Car Parts Faqs

New Car Tires?

I just got my two front tires replaced on my car. My old tires were 90V's and they have been replaced with 89V's. Would it be a big deal if my rear tires were 90V's. I was always under the impression the letter was the most important aspect of a tire and should match.

Public Comments

1. you should replace all just so their all evenly worn and if your going to obsess over it change em.
2. No big.
3. no bid deal as long as the back 2 are the same and same 4 the frunt
4. Hi, Dont worry nothing big difference will come.The main aspect you shud watch is that the tyre size like 225/50 R16 89 v where 225 means the width of the tire in cm 50 means the width/height ratio R16 means the the diameter of the disc is 16 inches 89 denotes the Load index v denotes speed symbol\ Pls refer to the link which I have given below which wil give you a complete information in the tire.
5. The "89" and "90" are the tires "Service Rating" or "Load Index", which indicates the load carrying capacity of the tire. The "V" is the speed rating, which indicates the maximum speed the tire can attain under a specified load for a specified period of time (the details of which are too long to get into here). Both tire sizes have the identical speed rating and as long as that rating meets or exceeds that of the OE tires on your car you are fine. So why are the numbers different? The 90V's probably conform to "Euro-Metric" design standards where the 89V's probably conform to "Passenger-Metric" standards. I'm guessing on this though because you did not give the complete size. These systems use slightly different load and inflation tables on otherwise identically sized tires. But according to the RMA "The Load Index may not be used independently to determine replacement tire acceptability for load capacity." Here is where it gets complicated. As an example, a P205/55R16 89V tire (which we know is Passenger-Metric because it has the "P" in front of the description) at 29 psi can carry a load of 1,157 lb. A Euro-Metric 205/55R16 90V (no "P" in the description) needs to be inflated to 31 psi to carry that same load. At 34 psi however, both tires have an identical load capacity of 1.257 lb. The P-Metric tire has a maximum load of 1,279 lb at 35 psi where the Euro-Metric tire has a maximum load of 1,323 lb at 36 psi however. And the Euro-Metric tire is likely to have a higher "maximum" inflation pressure (up to 51 psi) where a P-Metric tire will have a maximum inflation pressure, depending on brand and model of 35, 41 or perhaps 44 psi. Most high-performance and ultra-high performance tires with high speed ratings tend to be Euro-Metric for this reason. At high speeds you may need to run higher inflation pressures (another long story). Long story short, you may need to adjust your tire pressures very slightly but otherwise these tires should be fine. ASE Certified Automotive Service Advisor