What are the regulations in the US?

I can never be sure from reading on the forums if there's:
1. any restriction on an owner fitting what they like regardless of the OEM "standard"
2. if there is restriction - applied by individual States (like the varying requirements for front registrations plates) or the same for the whole country

Graham

 

Of course, tires are regulated by Federal law in the USA.
https://one.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/NH...extfmt=default
Tire dealers won't install the "wrong" tires on a vehicle because of legal liability in the event of an accident.

 

As Federal law, that is mandatory, applies to entire USA and is not subject to variation by individual States?

Regulations are a minefield. I had a tyre blow out on a new courtesy car in Spain when my XK was in for repair 700 miles away. Unlike the UK, Spanish regulations don't allow replacement of an individual tyre. Both LH and RH have to be replaced regardless of wear. I was horrified having to buy two new tyres but the dealer reimbursed the cost in full when I returned the car.

Graham

 

i'm far from a constitutional lawyer but my understanding of this is that yes, those are the terms for most regulatory agencies between the US and the states, but the authority is derived through the commerce clause, which (for some reason) means they can lean on tire manufacturers to pay for these tests, but not on you personally to match the tire to the car. if something is legal to sell, you can buy it, and you can fit it. since a tire could be sold across state lines, the tire itself is subject to the commerce clause (i guess). and NHTSA is essentially chartered by the US to write regulations consistent with the US laws that establish NHTSA to fine-tune them into an effective set of tools for consumer protection or whatever else they are established to do. regulations that are found to be inconsistent with the laws, like laws inconsistent with the constitution, are null and void, and in general you can flatly ignore them long before the matter is taken to court. the risk is yours to take, if you will.

i know nothing about tire shops needing to protect their liability insurance except that that's definitely true; that they have policies and they stick to them. some of them won't take a shredded tire off your car for inspection and then put it back on, claiming their policy is at risk if they don't fit a new tire to the wheel. for all i know this may have nothing to do with NHTSA or DOT or any state regulator and might just be the insurers/underwriters own demand.

 

to steer myself back on topic,

bear in mind a lot of that pleasure can be felt through the tire, if i am reading you right. you could buy a very cheap tire with a lower speed rating than the vehicle's max speed, but if you take the car out infrequently on these tires, cold, they may not last long, or corner well, or launch well. likely will be loud, and inconsistent. pleasure is subjective but just note that manufacturers package features together. an S-rated summer tire is safe at low enough speed for the prevailing conditions, but is unlikely to be quiet, grippy, and also resilient over the seasons. you may not like the purchase.

 

The US and UK aren't that different, even though we drive on different sides of the road. A red traffic light means STOP and a green light means GO.

I suspect that our tire laws are very similar. But people on both sides of the pond blow through red lights all the time, so I also suspect that the tire laws are similarly respected.

One significant difference is that in the USA some, but not all, states require motor vehicles to pass an annual safety inspection inspection (lights, brakes, tires, etc.) in order to renew their license plates (tags), in addition to passing an emissions inspection (unless exempt). Depending on the state, inspection stations are either state owned and operated or privately-owned and operated.

The State of Georgia has no safety inspection law, so there are a lot of unsafe vehicles on the roads. Police will stop and ticket drivers with inoperable headlights or taillights, but they can't tell if the brakes or tires are bad until after the accident happens.

At the opposite extreme is the State of New Jersey, which owns and operates Inspection Stations throughout the state. They inspect new cars after 5 years and thereafter every 2 years.

In my experience, some drivers need to be inspected more than their cars!

 

Q: What's more dangerous than a bald tire?
A: A loose nut behind the wheel!

 

I've always bought "Not The Recommended Application For This Vehicle" tires and nobody cares. As long as that disclaimer is on the paperwork any tire shop I've been at will install whatever the heck you want on any car. Course that doesn't mean that the shops don't use it as an Upsell tactic.
I've never seen anyone at an annual Safety Inspection (MOT) even look at a Speed Rating. Not even the Manufacture Date, just the tread depth.

 

Try doing that at Costco. They might sell it to you, but they will not install a tire that fails to meet or exceed the speed rating of the OEM tire supplied by the factory.https://tires.costco.com/Disclaimers

 

So then I guess it depends on where you buy. Costco can be **** because presumed liability and since vast quantity is their motto, it's easier to tell the consumer what to buy than to barter.
There still isn't any annual requirement though, as far as I have ever experienced in any of the ..... seven states I've lived in so far.

 

It's the same here with the Annual Test (MoT) - tread depth and sidewall damage.

The problem comes with insurance. In the event of an accident, insurers are looking for any reason to reduce their liability. A C&U (Construction & Use) Regulations infringement or an undeclared modification are all it takes.

Graham

 

Something to look into is tread depth.
Kumho's for my Jaguar had shorter tread depth, and MUCH shorter life than the more expensive competitors in same category.
They were less expensive up front, but would need replacement more often.
I did the math, it was not cost effective.

Tires are an ever changing game to learn.

 

In the old days, tires never wore out and ... well, ...
.

 

Same here - Hankooks installed by JLR dealer, and they perform well in dry and rain.

 

I've had a set on my XK8 and now my XKR. I think that they are really good tires or tires.

 

The deeper the tread, the nosier the tire.
Just happen to be putting Kumho's on today.

BTW - the Jag is in Granger, IN.

 

I have Firestone Firehawk Indy 500’s on my XKR, they run fine.

 

Aside from the braking distance and wear issues you might find on a less expensive tire, consider the load rating and speed rating of any tire. What makes it unsafe is not matching the correct specs to the vehicle. I will admit that I have put some lesser known brands on some of my old trucks that only see yard and work duty, but for the Jag and other road warriors, I would not skimp on tires for safety, aesthetic and performance reasons. Finding a good deal on a quality tire and buying an inferior tire are two different things. Still got a lot of meat on the Jag's Conti DWS's. You can probably find some at wholesale outlets at an acceptable price. Also, be sure that you check born on date, they do expire. In the US there is a manufacturer birthdate for tires as required by DOT, usually in a week/year format on the tire.

 

I use my 2010 XF Supercharged similarly to your description...(it's still under 30k miles so you get the picture). The car came with Dunlop OEM rubber. The road noise was awful and the tires always seemed "hard" and "slippy." After much TireRack reading trying to find the sweet spot between Michelin and Pirelli and off-brand, I bought Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires for replacement, and the car drives better than new. I just waited too long to pull the trigger. Now, my wife is nagging me to sell it! Ugh.

 

I'm running fullrun Chinese brand . I tried Dunlop-bridgestone- sumitomo- toyo . Full run is good as these brands better than sumitomo . The only thing I noticed it doesn't have the toyo proxies grip at 40mph while turning the car other than that it works great