1500 with e-rated tires - PSI?

[20Silverado11]

Hello,

 

It's new tire time for my 1500 and, since we're planning on pulling a horse trailer all over this spring/summer, I opted for more robust tires. Originally, the truck came with Goodyear p275/55r20's, which I hated and immediately swapped for p265/65r18 Michelin LTX tires (got the stock 18" Chevy rims on eBay). Per the door "Tire and Loading Information" sticker on the truck, I was supposed to run 30 PSI, but I put 33 PSI in for driving around empty and 35 PSI in for towing. But, they do feel a bit mushy and people have told me I should get e-rated tires for pulling a horse trailer around. The new tires I've just ordered at Costco are the Michelin Defender LTX's that are e-rated and are 275/65r18. I've done a lot of research and they will fit, but I've read dozens of opinions on what pressure I should be running on these. It seems to be a universal opinion that 30 PSI is too low for e-rated tires. The sidewalls say 80 PSI max. So, for those of you running e-rated tires on your 1500, what pressures have you found to work best for empty driving and for pulling a 6,500 lb trailer? Thanks for any advice you can provide - I figure this will be a great starting point for me.

[RyanbabZ71]

I run 45-48 on my 275/70/18s. Anything less feels mushy

 

 

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[newdude]

When you are running with the trailer make sure to air them up. At minimum, 65psi or so, cold.

 

https://toyotires-1524598101.netdna-ssl.com/media/2125/application_of_load_inflation_tables_20170203.pdf

 

Have a look at page 23 on the link. It shows the load capacity of the tire at different PSI.

[kstruckcountry]

Check the load capacity of the factory tires at factory pressure. Then interpolate to the same load given the new tires' maximum load and pressure.

 

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[20Silverado11]

Thanks for the good info, guys. I'll likely start with Ryan's recommendations for empty driving (45-48) and with 15HDriver's recommendations for trailer towing (65), then adjust up or down as experience dictates. Regarding that Toyo chart - does it apply to different brands (i.e. Michelin) for similar size/load range tires?

[HoosierZ]

I run 40-42 in my LT285/65/18 empty. Per the Toyo link, 40 psi in an E range tire has the same load capacity as 35 psi in the stock P265/65/18 SRAs.

[Black02Silverado]

I run what the door plate states when empty. When I haul loads I run mine at 50psi. Seems to work well.

[deadpilot]

I tow and haul quite a bit with mine and so I run 55-60 psi in my BFG ko2s.

 

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[20Silverado11]

Here's my pertinent data, extracted from the very useful Toyo link 15HDriver posted above:

 

Weight per tire @ listed PSI

Tire Size Load 26 29 32 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

P275/55R20 111 2094 2216 2315 2403

P265/65R18 112 2116 2238 2348 2469

LT275/65R18 123 1940 2130 2310 2535 2660 2825 3000 3150 3305 3415

 

...where P275/55R20 was the size that came with the truck, P265/65R18 was my initial replacement tire, and LT275/65R18 is my new tire size. Seeing it all lined up in chart-form really helps me understand things.

[newdude]

Here's my pertinent data, extracted from the very useful Toyo link 15HDriver posted above:

 

Weight per tire @ listed PSI

Tire Size Load 26 29 32 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

P275/55R20 111 2094 2216 2315 2403

P265/65R18 112 2116 2238 2348 2469

LT275/65R18 123 1940 2130 2310 2535 2660 2825 3000 3150 3305 3415

 

...where P275/55R20 was the size that came with the truck, P265/65R18 was my initial replacement tire, and LT275/65R18 is my new tire size. Seeing it all lined up in chart-form really helps me understand things.

 

As for applying for other brands, I would say yes, as other brands LT275/65/18 should be of the same load rating. And seeing the more broken down chart that you extracted, you can really see how the 45-65 range shines for 1/2 ton usage loaded and unloaded.

[Big Whiskey]

On my previous 1500's with E-rated tires, I'd run 40-45 when empty, and 55-60 when towing. That seemed to work well for me, and my tires wore nice and even.