Tire rating question/guidance

Long time lurker. Used to post but life happened. Now, I'm tasked to find tires for the wife's 20 Grand Cherokee. We've always run no seasons Continentals on her previous coupes and her last Grand Cherokee. Where the conundrum comes in is her 17 Grand Cherokee had 265/50-20 T rated tires on them, so we were able to put on the Continental CrossContact LX25s on, but on her 20 Grand Cherokee it has same size but V rated tires. Continental does not make a 265/50-20 V rated tire. 
 

This is a street vehicle, city and highway speeds, no extreme off roading. We live in the north, snow, ice and E36 M3. The Continentals were great. 

I've have really mixed opinions from tire shops. 

So, my question is even though the 20 is a V rated tire now, could one go with the T rated tire being it was standard equipment a few years back and same platform? Or do I need to find a new V rated tire?

Guidance/recommendations/flack/whatever appreciated. 

In your case, the speed rating is less of an issue than the load rating. The general rule of thumb we used when using different tires was if you were going to drop speed rating, make sure the load rating is the same or higher. Never drop both.

Keep it under 118 (that's what T speed rating means) and you'll be fine. I can't remember the last time I specifically looked at speed rating when I was buying tires.

when are you even coming close to the max speed rating of that tire on your wifes daily?

Falken WildPeak A/T Trail is available in 265/50-20 with the V speed rating and an increased (111 vs 107) load rating... It's a true winter-rated (3-peak mountain snowflake) 'on-road' (soft-road) A/T tire, that looks more aggressive than it is, and has been a fantastic all-around CUV tire for our family. Highly recommended.

I appreciate the responses. I wasn't factoring in the load rating at all.

Even though it has the hood of the SRT(Limited X), doubtful the Jeep will ever crack 100mph, unless it is a very bad day. And she doesn't drive spirited either. Her previous Continentals she still had 6-6.5/32 after driving 70k on them. 

Where it was confusing is 1 shop said that the difference between a V and T are too many ratings apart and they only can go 1 rating in either direction. I asked what was the next rating and he couldn't tell me. Another shop said that I would be losing significant handling and tow capabilities by going with a T rated tire(even though her 17 Grand Cherokee had factory tow and T rated tires). It all just got confusing, seemed somewhat legit, but somewhat E36 M3 as well. 

H and now U are in between, but that's really immaterial - you need a real tire shop where they understand what speed ratings mean, and don't mean, and why they matter. Or at least get out of the way.

You could use the T-rated Contis that you like. A look at Tire Rack shows lots of great 3-peak Severe Snow Service choices like the V-rated Falken mentioned above, or the H-rated Yoko Geolander G015 that I've had on my 4runner for a couple seasons and really like: pretty quiet, very good in wet and snow.

If you want to tweak the speed-rating weenies the Vredestein Quatrac Pro is Y-rated in that size, good for 186mph. I like those on my old Volvo, great on gravel but haven't tried them in the snow.

The rubber in a tire deforms as it rolls into and out of the contact patch, this deformation generates heat.  The faster you go, the more often that happens and the hotter they get.  Speed ratings tell you how fast a speed you can sustain without the tire failing from that heat.  Generally speaking, an OEM will supply a car with tires that are rated to go at least the maximum speed of the vehicle.

So... how fast will your Grand Cherokee go?  Is there a governor on it?  The "right" answer is to do what the manufacturer did and put tires with that speed rating on it.  Yes, you could go with tires that have a lower speed rating and just remember not to drive that fast, but can you guarantee that everyone else who drives the vehicle will do the same thing?  Teenage children?  What if you sell it before the tires are replaced?

As mentioned above, load rating is also important.  Arguably MORE important, since you're much more likely to test the weight limits of the vehicle than you are the top speed (at least here in the US with our speed limit enforcement).

I would recommend calling up Tire Rack and talking to them on the phone.  Their staff are generally very knowledgeable about tires and willing to spend the time to find the right solution.  They've got a huge warehouse with tons of stuff in stock, so that also works around the local tire store problem where they want to sell you what's on the shelf.

I don't understand. T rating is 118, V rating is 149. You're never going to get anywhere near either of those speeds with that vehicle and use case. You've already thought about this entirely too much. Get the tires you want and find someone that will install them.

