Comments on: Ratings Formulas: The Math NHTSA is Doing to Help You Make Better Tire Choices

By: NYCMuscleman18

NYCMuscleman18 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:16:59 +0000

I think standardized ratings are a problem for me because the difference between 40 and 100 re. efficiency will almost never be the same as the difference between 40 and 100 re. traction. Depending on the distribution of each measure, the difference could be drastic. So when I’m evaluating all three and considering the tradeoff, I don’t have as much information to compare.

By: Moderator

Moderator — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:50:08 +0000

Hello NYCMuscleman18,

You make an interesting point about the qualitative and quantitative differences in scoring. If NHTSA created a standardized metric on which all tires would be measured, some tires would receive a higher score, perhaps a 100, and other a lower score, such as 40. Would that be enough information that the first tire would serve the consumer better for fuel efficiency than the second tire, or would you prefer a more concrete quantitative approach?

Moderator

By: NYCMuscleman18

NYCMuscleman18 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:45:05 +0000

I don’t know how to measure the tradeoff between traction and fuel efficiency, and the lack of real units probably won’t help. I assume NHTSA makes it illegal to sell tires with dangerously low traction, but what’s the difference between a score of 40 and a score of 100? Without that information, I have more information when I make my decision, but I’m probably not using that information well. en