EU Tyre Label

Example of EU Tyre Label 

What is the EU Tyre Label?

It’s a compulsory set of icons and ratings which specify the fuel consumption, wet grip and noise classification of every car, van and heavy truck tyre sold in EU since November 2012.

By law, tyre suppliers must either put a sticker on the tyre tread or a label on each delivery of tyres to the dealer and/or customer. This applies to car and light commercial vehicle tyres. They must also provide the same information in their technical literature (leaflets, brochures, etc), and on their website, for  passenger, light commercial vehicles, and truck/bus tyres.

How does it help?

The label is there to help trade and consumers differentiate between tyres, by means of a standardised method of testing. It clearly states which are the higher quality, and therefore safer, tyres for the conditions in which they’re likely to drive.

Information is broken down into:

• Fuel efficiency, associated with the tyre’s rolling resistance
• The tyre’s external noise level, measured in decibels
• The tyre’s wet grip

How does the grading system work?

The scale for Fuel Efficiency is broken down into seven grades with A (green) denoting the highest performance tyres and G (red) the least performing. 

Again, grades A to G are used to indicate the tyre’s grip on wet roads. A has the highest wet grip performance, and therefore the shortest braking distance on wet roads while G has the lowest wet grip performance.

The tyre’s exterior noise is measured in decibels compared with the legal limits. One black wave indicates the best noise level and three waves the worst. 

What do these ratings actually mean?

Fuel efficiency ratings:

• Tyres account for up to 20% of your vehicle’s fuel consumption so, if you want to get more miles per tank of fuel, you should choose tyres with a high fuel efficiency rating. You will also lower your CO2 emissions.
• It comes down to rolling resistance i.e. the energy lost when a tyre is moving. The lower the rolling resistance, the less energy is lost and the lower your fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
• The difference between an A-rated tyre and a G-rated tyre could be as much as 6 litres per 625 miles.
  

Exterior noise ratings:

• One black wave indicates that the exterior noise level of the tyre is at least 3dB below the legal limit. This is the quietest level.
• Two black waves meet the new legal limit.
• Three black waves is the noisest level and was the maximum legal limit under previous regulations.

Braking performance ratings:

• Tyres with high wet grip performance (A or B graded) have shorter braking distances on wet roads and are, therefore, safer in the rain.
• As with fuel efficiency, the D grade isn’t used and there are no plans to use G.
• The difference between each grade is approximately 3 metres – the equivalent of an average car. Put in context, this means the better your wet grip, the lower the chance of you being involved in a car accident.

How are these grades tested?

Tyre manufacturers are responsible for assessing and classifying their tyres according to carefully defined methods approved by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNEC). Wet grip and external rolling noise are tested in real conditions outdoors. Rolling resistance (fuel efficiency rating) is tested indoors using a test rig.

What information is NOT provided on the EU label?

Although the EU label is a useful guide for both retailers and consumers, they are not the only considerations to take into account when buying tyres. For example, they don’t account for: resistance to aquaplaning, driving stability, handling performance on wet and dry roads, tyre durability, braking performance on dry roads and the tyre’s abilities to cope with winter weather.

EU Tyre Label Viewer

Below you can find our EU Tyre Label viewer for all Uniroyal products. Just enter the requested values and your eu tyre label will be available.