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Home > Tyres > Tyre Basics > North American Standards

North American Standards

The North American tyre market requires all tyres to be marked with UTQG ratings. The paragraphs below explain what these markings mean and how to read them.

Quality Grading
UTQG. This means Uniform Tyre/Quality Grading and is a requirement for all tyres sold in the USA. It consists of three gradings, based on tests carried out under conditions specified by US Government Regulations. The gradings are for:

wear
traction
temperature

Tread wear
The grading is a number which represents a comparative grading of tread life related to a defined standard which is rated 100. Therefore a tyre rated 240 would last 2.4 times longer under the test conditions.

Tread wear grades typically range from 60 to 500, in more than 20 point increments. It's important to remember that the actual life of any tyre is determined by the road surface quality, driving habits, inflation pressure, wheel alignment and rotation it experiences.

Traction
Traction grades indicate the measurement of a tyre's ability to stop a car in straight-ahead motion on wet test surface pavement. They do not measure straight-ahead acceleration. It is important to remember that the traction rating tests are performed only for straight-ahead sliding on concrete and asphalt surfaces that have a specified depth of water which simulates most road surfaces in a rainstorm. The ratings that result from these tests may not apply to cornering traction or peak values of straight-ahead braking force like those experienced in non-skid braking tests. Traction grades range from A to C, A being the highest attainable grade.

Temperature
Temperature grades also range from A to C, with A being the highest. Temperature grades represent a properly maintained tyre's ability to dissipate heat under controlled indoor test wheel conditions.

Example: Tread wear 140 Traction A Temperature B