TIRE BASICS

Tire Load Index

What do the numbers on the side of your tire tell you? Learn more about important specifications like load index. Once you’re ready to start shopping, our tire finder will help you get started.

What Does Tire Load Index Mean?

Tire load index is an assigned number that corresponds to the maximum weight that a tire can support when properly inflated.

The higher the tire's load index number, the greater its load carrying capacity.

Choosing a tire with a lower load index than the original equipment specifications means that the tire will not carry the load capacity of the original.

Transcript

Did you know that there’s a series of numbers on the side of your tire that tells you how much weight each of the tires can carry? This number is called the Tire Load Index. This is a numerical code created as a guide to understanding the maximum weight each tire can support when it’s properly inflated to the manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure. The indexes are translated to weight. Meaning that the higher a tire’s load index number is, the greater its load-carrying capacity. So how can you find your tire’s load index? It’s located on your tire’s sidewall and listed after the tire’s size. Passenger tires will feature one load index number on its sidewall. To help understand how your load index number associates to the weight in pounds that a tire can carry when properly inflated, view our helpful chart online. Goodyear.com. Tire buying, simplified..

How to Find the Load Index on a Tire?

The load index information may be found on your tire’s sidewall, listed after the tire size information. See the tire load index illustration showing an example of its location.

Tire Load Index Chart

Most passenger-car tire load indexes range from 75 to 100, but some are higher. The chart shows how load indexes translate to weight.

Light truck load index is displayed differently than regular cars. See below for more details on the Light Truck Load Index.

View the Light Truck product catalog.

Load Index	Load (lbs)
75	852
76	882
77	908
78	937
79	963
80	992
81	1019
82	1047
83	1074
84	1102
85	1135
86	1168
87	1201
88	1235
89	1279
90	1323
91	1326
92	1389
93	1433
94	1477
95	1521
96	1565
97	1609
98	1653
99	1709
100	11764

Load Index	Load (lbs)
101	1819
102	1874
103	1929
104	1984
105	2039
106	2094
107	2149
108	2205
109	2271
110	2337
111	2403
112	2469
113	2535
114	12601
115	2679
116	2756
117	2833
118	2910
119	2998
120	3086
121	3197
122	3307
123	3417
124	3527
125	3638

Load Index	Load (lbs)
126	3748
127	3858
128	3968
129	4079
130	4189
131	4289
132	4409
133	4541
134	4674
135	4806
136	4938
137	5071
138	5203
139	5357
140	5512
141	5677
142	5842
143	6008
144	6173
145	6393
146	6614
147	6779
148	6844
149	7165
150	7385

Light Truck Tire Load Index

Light truck tires have two load indexes on the sidewall of the tire, unlike passenger tires, which only have one. This is because light truck tires are often used on vehicles with dual rear wheels.

For example, a light truck tire with a load index of 120/116 means a load capacity for a single tire of 3,086 pounds and a load capacity of 2,756 pounds for two tires.

The reason the capacity for two tires is lower than a single tire is to make sure that the vehicle can continue to carry the load should one tire fail.