Speed rating (the V in 91V)
The speed symbol is the tyre’s speed category, the maximum speed it can sustain: T = 190 km/h, H = 210 km/h, V = 240 km/h, W = 270 km/h, Y = 300 km/h (UN Regulation No. 30, paragraph 2.29.1).
What to do with it
Fit tyres with at least the speed symbol the vehicle maker specifies, unless the vehicle maker or local law allows lower for winter tyres. Goodyear notes that winter (M+S) tyres with a lower rating may be used if a sticker showing the maximum speed is in the driver’s view and you do not exceed it.
Read the size on your tyre: the tyre size decoder →
- What it looks like
- One letter right after the load index: the V in 91V, the H in 91H, the Y in 94Y.
- Set by
- UN Regulation No. 30, paragraphs 2.29 and 2.29.1 (speed categories L–Y), 2.31, 3.1.4; UN Regulation No. 54, paragraph 2.28.2 (speed categories F–H)
In detail
- The full table from the regulations: F 80, G 90, J 100, K 110, L 120, M 130, N 140, P 150, Q 160, R 170, S 180, T 190, U 200, H 210, V 240, W 270, Y 300 km/h. F to K come from UN R54, the commercial-vehicle regulation; L to Y from UN R30.
- H is out of alphabetical order: it sits between U (200) and V (240).
- The speed goes with the load: the load index is what the tyre carries at that speed, and above 210 km/h UN R30 reduces the load allowed (a V tyre at 240 km/h: 91 %).
- Above 300 km/h there is no higher letter. The tyre is marked ZR and the service description goes in brackets, like (95Y); the maker states the actual maximum speed.
What it does not mean
The letter is not a recommended cruising speed and not a grade of grip or handling. It does not raise any speed limit, and it holds only when the tyre is correctly inflated and within its load.
Markings that go with it
Sources
Each document was fetched and read on the date shown; the clause is the one that sets this marking.
- UNECE, as published in the Official Journal of the EU: UN Regulation No. 30 — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of pneumatic tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers, Revision 3 (OJ L 201, 30.7.2008) — paragraphs 2.29 and 2.29.1 (speed categories L–Y), 2.31, 3.1.4: “‘Speed category’ means the maximum speed which the tyre can sustain, expressed by speed category symbol”; the table gives L 120 … T 190, U 200, H 210, V 240, W 270, Y 300 km/h. Checked 2026-09-28.
- UNECE, as published in the Official Journal of the EU: UN Regulation No. 54 — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of pneumatic tyres for commercial vehicles and their trailers (OJ L 183, 11.7.2008) — paragraph 2.28.2 (speed categories F–H): Commercial tyres add F 80, G 90, J 100 and K 110 km/h, with L to H as in UN R30. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Goodyear (UK): How To Read Your Tyre Sidewall Markings — “Speed rating”: “The speed rating is the maximum speed for a tyre when it is correctly inflated and being used under load”; winter (M+S) tyres with a lower rating need a maximum-speed sticker in the driver’s field of vision. Checked 2026-09-28.