Tyre Labelling

Selecting new tyres can be a difficult choice with many brands, specifications and personal preferences to take in to account. To ease the decision and help consumers to make a more informed choice, tyre labelling became mandatory in November 2012 under European Regulation.

The EU Tyre Label provides crucial information for consumers enabling them to understand what they can expect from their new tyres before they make their choice. This is similar to the labelling process used for white goods such as fridges, freezers and washing machines.

The three areas that the EU Tyre Label focuses on are fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise emission levels.

Fuel Efficiency

The EU Tyre Label measures the impact that a tyre has on a car’s fuel consumption and subsequent CO2 emissions.

The ‘rolling resistance’ or friction created by a tyre on the road causes energy to be lost and the lower the rolling resistance, the less energy used. This ultimately results in lower fuel consumption so tyres play an important role when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions and lowering fuel costs.

Fuel Efficiency is graded from A to G by the EU Tyre Label, with ‘A’ for the best performing and ‘G’ for the lowest performing tyre. If you choose tyres which have been rated ‘A’ for their Fuel Efficiency you could reduce your fuel consumption by up to £300 over the life of the tyres compared with choosing tyres which carry the ‘G’ rating.

Wet Performance

The way that tyres perform on wet surfaces is also graded by the EU Tyre Label. This is an important category as it tells consumers how efficiently they will be able to come to a stop in wet conditions, giving an indication of how safe the tyre will be.

As with Fuel Efficiency, The EU Tyre Label rates Wet Performance downwards, with the best performance in wet weather being awarded an ‘A’ and the lowest performing tyre receiving a ‘G’.

To put the EU Tyre Label grades in to clear perspective, you can expect a tyre which has been graded ‘A’ for its Wet Performance to stop 18 metres ahead of a ‘G’ rated tyre if both were travelling on wet roads at 50mph.

Exterior Noise

This category measures the amount of external noise tyres produce whilst driving. This is displayed in decibels and a visual bar rating.

The external noise produced by a tyre contributes to noise pollution, so the lower the rating the better. The visual bar rating displays one black line for the quietest tyre performance and three for the loudest.

A tyre which has been given a rating of three lines by the EU Tyre Label is perceived as being four times louder than one which has just one line.

The EU Tyre Label enables consumers to make a more informed tyre purchase as it is easier to understand the capabilities of the tyre.

At Dexel Tyre & Auto Centre we are committed to helping our customers making the most informed decision when it comes to selecting tyres which is why we will communicate as much information as possible on the relative performance of tyres.

If you require further advice and information regarding the purchase of your new tyres simply contact your local branch. To find out more about the wide range of tyres that we stock you can search for your new tyres online here.