Alternatively if you're really hung up on it, michelin crossclimate2 in that size are V rated and are arguably better tires. $200 more though.

In reply to dps214 :

agreed, you could get a speed rating of 120, what is the liklihood your daily driver suv is gonna need that speed rating ever?

Another Wildpeak vote and Fallen just came out with a more budget conscious version that isn't as aggressive looking that slots below the Wildpeak A/T, I'll get the name of it today.

Also, based upon the username, don't be a stranger around here. More BG chassis people are always welcome. 

I have Falken Wildpeaks on my AWD van.  They do everything well, but they're not lasting very long.  I think I'll get 25k out of them.  Former truck had Continental TerrainContact and I contemplated keeping the tires when I sold the truck.  They're that good.

Both the Wildpeak and the TerrainContact are designed for exactly what you're doing - 99% street/rain/snow/whatever and still do well on a muddy road.

As far as the speed rating is concerned, I don't even look at it anymore.  Way too many important factors in choosing a tire to worry about if I want to die at 118 or 149 mph.  I'll never see either one unless I'm in a race with a tire chosen for what I'm doing.

As far as load rating, that is a very important factor.  My Pappy always had trucks because he and grandma camped in the back.  He never carried lumber, gravel, or anything other than a topper and a mattress.  For that reason, he always bought passenger tires because of the ride and (usually) better wear.  As far as his life went, he was driving a passenger car that had a bed.  I don't think it's an issue to get under-rated tires, but you (meaning your wife) will have to be more attentive to what the vehicle actually weighs in the future.  For that reason, I suggest getting properly rated tires and then you'll never have to wonder.

I don't suggest going over-rated either.  It can ruin the ride if you go too far.  Dad still laughs at himself for putting E-range tires on mom's Blazer because they were on sale and cheaper than the normal XL tires.  That thing rode like a 1-ton truck.

Also, keep in mind that the max tire load is rated at max psi.  Air is what suspends the load, not the tire.  So if you have two of the same model of tire, and one is rated for 2000 lbs at 50 psi, and the other is rated for 2300 lbs at 65 psi, it won't make much difference since you'll be inflating them both to 35psi (or whatever your door tag says).  The difference is that the 2300-lb rated version (generalization here) will likely ride a little stiffer because the sidewalls will be beefier to safely hold the higher max pressure.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I have Falken Wildpeaks on my AWD van.  They do everything well, but they're not lasting very long.  I think I'll get 25k out of them. 

Which Wildpeaks? The CUV targeted 'Trail' version on ours started with 11/32, and 22k later has only lost 3/32. So it might struggle to hit the 65k warranty at the current rate, although natural aging (hardening) of the rubber would probably help it get there it if we weren't going to age them out before wearing them out.

In reply to Driven5 :

That's what I have.  The "trail."  Purchased 4/18/22.  I doubt they'll pass inspection in Feb '24.  Rotated every other oil change, and an alignment was done when they were installed.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Interesting. If the AWD van you're talking is the Express, I'd guess the difference might be related to them seemingly being intended more for lighter duty vehicles.

Edit: As far as I can tell from the limited info available, the Rubitrek might be replacing the Wildpeak A/T3W 'A' as their 'on-road' A/T tire built more for full-frame vehicles, since the latter no longer shows up on the Falken website... Which was always too closely named to the more off-road oriented 'original' Wildpeak A/T3W anyway.

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

Another Wildpeak vote and Fallen just came out with a more budget conscious version that isn't as aggressive looking that slots below the Wildpeak A/T, I'll get the name of it today.

 

 

Also, based upon the username, don't be a stranger around here. More BG chassis people are always welcome. 

There was recently an article from GRM about a Falken SUV/CUV tire that had similar performance to the Wildpeak, but less aggressive appearance and (I think) lower price. 
 

edit: Falken Rubitrek - I didn't check sizes and speed/load ratings. 

In reply to Driven5 :

They are on the Express.  I suppose it's possible, but the four tires are rated for up to way more than the GVWR.  8800 lbs worth of tire capacity on a van with a curb weight of 5000 (and never hauled anything heavy... just lumber and crap) seems to be a satisfactory combo.