Vehicle manufacturer homologations

Custom-made shoes, tailored to individual measurements, always fit perfectly and are comfortable to walk in. Similarly, sports equipment for athletes is often made to their size to deliver the best performance. But can you buy such special, unique shoes for your car? Spoiler: yes, but not always.

First and foremost, it depends on your car. When buying a new car or simply servicing it at an official service center, it's worth clarifying whether you need homologated tires or not. What is homologation? Translated from ancient Greek, it means to agree. In the modern world, homologation means compliance with certain requirements. There are automakers that have specific requirements for tires installed on their cars. As a rule, homologation is required for premium class cars and sports cars. These can be requirements for tire geometric dimensions, requirements for the composition of the rubber mixture, or simply a set of certain characteristics. The specific customer is the automaker. If a tire brand wants to be installed on this car in the primary package or have a recommendation on the secondary market, it needs to obtain homologation.

This process starts at the stage of tire design. The requirements for the tire are taken, and the process of modeling, selecting materials, and creating a tread pattern begins. Then there is a long process of testing and refining driving prototypes to achieve the desired result. And only after that can the tire receive the coveted marking. Such marking is a kind of guarantee that the car with these tires will fully reveal its potential and show the best characteristics laid down in it during construction. And from the side of the automotive brand, there is a kind of guarantee. No matter what tire brand you choose, if the tire has additional homologation, it means it is suitable for this car.

Homologation is usually indicated after all other markings. The most common ones are, for example, BMW - a star, Mercedes-Benz - MO, Porsche - N, and so on. There are cars on which it is not recommended to install tires without homologation at all. And there are reverse rules - it is not worth installing a tire with homologation on a car if it is not required or with homologation from another manufacturer. Sometimes this can lead to various problems, such as errors in electronic systems or uneven tire wear.

To understand which tires suit you, you need to look at the technical documentation or contact the service center. Correctly selected tires for your car will allow it to bring you a lot of pleasure while driving.