Tyre Load Ratings

All tyres for every vehicle will have a Load Rating. This measurement is important to the vehicle's performance and your safety.

Before buying your tyres it is important that you check for the correct Load Rating. The Load Rating is decided by the manufacturer based on what weight the tyres need to support. The weight your tyres need to support includes that of the vehicle and also what you could reasonably and safely want to transport in your vehicle.

When considering tyres for your vehicle, a tyre with a lower Load Rating than required could invalidate your insurance and increase the chance of product failure.

Where to find the correct Load Rating for your vehicle.

  • Check the vehicle handbook
  • If you have had the vehicle from new look at the current tyres
  • Contact the garage, dealership or vehicle manufacturer

Choosing a Load Rating which is higher than required is acceptable, but choosing one which is lower than your vehicle needs is not.

If you have a tyre with a Load Rating of "91" as specified by your vehicle handbook, this indicates a maximum weight per tyre of 615kg. When selecting a replacement tyre; a rating of "90" or below should not be selected as a replacement, while a tyre with a Load Rating of "92" and above will be suitable.

Load Ratings are based on scientific stress tests which help to calculate the optimum tyre requirements.

In the typical tyre size example below, the Load Rating can be found next to the Speed Rating.

205/55 R16 91 W

The following table shows what the weight that each index specification is able to carry:

Load Index Load in kg Load Index Load in kg Load Index Load in kg
62 265 84 500 106 950
63 272 85 515 107 975
64 280 86 530 108 1000
65 290 87 545 109 1030
66 300 88 560 110 1060
67 307 89 580 111 1090
68 315 90 600 112 1120
69 325 91 615 113 1150
70 335 92 630 114 1180
71 345 93 650 115 1215
72 355 94 670 116 1250
73 365 95 690 117 1285
74 375 96 710 118 1320
75 387 97 730 119 1360
76 400 98 750 120 1400
77 412 99 775 121 1450
78 425 100 800 122 1500
79 437 101 825 123 1550
80 450 102 850 124 1600
81 462 103 875 125 1650
82 475 104 900 126 1700
83 487 105 925