To help the consumer choose the appropriate tyre for their vehicle. In November 2012 the EU introduced a simple way of indicating the characteristics of all tyres manufactured after this date. An EU tyre label which illustrates 3 main classes, wet braking, fuel economy and external noise pollution.

The EU tyre label rating for braking & fuel classes are rated from ‘A’ to ‘G’. ‘A’ being the highest rated to ‘G’ which the lowest. The rating for the noise levels are illustrated by a three wave scale and noise level in decibel (dB), one black wave being the lower noise level.

Classes

1. Wet braking

Wet braking includes driving through rain, sleet, snow and foggy conditions. Braking during these conditions will alter your stopping distance considerably. Road stopping distances should be increased and speeds should be reduced to cater for these hazardous conditions. Legally your tyres should have at least 1.6mm of tyre tread. The deeper the tread the better for these conditions as it will evacuate the excess surface water from under your tyres, giving you better traction/grip.

• ‘A’ rated tyres are the safest

• ‘G’ rated the worst performance

2. Fuel economy

In this day and age increasing fuel costs is unfortunately unavoidable, so choosing a tyre which gives you the best fuel efficiency for your budget is a recommended option. As over time the highest rated tyre will give you a saving over the less efficient fuel economy tyres. So switching to the most efficient tyres can reduce your fuel consumption up to 9% over the life of your tyres.

• ‘A’ most efficient

• ‘G’ the least efficient

3. External noise

Manufacturers design tyres for all driving styles and conditions for example low profile, run flat and reinforced. Tyre anatomy also vary due to wall structures and materials used. All these factors contribute to the noise levels of tyres. To ensure that tyre manufactures do not contribute considerably to the environmental noise levels, the EU have enforced the three wave scale;

• One wave - low

• Two waves – medium

• Three waves - high