What Does 116T Mean on A Tire?

If you own a passenger car or a light truck, you may want to understand- what does 116T mean on a tire of a vehicle? Sounds interesting, right? As we’ve mentioned your vehicle’s type, well, you’ll also understand this later.

Now, just know that this 116T indicates nothing but traction on all terrain tires having a load index of 116 that is used on small vehicles such as passenger cars, minivans, light trucks, etc. The details, we’ll explain to you in the next portion of our article.

In the sidewall of a tire, there is a plethora of data imprinted on which denotes your tire size designation, load index, load range, speed ratings, etc. However, in this article, we’ll let you know about the service description part of the tire of your vehicle. So, you can choose the proper tires while purchasing.

All right, let’s see what we’ve explained in this article!

A Brief Explanation on Service Description of the Tire Sidewall

Before we begin, let’s discuss the service description of the tire of your vehicle. This will help you to better understand the meaning of 116T on a tire.  In our previous article –What does the speed ratings T or H mean on tires? – we have discussed in detail the tire sidewall speed ratings.

However, in this article, we will talk about the other parts of the service description along with the speed ratings. The tire service description consists of mainly 3 parts- Load index, load range, and speed ratings. Yet, in some vehicles, you may not see the load ranges imprinted on the tires. Well, we will discuss it later.

Usually, this service information is stamped on the tire with an alphanumeric code such as 116T. It provides mainly two fundamental insights that exclusively indicate the tire performance of your vehicle like how much weight your vehicle’s tire can bear and run safely with the maximum speed.

All right, since we have already mentioned the 3 significant parts of the tire service description, now we will focus on them in detail.

Load Index

The tire load index is a numerical code number that indicates the maximum weight capacity of a tire. It denotes how many pounds or kilograms a tire can carry safely with proper inflation.

It is said that the higher the load index number of a tire, the greater will be its load-bearing capacity. The tire load index of most passenger cars ranges from usually 75-100, and in some cases, it’s higher than this range.

However, the thing is while installing a tire on your vehicle, it is always recommended to choose the tire with equal or higher load index ratings than your original factory-installed equipment specified tires. If you install a lower load index rated tire, it indicates that the tire of your vehicle won’t carry the original tire’s load capacity.

Here, we have provided a load index chart of tires for you so you know the load-carrying capacity of the tire of your vehicle and can determine the total estimated load capacity of all tires.

The Load Index chart

Load Index	Pounds (lbs) or Kilograms (kg)		Load Index	Pounds (lbs) or Kilograms (kg)
75	853 lbs 387 kg		101	1,819 lbs 825 kg
76	882 lbs 400 kg		102	1,874 lbs 850 kg
77	908 lbs 412 kg		103	1,929 lbs  875 kg
78	937 lbs 425 kg		104	1,984 lbs 900 kg
79	963 lbs 437 kg		105	2,039 lbs 925 kg
80	992 lbs 450 kg		106	2,094 lbs 950 kg
81	1,019 lbs 462 kg		107	2,149 lbs 975 kg
82	1,047 lbs 475 kg		108	2,205 lbs 1000 kg
83	1,074 lbs 487 kg		109	2,271 lbs 1030 kg
84	1,102 lbs 500 kg		110	2,337 lbs 1060 kg
85	1,135 lbs 515 kg		111	2,403 lbs 1090 kg
86	1,168 lbs 530 kg		112	2,469 lbs 1120 kg
87	1,201 lbs 545 kg		113	2,535 lbs 1150 kg
88	1,235 lbs 560 kg		114	2,601 lbs 1180 kg
89	1,279 lbs 580 kg		115	2,679 lbs 1215 kg
90	1,323 lbs 600 kg		116	2,756 lbs 1250 kg
91	1,356 lbs 615 kg		117	2,833 lbs 1285 kg
92	1,389 lbs 630 kg		118	2,910 lbs 1320 kg
93	1,433 lbs 650 kg		119	2,998 lbs 1360 kg
94	1,477 lbs 670 kg		120	3,086 lbs 1400 kg
95	1,521 lbs 690 kg		121	3,197 lbs 1450 kg
96	1,565 lbs 710 kg		122	3,307 lbs 1500 kg
97	1,609 lbs 730 kg		123	3,417 lbs 1550 kg
98	1,653 lbs 750 kg		124	3,527 lbs 1600 kg
99	1,709 lbs 775 kg		125	3,638 lbs 1650 kg
100	1,764 lbs 800 kg		126	3,748 lbs 1700 kg

How Can You Find the Load Index of a Tire?

Here, look over the tire example showing the vehicle’s tire service information- 275/65R18 116T. The numerical code here is 116 which denotes the load index rating of the tire.

If you go through the load index chart, you will find that the number 166 refers to a load-carrying capacity of 2,756 lbs or 1250 kg of a single tire.

