I have heard both stories. Half say you must get LT tires on a truck. Others say it doesn't matter, P tires are ok. Whats the deal. A P tire is 4 ply and has a lower weight rating than the 10 ply LT tire correct? Do these tires perform differently other than being able to handle more weight?

 

I've had P tires on my trucks since 1985 and not only am I still around to talk about it, I'm perfectly normal. Ask anybody.

 

As long as the tire you are putting on your truck (or any vehicle) supports the load rating of the vehicle, you'll be safe. P-rated tires for most of our F-150's tire sizes are well under axle ratings and GVWR for our trucks.

What's the tradeoff for buying LT vs. P load rated tires? Firmer ride, probably better smooth road handling, worse fuel economy and braking. Each person can decide for themselves on the compromises, but both are safe and acceptible for our trucks.

 

Not sure, but I think they might ride a little better. I just put 60,000 on a set of P rated tires and had no problems. That 60,000 included a lot of off road miles in the U.P. of Michigan. If I was into rock climbing I think I would go with the truck tire.

 

fishx65 mentions 60,000 miles on p-metric for his truck..thats hard for me to believe. I do delivery's out my 150/4x4/4:10's and have been using 150/4X4 for nearly 20 years being a courier.

P's just DO NOT HOLD UP TO RIGOROUS USE....no freeking way!

Got my Oh4/4x4 in Nov of 05 and now have 51,000 miles on it....somewhere in those miles I tried P's and had to get rid of them before 8,000 or they would have worn out!

USE YOUR NOGGIN...stay with LT'S...a no brainer!

 

I know those stupid Hankook's on the 04's had P tires and felt like birthday ballons, they'll do the trick but aren't recommended in my opinion. They make certain tires for certain applications for a reason.

 

Hard for me to believe too. He only got 60k out of 'P' tires when I got 70k out of my 'P' stockers.

Buzzz, I saw in another thread that you had 59k on your truck, is that the reason for this thread?
By the way what type of tire did you get 59k out of?
and did you have any issues?

 

My brother got 80k out of stock P-rate RT/S tires. There are a lot of tires out there, good and bad. Do not assume a poor LT tire will outlast a good P-tire. Michelin LTX M/S = 80-100k tire is but one example.

 

For those that believe me, they were a set of 265/70/17 113S Bridgestone Revos. I had them put on in place of the stock RTS's the day I purchased my truck. I probably could have gotten another 5 to 10,000 out of them but decided to get new ones about 2 months ago. Went with the same Revos again! When I looked at the Tirerack website it said that the 50,000 mile warranty on these tires does not apply to LT tires.

FishX

 

Raoul, I do have 59k and the tires I have are not OEM. They are Procomp A/T's. They have tread, but horrible wet weather traction. I am looking at some Toyo Open Country A/T's and the price diff between P and LT is about $250 for a set.

 

Also, doesn't the tread life have to due with the density of the rubber. A harder rubber = less traction?