What is the EU label and why is it important?
All tires sold throughout the European Union are bound by the EU label standard which provides clear information about the environmental and safety characteristics of the tire based on 3 main criteria: fuel consumption, wet road grip and noise level.
Understanding the role of these symbols, which appear on the tire label, helps to make decisions based on safety, ecology and fuel consumption considerations.
Fuel Consumption
Tires are responsible for about 20-30% of the vehicle’s fuel consumption and choosing energy efficient tires will lead to a significant reduction in fuel costs. The lower the tire’s rolling resistance, the more efficiently it works and consumes less fuel. A class A vehicle is a vehicle with the highest fuel utilization efficiency and the higher the letters of the classification go, the lower the efficiency, with each class representing a decrease of 0.1 liters per 100 km.
How much does it matter? Switching from a class G tire to a class A tire can improve fuel consumption by about 9%, but if the fuel-efficient tire is more expensive, the price difference must be deducted from the calculation of the saved fuel costs.
Wet Road Grip
The degree of grip on the road is a critical variable for the safety of the vehicle and the ride, and the wet grip rating indicates how well the tire will perform in wet conditions. The performance is rated from A to G and assuming an average driving speed of 80 km/h, a vehicle with a class A tire will brake after 28 meters while a vehicle with wet road grip level F will require 46.5 meters to brake to a complete stop. Note that this rating can make all the difference for you between a situation of avoiding an accident, almost getting into an accident, or, God forbid, an accident.
Noise Level
Noise level is the external rolling noise generated by the tire and measured in decibels. The number of full sound waves appearing in the drawing on the label indicates the noise level of the tires. A single sound wave means that the tire has the lowest noise level, between 67 and 71 dB, while the highest level of between 72 and 76 dB is represented by three full sound waves.
Despite all of the above, of course, each driver has their own driving style which also contributes to obtaining different results in all the above tests.
