P Or Lt Tires And Tpms Range

andyems · January 10, 2010

I have the Rough Country 2 inch leveling kit on the way for my '07 Silverado. I want to upgrade the tires to a larger size than the stock 265/70-17s. I have looked at the 275/70-17, but they are only made in LT load range, not P metric. They are only load range C, and I was wondering if anyone knew much about changing from P to LT tires? I am afraid if I go up to the 285s that it will be too big, and my mileage and power will suffer, and the 275s seem like a nice medium area, all except for the LT rating.

I rarely tow or haul, mostly just empty driving, and it's a reg cab Z71, so it doesn't ride like a Caddy to start with. Any ideas on this? Also, if I do upgrade to the LTs, will my stock TPMS read the higher pressure levels without throwing up a "high" red flag? Thanks for the help.

700 sportsman · January 10, 2010

I wouldn't be worried at all about going to LT tires, in fact I wouldn't buy a set of P tires when replacing.

P (car tires) on Truck just doesn't make sense to me, but as far as the TPMS goes, you shouldn't have any troubles, you'll just need to reset/recalibrate them, do a search on here or google, and you find it is extremely simple

Matt_ · January 10, 2010

I have the Rough Country 2 inch leveling kit on the way for my '07 Silverado. I want to upgrade the tires to a larger size than the stock 265/70-17s. I have looked at the 275/70-17, but they are only made in LT load range, not P metric. They are only load range C, and I was wondering if anyone knew much about changing from P to LT tires? I am afraid if I go up to the 285s that it will be too big, and my mileage and power will suffer, and the 275s seem like a nice medium area, all except for the LT rating.
I rarely tow or haul, mostly just empty driving, and it's a reg cab Z71, so it doesn't ride like a Caddy to start with. Any ideas on this? Also, if I do upgrade to the LTs, will my stock TPMS read the higher pressure levels without throwing up a "high" red flag? Thanks for the help.

Even with LT tires, keep the pressures between 35-45 PSI and you'll be fine... there's no reason to run higher then that in a 1500 light duty series truck. (I'm running my front at 40 and my rears at 35 and they're actually a bit over inflated). I bump up the pressure in my rear tires to 50 psi when towing my friends 6000+ lb boat and that makes my TPMS light come on, but its just for towing once in a while.

People will go insane with tire pressure tech... but seriously if you're within 35-45 on your truck you'll be fine.

When you start getting below the 30-35 range LT tires become questionable due to their build, some members think heat may be a factor which makes sense... and over 45+ PSI is just overkill for the daily driven weight of your truck so the ride will begin to suffer, traction/stopping performance is declined, and the center of the tire will begin to wear.

93Stocker · January 11, 2010

The Toyo Tires link below addresses switching from P-metric to LT-metric tires. Also, any good tire dealer should have separate load and inflation tables for both types of tires. By comparing specific tires in these tables, they should also be able to tell you what pressure you would need to run in the LT tires based on the O.E. tire specs on your door sticker. The higher cold inflation pressure requirements and heavier construction of the LT-metric tire would impact the ride and handling of your truck.

http://toyotires.com/sites/default/files/l...echbulletin.pdf

dgreene396 · January 11, 2010

I installed a set of Cooper Discoverer STT tires in LT305/60R18, which are an "E" load range LT designated tire. I keep them at ~42psi.

Because they are a heavier load range tire, they are heavier, stiffer, and do provide for a more rigid ride than stock P-metric tires, but it is a 4x4 truck. Really not bad at all.

The TPMS sensors are still in an acceptable range, therefore I did not have to recalibrate them.

These tires are a bit heavier, and these specific tires have an agressive tread pattern, therefore, they do affect my gas mileage a bit. I get between 12 and 13 mpg in town.

That is one of the sacrifices I decided to make, and I have no regrets.

kawtoy_77 · January 12, 2010

I bought P-Series tires for my '07 GMC Sierra C1500, but they are rated at 2,535 lbs max load per tire (10,140lb total), which is much higher than a normal P-series tire, and I didn't have to pay the LT tire price.

I bought Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10's, and LOVE them!