# ITV tyre requirements



## pete42 (Jan 17, 2017)

Hi There,
Does anybody know what the regulations for car tyres are to pass an ITV test? Our test is due next week and the tyres on the front of our car are a different make to those on the back. All have good tread and are not worn. Will the difference in manufacturer be a problem?
Many thanks
Pete


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

I wouldn't have thought so.

More important to the tester is are they the same size as shown on the vehicle "log book".


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

pete42 said:


> Hi There,
> Does anybody know what the regulations for car tyres are to pass an ITV test? Our test is due next week and the tyres on the front of our car are a different make to those on the back. All have good tread and are not worn. Will the difference in manufacturer be a problem?
> Many thanks
> Pete


Hola 

it is the tyre rating that matters; it defines speed and weight etc. If you get the wrong tester then they may object if you have different manufacturers on the same axle but most won't. 

I suggest this clarification https://www.dunlop.eu/en_gb/consumer/learn/how-to-read-your-tire-sidewall-markings.html 

I should add that it's best to turn up and accept what they tell you - they have no axe to grind by passing or failing. You have up to sixty days to correct the fault for a FREE retest so a tyre failure is easily dealt with. My technique is to go to my normal Tyre shop with the failure certificate and let them sort it out. 

Davexf


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

Hi
I moved to Spain from France with a Citroen Berlingo which had the original tyres as shown in the Citroen spec. and in good condition.
At the ITV they refused to pass the tyres as they were not those specified by them despite being shown the Citroen paperwork and the fact the car was only 18 months old.
I was forced to change all four tyres and on my return it was passed. When those tyres needed replacing I replaced them with the originals and the car was passed.
I think at the end of the day it will depend on the examiner. 
Good luck.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

I was once told that they had to be identical on the same axle. That is, the front two must be the same and the back two must be the same. But front and back can be different.


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## Dunpleecin (Dec 20, 2012)

Did mine in November. Michelins on front ovations on back but same size tyres. Passed ok.


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2017)

snikpoh said:


> I was once told that they had to be identical on the same axle. That is, the front two must be the same and the back two must be the same. But front and back can be different.


Absolutely correct, I can vouch for that myself. As my car failed the ITV because of the stipulation that the tyres have
to be all one brand and one trend or at the very least, the front and back pair must be of the same brand and tread.
At the time I was going through the process of changing my British Car to Spanish plates and whereas the British MOT makes no such distinction and I would have sailed through the MOT no problem, so long as the tread is well within the legal limit.
The ITV on the other hand are very particular on this point.

So don't fall for the old garage patter of the Goodyear tyres are this price and the Pirelli tyres are that price but 
we can replace the worn tyre with a cheap one made in Ukraine.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Lieut Campers said:


> Absolutely correct, I can vouch for that myself. As my car failed the ITV because of the stipulation that the tyres have
> to be all one brand and one trend or at the very least, the front and back pair must be of the same brand and tread.
> At the time I was going through the process of changing my British Car to Spanish plates and whereas the British MOT makes no such distinction and I would have sailed through the MOT no problem, so long as the tread is well within the legal limit.
> The ITV on the other hand are very particular on this point.
> ...


Hola 

The vehicle import ITV test is different and much more expensive than the normal one or two yearly ITV test. 

In the vehicle import test they are checking to make sure the vehicle conforms to manufacturers specification - as in the vehicle is "as it was when it rolled off the production line" which is not the same as a dealer selling it with added extras !!! 

Davexf


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## Campesina (Dec 17, 2011)

davexf said:


> ...You have up to sixty days to correct the fault for a FREE retest...


But bear in mind that during this time you can only drive the vehicle to and from the repair facility and to the ITV centre for the retest. You cannot use it on a day to day basis.


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Campesina said:


> But bear in mind that during this time you can only drive the vehicle to and from the repair facility and to the ITV centre for the retest. You cannot use it on a day to day basis.


In my case they did let me drive the car for everyday use before the retest although I have to add that I
submitted the car to the ITV for both the ITV and to make sure the vehicle conforms to manufacturers
specification before the car was passed and accepted for Spanish plates by Traffico.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

In addition to the manufacturer, the tread patterns have to be the same as well.


