UTQG Tire Rating Explained: Rating Charts 2026

Ever noticed numbers and letters on your tire’s sidewall, such as 500 A A? That’s your tire’s UTQG rating. UTQG stands for Uniform Tire Quality Grading, a system coined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the U.S. to grade passenger tires on treadwear, traction, and temperature: how long your tires last, how well they grip on wet roads, and how much heat they can handle. Below you’ll find what UTQG means on tires, how to read a UTQG rating, a full UTQG rating chart, a treadwear rating chart that explains numbers like 300, 500, and 600, the traction and temperature grades, and what counts as a good UTQG rating for your driving style.

What Do the Letters UTQG Mean?

The "UTQG" stands for the Uniform Tire Quality Grade. This tire marking shows the temperature the tire can handle, its traction potential, and treadwear. The tire grade system is required by the Department of Transportation (DOT) under federal regulation 49 CFR 575.104, so every graded tire is tested and labeled using the same procedure.

UTQG grades apply to passenger tires, except winter, deep-tread and temporary spare tires. The UTQG rating chart:

Read also the Comprehensive Guide to Tire E Load Rating to know more about tire ratings. 

Which Tires Have a UTQG Rating?

UTQG grades apply to new passenger car tires sold in the U.S. The regulation excludes the following tire types, so you will not find a UTQG rating on their sidewalls:

• Winter-type snow tires and deep-tread tires
• Temporary-use and space-saver spare tires
• Tires with a rim diameter of 12 inches or less
• Limited-production tires (15,000 or fewer tires per year of a given design and size)
• Light truck (LT) tires, which fall outside the passenger tire scope

Who Assigns UTQG Grades?

Tire manufacturers and brand owners assign their own UTQG grades. NHTSA sets the test procedures and supplies the course monitoring tires that every treadwear result is measured against. Manufacturers test their tires, in-house or through third-party test companies, and mold the grades onto the sidewall. Treadwear is tested on a roughly 400-mile public road course near San Angelo, Texas; traction on wet test pads; and temperature on a laboratory test wheel. NHTSA audits the printed grades at its San Angelo Test Facility by testing tires and comparing the results with the manufacturer's published grade.

How to Read a UTQG Rating on a Tire

The UTQG rating is molded into the sidewall in a fixed order: TREADWEAR (number), TRACTION (letters), TEMPERATURE (letter). Online listings and spec sheets shorten it to a single code such as 500 A A, 500AA, or 600 AA A. Read the code left to right:

• The number is the treadwear grade.
• The first letter group is the traction grade (AA, A, B, or C).
• The last letter is the temperature grade (A, B, or C).

A code written without spaces, such as 600AA, means treadwear 600, traction A, temperature A. A code with three letters, such as 520AAA, means treadwear 520, traction AA, temperature A. The sidewall itself prints each grade next to its label, which removes any doubt.

Common UTQG Codes Decoded

Important: UTQG grades are comparison tools, not mileage guarantees. A tire rated 800 will not automatically last exactly twice as long as one rated 400 in the real world, as driving habits, road textures, climate, and vehicle alignment heavily dictate actual lifespan. Furthermore, because manufacturers assign their own final scores, these multipliers are only truly reliable when comparing tire models within the exact same brand.

Tire Treadwear Rating Chart

A tire treadwear rating chart places every treadwear grade on one scale, from low grades that wear fastest to high grades that last longest. Use it in three steps: find the treadwear number on the sidewall (for example, TREADWEAR 500), locate that number on the chart, and read the tread life band and the driving style it matches.

The chart compares grades directly: a tire graded 400 is expected to last twice as long as a tire graded 200 under the same conditions, in the government test. High grades (500 and above) belong to touring and all-season tires built for mileage. Low grades (100–300) belong to performance tires that trade tread life for grip. Chart values are comparative, not mileage guarantees:

How Is the Treadwear Grade Tested?

Candidate tires run in a vehicle convoy on an approximately 400-mile public road course near San Angelo, Texas, for a total of about 6,400 miles. Standardized course monitoring tires run alongside them so the results can be adjusted for road and weather severity. The measured wear rate is converted into a grade relative to a reference value of 100, then rounded down to the nearest 20-point increment. That rounding rule, set by federal law, is why every treadwear grade is a multiple of 20: 320, 420, 460, 500, 520, 540, 640, 740, 840.

Treadwear Numbers Explained: 300, 400, 500, 600, 800 

Every treadwear number expresses wear life relative to a tire graded 100. Divide the number by 100 to get the multiple: treadwear 500 means the tire wore 5 times as slowly as the 100-grade reference in the government test.

