New EU Tyre Labelling Rules

The EU Legislation means that every new tyre sold within Europe (with some exceptions*) must be labelled - much like you would see on freezer, fridge or washing machine.

The tyre label uses a rating system ranging from A for the best to G for the worst in terms of fuel efficiency and wet grip, while their external rolling noise is rated in decibels.

The main goal of the new legislation is to provide more information to motorists on the performance of tyres, and hopefully to increase road safety.

*Note: The rules do not cover new cars in showrooms fitted with their original tyres. If you are buying racing, professional off road, spare, vintage, re-tread, motorbike or studded tyres, you will also not see this label.

The label focus on the three following affects:

Fuel Efficiency	When a tyre moves, the energy is dispersed and lost, this is known as rolling resistance. The lost energy has an effect on fuel consumption, so a tyre with a lower rolling resistance will be more effecient. In the EU Tyre Regulation label, rolling resistance is expressed in grades, ranging from A to G. A is the highest performance tyre in its category; G is currently the least performing. To help draw a clear line between the top and bottom three grades, D is not going to be used as a grade.
Wet Grip	Tyres with good grip in the wet have a shorter stopping distance and this label provides you with the information about grip on wet roads. The ratings are measured via two types of test when a car is travelling at 50mph. Wet grip is expressed in grades, ranging from A to F. A is the highest performance tyre in its category; F is currently the least performing. To help draw a clear line between the top and bottom three grades, D is not going to be used as a grade.
Rolling noise	A tyre's exterior noise grading is expressed in decibels and this is based on the external noise, not the noise level in the car. The noise levels are also represented by three waves. One black wave indicates the best noise level performance. It means that the noise level of the tyre is at least 3dB below the future legal limit. Three black waves indicate the weakest performance in terms of tyre noise output.

Conclusion

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