Load Range and Ply Rating

There are a few different classifications tire experts use to discuss a tire’s ability to hold air pressure and carry weight. You’ll find one of these classifications, the load range, listed on the tire sidewall represented by a letter. This letter code gives you a comparative idea of the tire’s toughness; helping you understand how much air your tire can hold, how much weight it can carry, and it provides a relative measure of the tire’s durability. Tires with higher load ranges carry heavier loads.

Load range is based on an older measurement called “ply rating.” All tires are constructed of rubber and cord layers referred to as “plies.” Historically, more plies gave a tire a larger load carrying capacity, so manufacturers would count a tire’s plies and use this number to denote carrying capacity.

However, a modern tire’s construction uses fewer, stronger plies. Therefore, load range simply defines the tire’s toughness and maximum allowable air pressure, as opposed to specific information about its composition. For example, a “C” load range indicates that a tire is equivalent to a 6-ply construction tire. This tire isn’t actually built of 6 plies, but rather one or two plies of equivalent strength.

When it comes to load range, you may see these indicated as C1 or C2. To simplify this even further, the letter C still indicates the load range but the number after it designates a difference in max load carrying load pressure. For example: C1 and C2 are both 6 ply rated, but C1 has a max of 50 PSI and C2 has a max of 35 PSI. This holds true for other ply ratings too. See chart below.

Check the tire sidewall to find the letter that indicates the load range. Passenger tires are usually unmarked because they have a standard 4-ply rating. However, you may find passenger tires marked as Standard Load (SL) or Extra Load (XL or Reinforced). Both of these types have a 4-ply rating, but the Extra Load can support additional load at up to 42 PSI, as opposed to the Standard Load’s 36 PSI. Some passenger tires indicate higher max air pressures than the Max Load Carrying Load Pressure of the tire in which case a tire expert may need to weigh in and we are always happy to help.

Check our chart to see the load range and ply rating and the max load carrying load pressure.

Load Range and Ply Rating
Passenger Tires
Load Range	Ply Rating	Max Load Carrying Load Pressure
Standard Load (SL)	4	@ 36 PSI
Extra Load (XL)	4	@ 42 PSI
Light Truck Tires
Load Range	Ply Rating	Max Load Carrying Load Pressure
C1	6	@ 50 PSI
C2	6	@ 35 PSI
D1	8	@ 65 PSI
D2	8	@ 50 PSI
E1	10	@ 80 PSI
E2	10	@ 65 PSI
F1	12	@ 95 PSI
G	14	@ 110 PSI

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Load Index and Load Carrying Capacity

Tire experts also use a system called load index to further describe a tire’s carrying capacity. The load index explicitly indicates how much weight a tire can carry. To find your tire’s carrying capacity, look for the load index number on its sidewall.

The load index number indicates a tire’s carrying capacity when inflated to its maximum load sustaining pressure. It corresponds to another number in an index, which tells you how many pounds of weight the tire can carry.

Find your tire’s load-bearing capacity by checking our load index below. Remember that most passenger cars have load index values ranging from 70-110.

Load Index and Carrying Capacity
Load Index	Carrying Capacity (lbs)	Load Index	Carrying Capacity (lbs)	Load Index	Carrying Capacity (lbs)
0	99	50	419	100	1764
1	102	51	430	101	1819
2	105	52	441	102	1874
3	107	53	454	103	1929
4	110	54	467	104	1984
5	114	55	481	105	2039
6	117	56	494	106	2094
7	120	57	507	107	2149
8	123	58	520	108	2205
9	128	59	536	109	2271
10	132	60	551	110	2337
11	136	61	567	111	2403
12	139	62	584	112	2469
13	143	63	600	113	2535
14	148	64	617	114	2601
15	152	65	639	115	2679
16	157	66	639	116	2756
17	161	67	677	117	2833
18	165	68	694	118	2910
19	171	69	716	119	2998
20	176	70	739	120	3086
21	182	71	761	121	3197
22	187	72	783	122	3307
23	193	73	805	123	3417
24	198	74	827	124	3527
25	204	75	852	125	3638
26	209	76	882	126	3748
27	215	77	908	127	3858
28	220	78	937	128	3968
29	227	79	963	129	4079
30	234	80	992	130	4189
31	240	81	1019	131	4289
32	247	82	1047	132	4409
33	254	83	1074	133	4541
34	260	84	1102	134	4674
35	267	85	1135	135	4806
36	276	86	1168	136	4938
37	282	87	1201	137	5071
38	291	88	1235	138	5203
39	300	89	1279	139	5357
40	309	90	1323	140	5512
41	320	91	1356	141	5677
42	331	92	1389	142	5842
43	342	93	1433	143	6008
44	353	94	1477	144	6173
45	364	95	1521	145	6393
46	375	96	1565	146	6614
47	386	97	1609	147	6779
48	397	98	1653	148	6844
49	408	99	1709	149	7165
				150	7385

If you have any questions about Load Range and/or Load Index or what tire might be the right option for you, please give us a call or stop by your local store.