WTF? Vested interest?
Ok, last post from me I think.
There is this tyre labelling scheme, which tells you pretty much what you need to know. It’s been around a couple of years now.
For 205/55/R16 (fairly common size), the cheapest ditchfinders on blackcircles.com are £50 and has a wet rating of “E”.
Same site, Uniroyal rainsports, £76 have a wet rating of “A”.
So, can we put this one to bed yet?
Wet braking performance is also categorised in seven classes. An A-rated tyre provides the shortest braking distances on wet roads whereas a G-rated tyre will have the longest braking distance in the wet. Driving on four A-rate tyres at 50mph can help you stop up to 18m* shorter, which is approximately 4 car lengths, than if you were driving on four G-rated tyres (Source: European Commission impact assessment SEC (2008) 2860). * When measured according to the test methods set out in Regulation EC 1222/2009 – See more at: http://www.tyresafe.org/tyre-safety/tyre-labelling-information/wet-breaking#sthash.CqcOFnWI.dpuf
Yes, I know, E and G are different. I can’t be arsed to find out how much different, I’m losing the will to live.