How to read a tyre label

Thursday 13th October 2022

What are tyre labels?

Car tyre labels are essentially a rating system that tells you how efficient your tyres are across certain areas. These areas are comprised of three images which indicate three distinct things –

Wet Grip
Fuel Economy
Noise Emission

Where can I see a car's tyre label?

Tyre labels are stuck on all new car types as all new tyres sold from November 2012 onwards feature a tyre label. If your tyre label is not visible when purchasing tyres from a retailer, the salesperson will likely show you the labels of the tyres available for your car and advise you before you purchase. A copy of your tyre labels for the tyres that have been fitted to your car should also be included in your sales invoice. If you are looking to buy tyres online, you can search and compare tyre labels to help you choose which ones to purchase.

Although this is subject to change, it is important to know that remould or retread tyres are not currently required to carry tyre labels in the EU. It is advised against, by many organisations, to buy remould or retread tyres due to safety reasons.

What do tyre labels mean?

The EU tyre label rates a tyre’s performance in order to help you make an informed choice. They are rated in three key areas:

Wet Grip

This affects the safety of your vehicle and measures a tyre’s performance in wet driving conditions which ranges from A to G and depicts the stopping distance in rainy weather. A black arrow and white letter points to the rating for that tyre.
The rating works downwards from A, the highest wet grip performance, to G, the lowest wet grip performance.
The better the wet grip performance, the shorter the braking distance on wet roads
The difference in braking distance between an A and G rated tyre can be as much as 18 metres, with the difference between each letter being around 2.5 metres when braking from 50mph.

Fuel Economy

This affects driving economy and emissions as a tyre loses energy through rolling resistance which means the lower the rolling resistance, the lower the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
The rating works downwards from A being the best performing to G being the least performing. It uses a coloured scale with a black arrow and a large white letter pointing to the rating of your tyre
Tyres that have the worst fuel economy rating will have a red G, whereas tyres with the best fuel economy will have a green A rating
The difference in fuel efficiency between an A and G rated tyre can be 7.5%
The more miles you do, the more money a fuel-efficient tyre will save
It is important to choose wisely when considering which tyres to buy as they account for 20% of a car’s overall fuel consumption

Noise Emission

This affects noise pollution and the comfort of the driver
A tyres exterior noise is measured in decibels and is shown on the tyre label as three sound wave bars with the overall decibel rating given in large white numbers. One black sound wave bar offers the quietest performance, and three black wave bars offers the loudest performance
There may be differences in EU legislation which will state that two black bars will meet the standards of the current legislation as well as future legislation. One black bar or three black bars will not meet the standards set in future legislation, though you may still be able to use them if they have already been purchased

You can find out more about tyre labelling here or visit. For more information, contact our helpful team who will be happy to help or visit your local Formula One Autocentre today.