Usually, the load-carrying capacity of all the tires of a vehicle is determined by multiplying the load capacity of a single tire of the vehicle with the number of all tires.

 So, if you want to get the maximum load-carrying capacity of the tire, you have to multiply this load capacity by 4 tires – 2,756 x 4 = 11,024 lbs or 1250 x 4 = 5,000 kg.

Speed Ratings

Another key insight of your tire is speed ratings. This speed rating is imprinted on your tire with the alphabetic letter which denotes the maximum speed of the tire.

You will find different speed ratings referred to as capable of running safely with the maximum speed and maximum load capacity at the indicated miles per hour (mph).

Most passenger cars, light trucks, sports cars, and high-performance car’s tires are accomplished with the speed ratings that are starting to L – Z rating class.

Here is a speed rating chart for you showing the speed class with the maximum speed at mph.

The Speed Rating Chart

Speed ratings	Maximum speed at mph
L	75 mph
M	81 mph
N	87 mph
P	93 mph
Q	99 mph
R	106 mph
S	112 mph
T	118 mph
U	124 mph
H	130 mph
V	149 mph
W	168 mph
Y	186 mph
Z	149+ mph

Going back to our example – 275/65R18 116T, here, the tire is imprinted on the letter T that refers to the tire’s speed rating. If we look over the speed rating chart, we can see that this T speed rating is equal to the maximum speed of about 118 miles per hour (mph).

It means that the tire of the vehicle can perform and support to run safely under optimal conditions at maximum speeds up to 118 mph. 

Load Range

The load range and ply ratings are designated by alphabetic letters and the numerical numbers accordingly that signify typically the load and inflation limits of the tire of a vehicle.

Usually, this load range or ply ratings refers to how much load the tire of a vehicle can support conveniently at maximum air pressure (psi). The higher the ply rating of a tire, the more it can hold air and also carry substantial loads of a vehicle.

Usually, passenger car tires come with three load ranges that are denoted as standard load or SL, light load or LL, and extra load or XL, and their ply ratings range from 2-4-ply. Generally, these ply ratings and load ranges are not stamped on the tires as they are the lowest load carrying capacity tires.

In the case of the P-metric car tires such as light trucks, the load range is represented with LT mark and their load ranges category is of B, C, D, E, or F where the ply-ratings range from 4-12 ply-rate respectively.

And, in the case of the special trailer service tires, they are marked with an ST. The load ranges of these tires are of B, C, D, or E, and the ply ratings range from 4-10 ply-tires accordingly.

Here, we have provided a load range chart showing different ply ratings and their maximum air pressure.

The Load Range Chart

Load range	Ply ratings	Maximum air pressure (psi)
A	2
For LT-metric tire
B (also for SL & XL)	4	35 psi
C	6	50 psi
D	8	65 psi
E	10	80 psi
F	12	95 psi
G	14
H	16
J	18
L	20
M	22
N	24

The Meaning of 116T on a Tire

So, by now, after reading the service description details, you have already understood the meaning of 116T on a tire. Typically, the 116T is a service description part of a traction terrain tire that refers to tire load index and load speed ratings respectively.

Here, the numerical number 116 indicates the load index of a given tire. And according to the load index chart, it signifies that with this load index, a single tire of a vehicle can carry a load capacity of about 2,756 pounds or 1250 kilograms.

Generally, it is said that 166T is a load range B or C with SL-rated and 4-6 ply-rated tires used on light-duty trucks, passenger cars, and SUVs, etc. for ½ ton load applications.

And, the alphabetic letter ‘T’ represents the speed ratings of the tire with a maximum speed of about 118 miles per hour (mph) or 190 km/h.

This speed rating doesn’t indicate that your vehicle can drive with that maximum speed safely; rather it means that with this speed the tire of your vehicle can support running the car safely under optimal conditions.

Besides, as it’s an all-traction terrain tire, therefore, usually, this speed rating T is most associated with everyday passenger cars such as family sedans and minivans, light-duty trucks, standard touring vehicle tires, etc.

A Helpful Tutorial You May Need!

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

Final Verdict

In this article, we have tried to briefly explain the topic- what does 116T mean on a tire? By providing a lot of related information. Hopefully, you have enjoyed reading the article, and all your curiosity about the tire-related issue has met up.

Usually, when your vehicle’s tire will be damaged or heavily worn in sub-optimal condition, it will no longer be capable of running safely, and then, you have to install a new tire.

While replacing your factory-installed original equipment tires, if you don’t know about the tire information, there is a possibility to install a lower speed-rated tire with a lower load index rating. So, to avoid this incident, you should know the tire sidewall information, especially its service description part.

All right, it’s time to wrap up the article. Yet, if you want to know more about it or have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know in our comments section.

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