Light Truck Tire Size Meaning

Plus the right size for your car truck or trailer can differ depending on tire use and your driving habits.

Light truck tire size meaning.

Between these parts you will see additional information about the tire size and construction. Including but not limited to boat trailers utility trailers and 5th wheels. Historical tire codes north america. Tire diameter in inches p metric and european metric lt metric light truck.

Vehicles like ton or larger pickup trucks work vans and trucks and other large vehicles that regularly carry heavy loads or pull heavy trailers will need light truck lt tires. These tires are built differently than passenger tires they re built with more material and have sturdier sidewalls to handle the weight of the vehicle. The letters lt either at the beginning or at the end of the tire size indicate the tire was designed for light trucks. 245 section widthtread mm the section width is the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other measured in millimeters.

Some numbers on the sidewall are listed in metric while others are in inches. Lt light truck prefix example. The first letter represents the type of vehicle you should install the tire on. Tire size was specified as the tire width in inches and the diameter in inches for example 6 50 15.

P metric and euro metric tires may have different load capacities. Lt or light truck are tires for towing trailers or have a 3 4 to 1 ton load capacity. Tire size can be confusing. You can see your original equipment tire size in your owner s manual.

Each metric tire measurement shows both the metric tire size and the inch equivalent. Tires labeled st or special trailer are meant for trailers. The tire size typically starts with a letter indicating the type and ends with a two digit number giving the rim size. In this example the tire is.

A tire labeled t or temporary spare is meant to be used in the event of a flat tire. P designates this tire as a passenger car tire an lt before the tire size would mean the tire is a light truck tire and a european metric tire would have no letter before the tire size. Vehicle manufacturers equip some light trucks with lt type tires. If a tire size has no letters at the beginning this indicates a euro metric tire.

Lt235 75r15 104 101s c light truck metric tires sizes begin with the letters lt. Tire diameters provided are typical for the tire size. This includes suvs full size vans and medium duty and heavy duty pickup trucks with ton to 1 ton capacity. However different tread designs and molded tread depths can result in slightly different overall tire diameters.

Prior to 1964 tires were all made to a 90 aspect ratio. Lt this is a light truck tire. From 1965 to the early 1970s tires were made to an 80 aspect ratio. Here are two tire size charts that list every tire by wheel size or by diameter to make your search as simple as possible.