How Many Miles Is a 500 Treadwear Rating?

UTQG treadwear doesn’t convert to miles. The grade compares a tire’s wear with a reference tire over the same government test of about 6,400 miles, and the manufacturer assigns it, so a 500 tire has no fixed mileage. For a mileage figure, check the tire’s treadwear warranty, which the manufacturer states in miles. Use the treadwear grade to compare models, ideally within the same brand.

Tire Temperature Rating Chart

A tire temperature rating chart ranks the three temperature grades, A, B, and C, from the highest heat resistance to the lowest. Use it in three steps: find the TEMPERATURE grade on the sidewall, locate it on the chart, and read how much heat and speed the tire handles.

On the chart, A sits at the top: the tire handles hot conditions and sustained high speed. B sits in the middle: moderate heat resistance for average temperatures and standard driving. C sits at the bottom: the minimum level every passenger tire must meet, unsuitable for extreme driving and high speed.

What is a Good Tire Temperature Rating?

A good tire temperature rating is within A and B rating. The A rating is a good option for high-speed, performance, and driving in hot climate. The B rating is a good option for regular driving. The C tire rating works well for low-speed or controlled driving. Tires wih C rating should never be used for extreme driving. 

How Is the Temperature Grade Tested?

The temperature grade represents the tire's ability to withstand and dissipate heat. In the federal test, an inflated and loaded tire runs against a laboratory test wheel, and the speed increases in steps until the tire fails or completes the test. Sustained heat degrades tire materials and shortens tire life, so a higher grade means a safer margin at speed.

Tire Temperature A vs B: What's the Difference?

A temperature A tire withstood test speeds above 115 mph without failing. A temperature B tire withstood 100–115 mph. Both grades are safe for legal highway speeds. Choose A for hot climates, sustained highway driving, heavy loads, and performance cars. B is suitable for commuting in moderate climates. Temperature B appears most often on high-mileage tires, where harder compounds trade some heat resistance for longer tread life.

Tire Traction Rating Chart

A tire traction rating chart ranks the four traction grades from the strongest wet braking to the weakest: AA, A, B, and C. Use it in three steps: find the TRACTION grade on the sidewall, locate it on the chart, and read how well the tire grips and stops on wet roads.

On the chart, AA sits at the top with the best wet grip and braking. A delivers solid traction in standard driving conditions. B suits less demanding conditions. C sits at the bottom with the lowest wet traction.

What Is a Good Tire Traction Grade?

The "AA" rating is the safest tire rating. It ensures high performance and safety. AA is the highest traction grade: the strongest wet braking in the government test. Choose it if you drive often on wet roads.They provide best grip, traction and braking, especially in wet conditions.

How Is the Traction Grade Tested?

The traction grade measures straight-line wet braking. A test trailer locks the candidate tire at 40 mph on wet asphalt and wet concrete surfaces, and the braking force is recorded as a friction coefficient. The tire must clear both thresholds to earn a grade:

The traction grade does not measure cornering grip, acceleration, hydroplaning resistance, dry braking, or snow and ice traction.

Tire Traction AA vs A vs B

AA tires produce the strongest wet stopping force in the test and suit drivers in rainy regions and performance vehicles. A tires deliver dependable wet braking and are the most common grade on all-season passenger tires. B tires stop with less force on wet pavement and appear mainly on high-mileage and economy tires. If you drive often on wet roads, choose A or AA over B.

What Is the Best UTQG Rating?

The highest possible traction and temperature grades are AA and A. Treadwear has no upper limit in the regulation, and the longest-lasting passenger tires carry grades in the 800s. No single code is best for every driver, because a harder, longer-wearing compound trades away grip, and a softer, grippier compound wears faster. Match the UTQG code to your priority:

• Maximum tread life: treadwear 700+, traction A, temperature A or B
• Everyday all-season balance: treadwear 500–600, traction A, temperature A
• Wet-road safety: traction AA, temperature A, treadwear 400–600
• Performance handling: treadwear 200–400, traction AA, temperature A

What UTQG Ratings Don't Tell You

• Cross-brand treadwear comparisons are approximate. Each manufacturer grades its own tires, so treadwear numbers are most reliable when comparing tires from the same brand.
• UTQG is not a speed rating or load index. The speed rating and load index are separate markings in the tire size code.
• UTQG does not grade winter performance. Snow and ice capability is shown by the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, not by UTQG.