Tyre Load Ratings
The tyre load index shows the pay load each of the car tyres can take. Every tyre has its load index number on the side wall of the tyre. Different vehicles require different tyre loads. For example, a small car will require a different load to a van tyres. 4×4 tyres are also effected by load index and will have a wide range of tyre loads.
Tyres that have RF stamped on the side wall mean the tyre has been reinforced. They may also have XL which stands for extra load. If your current tyres have XL or RF stamped on them this may mean that you will require heavy load tyres again. The chart below shows what numbers the weight equates to.
LOAD INDEX 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 108
MAX LOAD 290kg 335kg 387kg 450kg 515kg 600kg 690kg 800kg 1000kg
As you can see the difference between a ’65’ Tyre rating at 290 Kilograms to ‘108’ tyres rating at 1000 Kilograms is enormous. This is one of the main reasons why some insurance companies have written in the right to void policies if the vehicle is fitted with the incorrect tyres.
Some Police Constabularies have tyre policies in place where they will change all four tyres if one tyre suffers damage. The reason they do this is to make sure that all four tyres match. The recommendation is always to change both tyres on the axle. This is important as a tyre wears over time, so the tyre gets smaller. By replacing one tyre this means the new tyre travels more distance per rotation and this can cause the vehicle to pull to one side. This is obviously an expensive option as the police do not buy cheap tyres! However as they have people’s lives potentially in their hands it makes sense.
All UK tyres also have to be marked with and ‘E’ on the tyre this indicates that they are European approved tyres.
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