E, LT or P Rated Tires for my 1/2 Ton?
The amount of information and details in purchasing new tires for my TV is almost overwhelming. I, like many people, research the******out of this type of larger purchase. Tires are one of the uniqu...
Forum Discussion
What do you think? E vs. P vs. LT ?
I've tried LT E on two different 1500 trucks and didn't like the overall performance at all mainly a rougher ride and carcass roll issues and reduced engine performance due to a heavier tire (parasitic drag). Straight across psi requirement don't work with the P to a LT tire.
I use LT C on the wifes 1500 crew cab chevy 4x4. The most a std duty 1/2 ton truck can carry on the rear axle/tires is 3800-4000 lbs or 2000 lbs per tire. The LT C at 50 psi has 2400 lbs of capacity which is plenty of reserve plus the tires can be used at max pressures.
Like Michelin truck tire add said "max tire performance and max tire reliability come at max pressures." Don't settle for anything less.
This from our resident tire engineer on tire pressure requirements for the LT vs P on a truck.
CapriRacer LT requires 15 psi increase above P tire pressure
Perhaps I should have approached this from a different angle - and I'll do that after I clear up an issue.
The maximum pressure is not the same as where the load carrying capacity maxes out. On P metric Standard Load tires, the load carrying capacity increases as the inflation pressure increases - up to 35 psi.
The maximum usage pressure for a Standard Load P metric tire might not be 35 psi - it might be 44 or 51 psi, but that doesn't change the relationship between the pressure and the load.
Don't believe me? Find a load table for P metric Standard Load tires and see for yourself. They all end at 35 psi.
OK, here's the different tack on the issue at hand: Increased inflation pressure when going from P metric to LT metric tires.
On every vehicle sold in the US, there is a sticker, called the vehicle tire placard, that lists the originasl tire size and the vehicle manufacturer's Inflation pressure specification. For pickup trucks using P metric tires, no vehicle uses more than 35 psi for the specification (which is in line with where the load carrying capacity maxes out for P metric tires).
If you do the math, you will find that the load carrying capacity of P metric tires is the same as the same "size" LT metric tire +15 psi.
Don't believe me? Get the load tables and do the math yourself. (Don't forget to derate the P metric tire by a factor of 1.1 because it is being used on a truck!)
