Hello:

A couple of questions for the forum. I have an 07 Camry LE. I am buying winter tires for her. I am considering a set of General Altimax Arctics. These fit my budget and are highly rated across multiple sources, including Consumer Reports and several others.

For tires, the OEM/Camry owners manual specs are 215 60 R16 94 V - i.e., 16 inch with load rating of 94 and speed rating of V.

Question 1 - I am having a difficult time finding WINTER tires that have a speed rating of V. In fact, many of the winters (including the aforementioned Altimax) seem to be rated a Q, with an odd one here or there rated an S or T. I know that a Q is rated for 160 km/hr and that I will not even come close to driving that fast, let alone for any length of time! But does a higher rating (in this case an S or T) mean the tire is "higher quality" and will last longer?
Also will the lower Q rating mean performance problems or drawbacks of any kind for my "V-rated" Camry?

Question 2 - I have heard that the concept of putting on a smaller tire for winter (in my case 15 inchers instead of 16s) is somewhat an outdated concept and debatable benefits. Any experience to share?

Question 3 - I assume it is ok to put on a tire with a higher load rating (in my case a 95 vs. the OEM rated 94)

Apologies if these are newbie questions but my first winter!

Thanks!!

 

Might check out the Tire Rack site at www.tirerack.com. The site has an explanation of codes and tire reviews.

Newer are cars are being sold with higher speed rated tires. One reason is higher speed rated tires may offer better handling which is a plus when selling cars.

Most tire shops will NOT install tires with a speed rating lower then OEM for the car. This may be one reason lower speed rated tires are harder to find (buyers have complained about this).

My guess is a higher speed rated tire is designed slightly differently to prevent heat build up in the side walls. The tire may or may get better tread life. Often high performance tires are made of a softer material to grip the road better, this results in increased wear and decreased tread life.

The Q rating is for 99 MPH AND for tires that have studs or are studdable. Thus this is the rating for studded tires.

Did you mean higher load rating or speed rating? Most tires have a load rating much higher then they experience when on the car. Such at 1850 lbs at 44 PSI Max. Tire load pressure is directly rated to its load. This means for a car such as Camry, the tire pressure can be safely reduced to around 30 PSI because the load is also reduced.

It is OK to have a higher load rated tire. Unless the tire is operated at it maximum load, you should reduce the tire pressure. The tire dealer should have this info for you.

 

Thanks. Another question - I understand that by reading the sidewall you can tell when the tires were made. What is an "acceptable" age for the tires to be when I buy them/installing for first time?

 

Not sure.

Car companies and others state if a tire is not sold within 6 years, it is too old. I would shoot for something less then this, say 3 years or less.

Much would depend on how the tire was stored.

If you do get snow tires, do an internet search on how to store them (lots of hits). Proper storing will add many years to their life.