Same tyre, different load ratings

[Chris_569]

Hi, if anyone can answer the question below or point me towards a thread where my specific question has been answered I’d be very grateful.

My 2008 SE has this tyre plate on the door pillar. Can someone explain why the 215/65/R16 mud and snow tyres have a higher load rating to the normal 215/65/R16 tyres? They are the same size, profile etc so surely the same load rating applies? Are the differences to do with what tyres were typically available at the time of manufacture?

Many thanks

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[WelshGas]

Hi, if anyone can answer the question below or point me towards a thread where my specific question has been answered I’d be very grateful.

My 2008 SE has this tyre plate on the door pillar. Can someone explain why the 215/65/R16 mud and snow tyres have a higher load rating to the normal 215/65/R16 tyres? They are the same size, profile etc so surely the same load rating applies? Are the differences to do with what tyres were typically available at the time of manufacture?

Many thanks

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The California requires tyres with a Minimum Load Rating of 103.
The disparity on your Tyre label is probably due to the fact that the Mud & Snow tyres are for a relative niche market so a higher load rating will cover more vehicles. They were probably not available in 103 in 2008, unlike the standard tyres.
That was 18 yrs ago.

 

[camper albert]

Hi, it's quite normal to have the same tyre produced with different load ratings. The higher rating in general has more rolling resistance and produces more sound. So that's a trade off used for selection of the right tyre model for a specific application.

 

[Chris_569]

The California requires tyres with a Minimum Load Rating of 103.
The disparity on your Tyre label is probably due to the fact that the Mud & Snow tyres are for a relative niche market so a higher load rating will cover more vehicles. They were probably not available in 103 in 2008, unlike the standard tyres.
That was 18 yrs ago.

Thanks for the reply.
I have been looking at too many tyre codes and mis-read the 205/65/R16 M&S as being 215 width. So they are not the same and therefore the difference in load rating makes more sense.

I understand from various forum posts that newer Californias require min 103, but according to the plate mine can be used with 102 in 215/65/R16 - this is the current tyre size, on standard alloys but with 106 load rating. Just considering replacement options for the tyres sticking to the stock alloys and tyre size.