The EU Tyre Label informs the consumer about three important criteria of a tyre: rolling resistance, wet grip and noise emissions. Tyres designed for heavy snow conditions feature the "3 Peaks and Snow" or "Alpine" symbol on their sidewall. Nordic winter tyres for use on icy surfaces carry a new symbol representing an ice stalagmite. But also other important properties are relevant to safety and should be taken into account when choosing new tyres, including aquaplaning properties, road grip, life expectancy and durability, steering precision, mileage, braking properties on dry and wet roads, as well as performance in winter conditions.
Manufacturers point out that the EU Tyre Label should not be considered as a substitute for further, more in-depth information that can be obtained from scientific sources such as tyre tests and journals. The Tyre Label can sometimes only give a limited overview of a tyre's performance, especially about winter tyres, as no form of performance in winter conditions is shown on the label.
Tyre tests conducted by automotive journals remain one of the most important and meaningful sources of information about a tyre's performance for the end consumer, as they often test up to 11 other safety-related tyre properties, compared to the three indicated on the tyre label.
At www.tyretest.com you will find a large international and independent consumer platform for tyre evaluation, where regular drivers have tested their tyres under normal driving conditions and given their ratings.
From November 1st, 2012 with some important updates in 2021, all tyres available for sale must carry a tyre label. This Tyre Label must show the tyre's classes according to the EU Tyre Label criteria regarding rolling resistance, wet grip and noise emissions. The EU Tyre Label Directive is binding for all EU member states and applies to all passenger car, light truck and truck tyres of classes C1, C2 and C3.
