11screw50

OK, so looking at my shiny new truck over the weekend, the tires are Hankook Dynapro ATM in a 275/55/20 size. No 'P', no 'LT', no load range on the tire but max pressure is 51psi and a max load is stated.

Weird. So I go to the Hankook website and see that all the 'P' rated sizes start with a P, all the 'LT' sizes start with LT and then there are others that end with 'XL'. More bizarre is that on the Hankook site, the tires are listed with 117 under load but the actual tire shows 113 and the max weight is different as well. The tire lists a max pressure of 51psi (which initially had me thinking maybe it was a load range C LT but it isnt). Tire Rack's listing for this tire matches the info on the tire...

Never heard of this before. I did tow one season with my old truck on the factory P-rated tires before swapping to LT's and I will probably do the same with this one.

Question is, how can I expect these to tow? Somewhere between a P and load range C LT maybe?

Thursday the dealer will be swapping my trailer brake controller from my old truck to the new one, probably should have just had them add the factory one instead but I already have one that has worked well and the wife will be looking for it to make an appearance. Either way, I won't be towing until spring...

jkenprice1

Google European spec tires.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

C rated is a cargo tire... your tires are most likely P rated..

11screw50

I was thinking an LT in load range C, was not aware there was even a C rated tire.

Anyway, from what I've found, apparently XL is essentially a P rated tire capable of extra load. At 35psi it is rated the same as the standard version of the tire would be at 35 psi but it is rated higher at higher psi while a standard P rated tire obtains its maximum rating at 35psi while XL tires reach rated load at 41psi.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

ok...

acadianbob

It's a P-metric tire. The XL stands for extra load; meaning it generally has more ability to handle weight.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

I think that's what he just said...

smokeywren

Sounds like you figured it out.


A few years ago the tire industry replaced "load range" with "load index".


Using Kumho Dynapro HT RH12 in size 275/55R20 as the example, one has tire load index of 111 = 2403 pounds max weight capacity, and the other has a tire load index of 113 = 2535 pounds max weight capacity. Same exact size and name on the sidewall, but one has more weight capacity (and a higher price).

The standard tire load index for that size tire is 111, so in a P-series tire that is called a standard load or SL tire. The extra tire load index is 113, so that one is called an extra load or XL tire.


When shopping for tires, don't consider just the size, but also the tire load index.


A more common size for F-150s is P265/60R18. Look up that size on TireRack.com and you'll see that most have tire load index of 114 (2.601 pounds), but some have tire load index of 116 (2756 pounds).