Tyre Load Ratings -Urban Myth

[Hendry]

Is it true that fitting the wrong load ratings on your car tyres is generally not a good idea and can actually invalidate your insurance?

 

I know going up a load and speed rating is fine but I'm meaning if you go lower?

 

Dads new car is apparently supposed to run 215/50/17 tyres with speed and load rating 95W from what I can find online but it seems the previous owner has had kwik fit put on Goodyear Efficientgrip with 91W rating and the Ford dealer we bought the car from has fitted Prestivo PV-S1 tyres also with 91W rating which are apparently incorrect and some other forums are suggesting this invalidates the insurance? Is this bullshit or not?

[dollywobbler]

Well, it only invalidates your insurance if there's an accident. Then they may for any excuse to wangle out of paying. That would be a legitimate one - same as having the wrong speed rating, even though we have a 70mph speed limit.

[New POD]

As far as I understand, if you discuss speed ratings with insurers, they will allow lower ratings to be fitted as speed limit is 70. Not sure the same idea applies to load ratings.

[twosmoke300]

Lower load rating tyres can suffer from premature wear on the edges . Saab increased the tyre load spec on the 9-5 for this reason

[Stroller133]

I thought there was a principal that insurers need to ask for information that could affect cover rather you needing to guess what they may consider to be relavent. If thats the case I think they need to specify their tyres requirements in any exclusions, otherwise if there legal they should be accepted. Although it may be covered by a blanket everything must be to manufactured spec clause, in which case they could try it on if you put higher load rated tyres on too?

[Hendry]

Well being as we bought a car we've had no experience of before and the dealer put 2 new tyres on the front and it had recently had Goodyears put on by Shit Fit we wouldn't assumed they were the correct ones, surely can't be down to us to be responsible for what's fitted to a car when the ta bought used. Tyres are perfect as 2 are new and 2 nearly new, they are the correct size and speed rating it's just the load rating seems to be 91 as opposed to the apparently correct 95

 

Seems an easy mistake to make as even on kwik fit site it just says the tyres for that car are 215/50/17 W and doesn't specify a load rating so offers you the choice of 91 and 95 W and Y rated ones, there's even 2 identical Goodyears at the same price. Same model of tyre but only difference is 91 or 95 load rating at the same price.

[twosmoke300]

Goodyears are a very soft tyre at the best of times so I would increase the pressures a bit at the very least

[Stanky]

Tactically* emery board the 1 off the sidewall and no-one but you, and anyone on the internet who can read will know the truth.

 

Oh, and don't crash.

[red5]

Is it true that fitting the wrong load ratings on your car tyres is generally not a good idea and can actually invalidate your insurance?

 

I know going up a load and speed rating is fine but I'm meaning if you go lower?

 

Dads new car is apparently supposed to run 215/50/17 tyres with speed and load rating 95W from what I can find online but it seems the previous owner has had kwik fit put on Goodyear Efficientgrip with 91W rating and the Ford dealer we bought the car from has fitted Prestivo PV-S1 tyres also with 91W rating which are apparently incorrect and some other forums are suggesting this invalidates the insurance? Is this bullshit or not

 

Basically you must use load and speed ratings equal to or above Manufacturers Original Specification on Class 4 vehicles - irrespective of local or national speed restrictions.

[sierraman]

If there's a way for the insurers to back track and not pay you out they will. I had a car years ago that should have technically failed the MOT as it had T rated tyres when the car was theoretically capable of 125mph (not with me in it...). I don't know whether I was being bull shitted but I got the tyres changed for V rated anyway as the old ones were worn out.

[Stroller133]

I've had 2 recent issues with insurance companies and things you can't easily know.

First is our C-max has privacy glass, it only because I'm a sad anorak and noticed that not all Ghia's have it I even gave it a second thought. One insurance company asked if the car was same spec as left factory, and to include even dealer fitted extras. As we bought the car at 3 years old I'm not sure, but they said I have to tell them whether it was factory or not. I said how would they know in the event of a claim and the advisor told me they would get an "expert" to verify if the glass was factory fitted - I asked if she could put me through to the expert so I could clarify in advance of taking the policy whether my privacy glass was factory fit. She cut me off at this point.

More recently I renewed our caravan insurance and the agent asked for the replacement value of our van and explained how getting it wrong could result in a reduced payout. He had already told me they would pay out according to the Glass's used caravan guide, so I asked him to use the value listed in there for the covered value, but obviously it doesn't work that way! In the end I teased out of him overestimating is probably better, as they would probably not penalise in the event of a claim, but won't pay more than book price, however under covering would mean that would be the most they would ever pay, and any repair payments could be reduced by the fraction you undercovered by.

[SiC]

If you read the T&C, they will pay out the market value. What the car worth box is really about, is how much the car is worth to you. That's why it's often cheaper to put the of the value the car at say £1000 than £300. Obviously there is a limit and taking the piss, but at these price points it's hard to say exactly what a car is worth. Especially if you bought it cheap with minor problems and fixed them up.

 

Another thing I've found recently is that 6k p/a seems to be coming out cheaper than both 3k or 12k p/a. That's a hard one for me, as I'm never sure what I'm going to do a year. So I usually like to over estimate to give some margin. Easier to argue that you thought you were going to do more/do more later in the year, than argue that you didn't know you set it too low!

 

They judge the miles p/a from the last MOT - well they did on my policy when I claimed last.

[Snipes]

I've had 2 recent issues with insurance companies and things you can't easily know.

First is our C-max has privacy glass, it only because I'm a sad anorak and noticed that not all Ghia's have it I even gave it a second thought. One insurance company asked if the car was same spec as left factory, and to include even dealer fitted extras. As we bought the car at 3 years old I'm not sure, but they said I have to tell them whether it was factory or not. I said how would they know in the event of a claim and the advisor told me they would get an "expert" to verify if the glass was factory fitted - I asked if she could put me through to the expert so I could clarify in advance of taking the policy whether my privacy glass was factory fit. She cut me off at this point.

 

This just shows how volunteering too much information (especially vague information) causes problems. I'm sure there are lots of C-Max Glass tint experts out there but if it could be mistaken for factory then the claims accessor almost certainly won't give it a second glance. What's he gonna go? Phone the factory and ask for the build sheet?

 

Personally I'd just live with ithe tyres until they wear out then get the proper Extra Load tyres. I only know the difference because I've worked in tyre bays- i bet 99% of the population have no idea and I use to see lots of motors with the wrong rated tyres.

[hennabm]

If there's a way for the insurers to back track and not pay you out they will. I had a car years ago that should have technically failed the MOT as it had T rated tyres when the car was theoretically capable of 125mph (not with me in it...). I don't know whether I was being bull shitted but I got the tyres changed for V rated anyway as the old ones were worn out.

For a normal car, the tyre speed ratings and load ratings are not part of the test.

These only apply to class 5 and 7 vehicles in the test. Basically those with lots of seats or a commercial vehicle over 3000 but not over 3500kg.