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## JCapirote (Feb 3, 2020)

Hi, a slightly different variation to the aforementioned question
I currently have a UK registered Bmw, the car has a variety of different tyre sizes specified on the papers. My question is can I have two almost identical tyres fitted to the same axle? I have two Goodyear eagle nct5 tyres on one axle, both the same size. 225/55R16, however one has the weight index and speed rating 95W the other is a 95Y, would they cause a problem bearing in mind they are both suitable for well over the design speed of the cat 245km/h? 
I also have another pair of Michelin Primacy HP identicle size to the first pair, however with these I have one with the speed weight rating as 95W the other is only 97V, in the Uk it would fail as the car should have at least a W rated tyre, but as I’m on a smaller island in the canaries would this be a problem? After all it’s extremely unlikely I’ll be driving on any roads at over 149 mph
Lastly does it matter that one has 2mm tread and the other is new? 
Headlamps for the car were a nightmare, held up in Madrid for customs and extra tax to be paid even though vat already paid 
One month later !!!!
Many thanks


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

JCapirote said:


> Hi, a slightly different variation to the aforementioned question
> I currently have a UK registered Bmw, the car has a variety of different tyre sizes specified on the papers. My question is can I have two almost identical tyres fitted to the same axle? I have two Goodyear eagle nct5 tyres on one axle, both the same size. 225/55R16, however one has the weight index and speed rating 95W the other is a 95Y, would they cause a problem bearing in mind they are both suitable for well over the design speed of the cat 245km/h?
> I also have another pair of Michelin Primacy HP identicle size to the first pair, however with these I have one with the speed weight rating as 95W the other is only 97V, in the Uk it would fail as the car should have at least a W rated tyre, but as I’m on a smaller island in the canaries would this be a problem? After all it’s extremely unlikely I’ll be driving on any roads at over 149 mph
> Lastly does it matter that one has 2mm tread and the other is new?
> ...


Put your car through a pre-test checkover at good garage and point out your questions. That's what we always do and the cars pass the ITV, first time, every time.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

If the tread pattern and branding of the tyres is the same, it will not matter if on one axle, one of the tyres exceeds the speed / load rating. However if either one is below the specified requirement, it doesn't matter if you live on a small island or not, it will fail*.

*What I mean by will fail, is actually "it should fail" but as we all know, it can be down to whether the ITV tester has a hangover or argued with their partner that morning or not....


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Of course the ITV uses its own language when assessing vehicles.

Either the ITV inspection result is favourable = pass or unfavourable = failed.


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## Pipeman (Apr 1, 2016)

More importantly, how did you get into this situation? I'd never buy a car with non-matching tyres and would always replace both on the same axle with a matching pair (different brand etc - no problem)...?


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

davexf said:


> You have up to sixty days to correct the fault for a FREE retest





Campesina said:


> But bear in mind that during this time you can only drive the vehicle to and from the repair facility and to the ITV centre for the retest. You cannot use it on a day to day basis.


Retests are NOT free, its down to the particular ITV station. 

Also whether you can drive the car after a fail depends on how the fault or faults are categorised, if any are marked as 'Grave' then you can only drive to and from home or a garage where you have them rectified. 

This is from 1st hand experience not guesswork or speculation.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

MataMata said:


> Retests are NOT free, its down to the particular ITV station.
> 
> Also whether you can drive the car after a fail depends on how the fault or faults are categorised, if any are marked as 'Grave' then you can only drive to and from home or a garage where you have them rectified.
> 
> This is from 1st hand experience not guesswork or speculation.


Well your experience was either before the law changed about two years ago, or you went to a different test station, or you were scammed.

The latest ITV laws oblige the same test station to give free retests.

Also, it is not legal in Spain to drive without an ITV under any circumstances, the myth about driving to the test station is just that, a myth.

Well, there was an EU Directive released as part of the harmonisation process which allowed member states to incorporate a "grace period" before fines and sanctions for driving without the ITV passed could be imposed, but Spain did not take this option into its legislation.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Overandout said:


> Well your experience was either before the law changed about two years ago, or you went to a different test station, or you were scammed.
> 
> The latest ITV laws oblige the same test station to give free retests.
> 
> ...


Interesting as we don't get free re-tests around here either!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> Interesting as we don't get free re-tests around here either!


Sorry, you made me doubt my statement so I chacked and in fact, it is not law that they are free.

The law changed to allow you to go to another test station for the re-test, and that second station can charge you the full price (i.e. it does not have to give you a free or discounted retest, even if that is their policy for their own previous customers).

