I have a 1990 4Runner (4 cyl) in needs of tires. I live where I get a variety of weather (although usually not too hot) including dry, wet, snow. I was steered towards all weather tires which are becoming more popular in my neck of the woods. One of the suggested tires I really like - the Yokohama Geolandar GO15. I have Geo's on my truck now and they have lasted a very long time. But they are done (largely because of their age). So I'm liking these GO15's but I see I have an option between two versions of the tire. The 4 ply passenger tire or the 6 ply (I guess LT tire). I can get the LT tire for the same/similar price (although at most places it is more). Should/can I go for the LT tire or is that for any reason an unwise choice for my particular vehicle? Any comments much appreciated. Thank you.

 

It is a trade off. Typically P passenger tires have a lower load but higher speed rating, while LT truck tires have a higher load and lower speed rating.

Compare these two specifications against your primary usage.

 

Here's what I've found from many online sources plus owning 3 different sets of LT's and who knows how many sets of p-rated tires. In addition to the good info above about load and speed ratings, LT's will ride rougher than a p-rated tire of the same exact model. Due to the LT's thicker cords in the side walls, tread casing and more rubber it'll have a higher spring rate than p-rated, so they bounce back to shape faster. LT's also require higher inflation pressure for the same load as a p-rated, even though they can carry greater load overall. This aspect only matters if your needs are somewhere between the two and don't spend that much time off-road.

 

Besides P vs LT you also have load rating, C for example is probably what you'd want, D, E and upwards are higher and higher psi rated, and higher load rated which also makes it a rougher ride but the tires are more and more durable. Like if you off road with P ties, it's possible to get a hole in the side wall because it's fairly thin, and load range C or higher has a much less chance of having flats in the same situation. I think higher load rated tires tend to last a little longer too if you keep the pressure in the correct range for the tire (30psi in a load range e tire will wear incorrectly).

The other half of your post is about all seasion tires, that's more or less how aggressive the tires are, not really related to P or LT ratings. Like this tire below is a biasply load range c tire, but it's very agressive thread.


Tire is a buckshot made by gateway btw, great for an offroad tire, no so great for on road (balance problems mainly).

 

Thank you all for the feedback - very much appreciated. I probably could have gone with either tire (as the 90 4Runner is not a terribly heavy vehicle and I don't really go off road). I ended up going with the LT mainly because they had in stock and was also same price as the P. Strangely enough the LT version of the tire actually has both a lower speed rating and lower load rating (even though they are 6 ply vs 4 ply). The LT's are 104/S while the P's are 108/T. But, I guess the extra 2 ply's do give some added protection against puncture. The other difference I found is that the LT has 17/32 of tread while the P has 13/32. I thought was nice to get the extra tread depth too.

 

I've got BFG AT KO2s in LT 31X10.5R15 on my Pickup and I love them. The truck sees mostly on road use so I wanted something that will last. They are wearing even so far after about 20 000km of road and highway use. I didn't even consider P tires, I wanted to make sure I had that durability and resistance to puncture for when I do take it off road. The tires perform excellently offroad in mud and snow, and if I wanted a smooth ride I would have bought a Camry instead of a 1990 Pickup.

 

I have BFG A/T's on my stock 85 4runner and am on my 2nd set of Yokohama Geolanders on my 99 Chevy Silverado. First set got over 100,000 miles, seriously. Went with the G015's for the second set. Incredible in the snow is all I have to say. I figure with the slightly newer compound for the snow/ice rating I'm not going to get 100,000+ miles out of them but they are still wearing like iron. We put a set on my wife's 98 4runner as well and they have done great in the snow this year. When I lift and gear my 85 I am probably going with a set of 33" G015 for daily driving and maybe a set of M/T's for wheeling.

 

Very good point!

 

Thats great to hear about your GO15 experience - thanks!

 

The lower load rating on the LT tire probably means it's a softer compound which I'd assume has more grip. Tire ratings would probably tell a story, but personally never look at them. I have a set of snow tires on my T100 that's load range C and are quite soft. It rides much smoother than my last set of tires I had that were load range E, but I liked the tread depth on the E's more. If I remember correctly the C's are 44psi max while the E's I have are 80psi. I personally run my tires at or slightly above max sidewall rating since it's firstly designed for that pressure, they tend to last longer, and an added benefit of lower rolling resistance (better mpg). I'm not super huge on having a smooth ride, even though I just bought a 1990 LS400 to try out vs my 1992 Camry and to replace my "temp" vehicle that was a 1997 Corolla that I put 80k miles on and is rusting out (was pretty rusted when I bought it) lol.

Enjoy your tires, and don't forget to get them dirty every once in a while =)