Can You Put Light Truck Tires on a Passenger Car, SUV or Crossover?

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When it comes down to pimping rides, tires are one of the most important parts to look into.

For several reasons, most car owners prefer to change from tires attached to the vehicle by the manufacturing company. Hence, you have drivers changing from narrow to wide tires, light trucks to passenger tires, and vice versa.

In this piece, our interest is in Light Truck tires. Specifically, the question to be answered is whether they can be used on passenger cars, crossovers, or SUVs.

Stay tuned to find out the answer for each category. 

What Are Light Truck Tires? 

Light truck tires are usually abbreviated as “LT” tires and are built to carry heavy loads, drive off-road, and tow other vehicles. The engineering of these tires allows them to work under extreme conditions, even when carrying heavy loads. These tires can be inflated to higher pressures above the maximum rating.

So, it’s clear that light truck tires are made for heavy-duty vehicles. They are built to operate at larger inflation pressure and with more durable materials to make them heavier.

Now that we understand what light truck tires are, let’s examine what vehicles these kinds of tires are interchangeable with.

Can You Put Light Truck Tires on a Passenger Car?

Passenger cars are vehicles built for day-to-day use such as hatchbacks and sedans. Hence, they do not carry out heavy tasks like trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles. As a result, they are made with passenger car tires which enhance speed, lower fuel consumption and make the car’s movement fluid and comfortable.

An important factor that determines what kinds of tires are interchangeable is the load index the tire can carry. However, light truck tires would easily support the load of a passenger vehicle.

It is not advisable to swap light truck tires (LT) with passenger tires (P). The design, construction, and intended uses of each variety are distinct. When your vehicle’s original equipment (OE) tires (which came with it) were selected, the car manufacturer took all of this into account.

If you choose to go ahead, you would lose the speed you get from the usual passenger tires. However, if you need to drive on rough terrains or use your passenger vehicle to tow a car, you can change to light truck tires.

Can You Put Light Truck Tires on SUV or Crossover?

A wide range of options are available when it comes to selecting the appropriate pair of tires for your SUV. However, if you’re more interested in the light truck tires, here are some factors that determine if you can use them:

  • the length and width of your SUV or crossover
  • where you’ll be spending most of your time behind the wheel (in the mountains or on the highway),
  • as well as the weather circumstances you’ll be dealing with throughout the year

We’ve compiled a list of short answers to assist you in determining whether or not you may install Light truck tires on your car.

SUV Sizes That Light Truck Tires Can be Put On

Several lightweight trucks, vans, and SUVs are sent from the manufacturer with P-metric tires, which indicate that they are intended for use on paved roads and with standard load capacities. If you want to use your light-duty vehicle for heavy-duty labor, these tires will not be of much use.

If you need to utilize your SUV for heavy-duty work, you may put light truck tires on it to make it more maneuverable. However, depending on the size of your SUV, things might get more problematic. Standard passenger tires are often included as standard equipment on most small and medium SUVs, as well as crossover SUVs. 

Among the midsize SUVs are vehicles like the Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer, and Toyota Highlander, among others. Smaller SUVs include vehicles such as the Toyota Rav4 and the Subaru Crosstrek, among others.

The Toyota Sequoia, the Nissan Armada, and the Ford Expedition are just a few examples of huge SUVs. You can change to light truck tires for all the categories of SUVs mentioned above, as long as the tire will fit in the wheel house of the car in question.

There may be other truck tire alternatives available for your unique requirements if you have a full-size or bigger SUV, so check with your local tire dealer.

For those looking for tires that can be used all year long and in almost any weather condition, upgrading to a more durable tread pattern may be a suitable option for you.

What’s The Benefit of Changing to Light Truck Tires on my Passenger Car, SUV, or Crossover?

It’s not surprising if you’re wondering why you would want to place light truck tires on your passenger vehicle. What do light truck tires offer your Passenger car, SUV, or Crossover that passenger tires don’t?

  • Truck or LT-metric tires feature more robust sidewalls and a deeper tread depth than their passenger car or P-metric competitors. Their “heavier” structure also makes them excellent when it comes to lifting huge goods and negotiating difficult terrain.
  • Aside from that, LT-metric tires are often more maneuverable while pulling big equipment or supplies, making them an excellent option for industrious trucks and SUVs.

Conclusion

Making adjustments and changing core parts of a vehicle is fun. However, every adjustment isn’t a straight gain.

Both sides have pros and cons and you have to weigh them. If the pros of changing to a light truck tire on your passenger car, SUV, or crossover outweigh the cons, you should get them!