You may have noticed markings on the sidewall of your tyres, those are UTQG ‘Uniform Tire Quality Grading’ rating for Treadwear, Traction and Temperature. The higher the rating, the better the tyre is rated to perform.
The UTQG rating originated in America. By law, all SUV and car tyres sold in America must have these ratings marked on the sidewall. While not legally required here in Australia, you will find many tyres still have this information on them. This information gives you an easy way to compare tyres against one another, using universal ratings.
Cooper tyres last longer and go further because of one big difference, Cooper’s high UTQG Rating.
TREADWEAR GRADES
Treadwear grades are an indication of a tyre’s wear rate. The higher the treadwear number, the longer it takes for the tread to wear down.
Treadwear grades are tested under controlled conditions using four vehicles fitted with test tyres that run-in convoy. The vehicles repeatedly run a specified 640km road course for a total of 11,520km. Tread depths are measured every 1,280km and the measurements are averaged to give a projected wear-out life.
A ‘standard’ control tyre is assigned a grade of 100 and the treadwear rates of all test tyres are compared to it. For example, a tyre grade of 200 should take twice as long as the control tyre to wear out.
TRACTION GRADES
Traction grades are an indication of a tyre’s ability to stop in the wet. A higher grade should allow your vehicle to stop on wet roads in a shorter distance than a tyre with a lower grade.
Traction is graded from highest to lowest as AA, A, B and C.
TEMPERATURE GRADES
Temperature grades are an indication of a tyre’s resistance to heat. The higher the grade, the more resistant the tyre would be to the generation of heat at speed. Sustained high temperatures (for example, driving long distances in hot weather), can cause a tyre to deteriorate.
A tyre’s resistance to heat is graded from highest to lowest as A, B or C.
Not sure what your treadwear rating is but have a common vehicle? We’ve done some comparisons already for SUVs and 4WDs.
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Look for the treadwear rating on your car tyre. Not all tyres have this information, ask your tyre guy or mechanic if you can’t find it.
- Get the treadwear rating of the two tyres you want to compare.
- Get the price of each tyre, the Cooper tyre and the other brand tyre.
- Click on the Compare & Save button below and work out you’re saving.