

Also the traction test is nearly worthless. Its based on a trailer sliding on wet concrete.. it doesn't directly relate to modern cars with abs,EBD, etc.

Originally Posted By: LotI

H rated or higher will always get a A temp rating. The A government rating means it's good to 125mph and H speed rated tires are up to 130mph.

Not sure what you are talking about What is "A government rating"
The speed rating is not tested by the government and none of them are 125mph.

S=112 T=118 h=130
Originally Posted By: LotI

Generally speaking, the higher the speed rating, the stronger the tire to cope with the centripetal forces. Stiffer tires heat up less.
Each tire will behave differently though. The higher mileage tires will have a stiffer structure to get longer tread life and lower rolling resistance.
I know Conti has a 60 day ride guaranty so you can try them out. Other makers do too.


A few things off base in there. The higher speed rating tires have a stronger construction with additional features such as a nylon cap ply.

Stiffer tires do not have lower rolling resistance. The stiffer the tire is the higher the rolling resistance.

Tread life has to do with the tread compound mostly.

A "Harder" compound will last longer.. and generally have worse rolling resistance but not always. Depending on the technology used... ie Extremely high silica compounds etc.


That all being said. Usually T rated tires have the best ride comfort and longevity.. and depending on model picked can be high or low rolling resistance.

As your speed rating gets higher.. they will generally handle better and possibly have abit more traction esp. in the dry.

This is not directly from the speed rating but the tweaks the manufacturer does to the tire they are selling with the higher speed rating.

An example of that would be the cooper ultra touring

H and V rated get a 60000 mile warranty
W rated get a 40000 mile warranty.
 
You want what everyone wants, though you didn't mention snow which is a large tangent that compromises everything else. Get the Contis-- they're made by Michelin and as said above they have a ride guarantee. Ride quality is subjective and varies from car to car and suspension tuning-- the tire company only compromises to the middle of the road.

It's tough trying to get a tire "by the numbers" like you're trying-- find a Cruze forum and see what they like.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
You want what everyone wants, though you didn't mention snow which is a large tangent that compromises everything else. Get the Contis-- they're made by Michelin and as said above they have a ride guarantee. Ride quality is subjective and varies from car to car and suspension tuning-- the tire company only compromises to the middle of the road.

It's tough trying to get a tire "by the numbers" like you're trying-- find a Cruze forum and see what they like.

Conti made by Michelin?
 
If you want good wet traction, your best bet is a high performance tire with an AA traction rating. Obviously you wont get as much life out of a high performance tire but ive found ive never been happy with wet traction on any touring tires... though you need to decide whats most important and how much you drive. I am liking the Nokian Z line from the reviews I see but likely you will get a better deal on the ones you mentionned and more life. I have the P7 all season plus' and they have been ok. Excellent in dry, avg in wet and wear seems to have been less than i expected..
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Conti made by Michelin?


blush.gif
perhaps not?
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: eljefino
You want what everyone wants, though you didn't mention snow which is a large tangent that compromises everything else. Get the Contis-- they're made by Michelin and as said above they have a ride guarantee. Ride quality is subjective and varies from car to car and suspension tuning-- the tire company only compromises to the middle of the road.

It's tough trying to get a tire "by the numbers" like you're trying-- find a Cruze forum and see what they like.

Conti made by Michelin?

Maybe he means General made by Conti.
 
Originally Posted By: LotI
Originally Posted By: wolf_06
Yeah, I can be confusing, I can get them also in a 205 65 R16 as well, but they are T rated, AA as well.

I'm not sure if I sshould go with the Altimax RT43, they seem very highly rated one here.


Tire Rack should be the first place to visit. It sound like you've checked Consumer Reports because those are the top 3 in their ratings. The Michelin has the longest predicted life, the Conti shows the lowest rolling resistance and the General shows the best snow traction.

You can't go wrong with any of those.



The Defender has had short tread life in some instances....

First Michelin Defender separated before 24,000 miles, replaced under warranty...and had to fight for the replacement. Second seperated at 28,000 miles. Both Michelins on the front removed and installed Sumitomo HTR ENHANCE on the front. The Sumitomo's are quieter than the Michelin.
However the Michelin X radial from Costco with approximately 45000 miles ride still have life in them.

LINK HERE-
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3747910#Post3747910
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: LotI
Originally Posted By: wolf_06
Yeah, I can be confusing, I can get them also in a 205 65 R16 as well, but they are T rated, AA as well.

I'm not sure if I sshould go with the Altimax RT43, they seem very highly rated one here.


Tire Rack should be the first place to visit. It sound like you've checked Consumer Reports because those are the top 3 in their ratings. The Michelin has the longest predicted life, the Conti shows the lowest rolling resistance and the General shows the best snow traction.

You can't go wrong with any of those.



The Defender has had short tread life in some instances....

First Michelin Defender separated before 24,000 miles, replaced under warranty...and had to fight for the replacement. Second seperated at 28,000 miles. Both Michelins on the front removed and installed Sumitomo HTR ENHANCE on the front. The Sumitomo's are quieter than the Michelin.
However the Michelin X radial from Costco with approximately 45000 miles ride still have life in them.

LINK HERE-
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3747910#Post3747910



This is funny, I just came back from the OK Tire store, and they told me the same exact thing, Defenders had short tread life some were cracking and needed to be replaced, they told me to go with Yokohama avid ascend instead and its a lot cheaper
 
Just an FYI:

1) The ride harshness of a tire can not be determined from any of the UTQG ratings. The thing that controls the ride hardshness is the stiffness of the sidewall - usually the height of the filler (an internal but of rubber). But ride harshness and steering response are in direct contradiction - that is, tires with soft rides, don't respond quickly to steering input (they feel "mushy"!).

HOWEVER, high performance tires TEND to have better handling characteristics (but not necessarily!), and they also tend to have lower treadwear rating and higher traction and temperature ratings.

2) The temperature rating is DIRECTLY related to the speed rating. In fact, the test for the temperature rating is remarkably like a speed rating test. They do not measure tempersture at all. So why do they call it a "temperature" rating? I suspect it has to do with "Not Invented in the US!").

3) All 3 of the UTQG tests have prescribed test procedures that should result in similar test results regardless of who conducts the test. Yes, there is SOME variability in the results, not to mention that there will be tires that perform near the edges of a rating - BUT - if one were to conduct a UTQG test series, they ought to be able to duplicated the results.

HOWEVER, the government does not require the tire manufacturer to accurately state the test results on the tire (or in their literature). The only requirement is that the values not be overstated. So it is possible to have a tire with a UTQG rating of 800 AA A, and have it advertised as a 300 C C! Why anyone would do that is beyond me, but be aware that treadwear rating are the most likely to suffer from this in order to make a premium tire look "premium"!.

So it is a MYTH that you can not conpare UTQG rating between tire manufacturers - only within a brand. What is TRUE is that they ARE comparable - BUT - you need to be aware that they can not be overstated, be can be understated. If anything, the problem of comparing treadwear rating is MORE acute WITHIN a manufacturer, rather than between them.

3) Everyone needs to be aware that most treadwear occurs in the cornering mode. So the amount of wear one experiences from a tire is highly dependent on the route that is taken. It is quite possible to get great tire wear from a set of low treadwear rated tires, so long as the vehicle is driven mostly on the highway and not the city streets. It is also possible (common, even!) for tires rated for good wear to wear out quickly in the city.
 
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