Sorry for the incorrect advice.


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## LFCNET (Jul 4, 2017)

I don't know if you can help but I brought my VW Sharan over with really nice alloys on it and obviously the wheels failed on the itv as it wasn't what was stated on the log book. VW have stated that the wheels on it are an upgrade on the original ones so actually function better however, this makes no difference to the itv.

I was told that an Escritura can add the change to the log book indicating the new wheel sizes in order for it to pass it's itv. Has anyone ever come across this and if so does anyone know where to take it to get it done and the approximate cost?

I am based in La Cala De Mijas.

Cheers


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

If the rolling radius is within +/- 3% of the originals and the width does not exceed the originals you can ask the ITV station to add the new tyre sizes to your logbook. In fact, if they met the "equivalente" criteria they should have passed it anyway. You casn check "equivalencia" in online calculators like this one:





__





Tabla de equivalencias neumaticos y llantas. Calculador de equivalencias. [Llantas y neumáticos ITV]






www.equivalencias.info





Assuming therefore that they are not "equivalent" you need to look for a certified engineer who will homologate your wheels and tyres. Look for "homologaciones vehículos" in your area, there will be many companies who will do this for you, ranging from agents who will do the whole engineer, fees, installation certificate and paperwork, for one price (including their fees on top of course), to the individuals who you can approach on your own and do it step by step.

The process is usually:

1: A certified engineer writes a "proyecto", a design spec which states that the wheels are fit for the vehicle and won't interfere with any of the original design elements.
2: A certified mechanic certifies that he/she has installed the wheels acording to the engineer's "proyecto".
3: The ITV station reviews the documents and checks that the wheels are in fact those shown in the "proyecto" and are installed and notes the modification on the log book.

Get a quote from a one stop shop and see if it is worth your while keeping the "nice" wheels or going back to standard.


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

A couple of people have mentioned that they had problems with the ITV for used cars they have imported into Spain.

I believe that for some time, for the purposes of registering an imported used car, a roadworthiness test - ITV, CT, HU, etc. pass certificate in any EU/EEC country is valid for a certain period in any other EU country.

However, this does not mean that an imported car will pass subsequent tests in the new country, as cars produced for sale there might not correspond with those produced for the original country, especially older ones.

For example, I imported a Spanish reg Alfa into France, but had to fit rear seat belts to pass the French CT, as they became compulsory in France some years before Spain. On a subsequent CT it was failed because its wheels were a different diameter from those homologated in France, although both had similar rolling radii, and were listed as alternatives in the car's paperwork. The alternative size was noted (with a chop) on the "Reformas autorizadas" section of the Ficha Tecnica, but not transferred onto the CG, which doesn't show tyre details in any case.

I also have an originally Swiss registered Audi, but that model was not imported into France until two years after mine was produced, so that a few items differ from the details held by the CT stations, but must have been considered when it was re-registered. This has been discussed a couple of times, but there is now no problem as long as I use the same test station.


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## LFCNET (Jul 4, 2017)

Overandout said:


> If the rolling radius is within +/- 3% of the originals and the width does not exceed the originals you can ask the ITV station to add the new tyre sizes to your logbook. In fact, if they met the "equivalente" criteria they should have passed it anyway. You casn check "equivalencia" in online calculators like this one:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's fantastic! Thanks so much for taking the time to give me such a detailed response! Huge thanks for your help!


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Now let's hope your local ITV station accept it!

From the controlling EU Directive 92/23/EEC dated 31 March 1992 in the tire fitting requirements and definitions:

All tires mounted on the same axle must be of the same type.
"Type meaning a category of tires that does not differ in the following key aspects: the manufacturer’s name or trade mark, size designation, category of use: road/special/ snow/temporary use, structure (bias-ply, cross-ply, radial-ply), speed category, load-capacity index, cross-section.

This is _not_ the same as identical and makes no mention of tread patterns.

For the poster with the mismatched tyres on a BMW, if the requirement for similar speed category and load-capacity index will catch you out - if noticed!

In France, and pre Brexit at least, a less than 6 month old UK MOT was acceptable when first registering an imported car, Spain never recognised it though nor a French CT.

Some years back there were moves afoot which meant that any already registered in an EU member state would be transferrable to another without further technical checks but AFAIK it came to nought.


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