Ford F-150 Tires: P-Metric, LT and Load Range Basics

Start with load, not brand

The F-150 does more jobs than almost any other vehicle on the road. The same truck can be a family car on weekdays and a boat hauler on Saturday, or a contractor's rig that's loaded every day. That's why "best tires for F-150" has no single answer.

The question that sorts it out is how much weight your tires need to carry, and how often. Brand comes after that. This guide covers the F-150-specific parts: P-metric or LT, load range, and pressure. Our Learn guide on LT vs P-metric tires has the full background.

Step 1: Read your placard

Ford fits a wide range of tire sizes across F-150 trims and wheel packages. Some trucks leave the factory on P-metric (passenger) tires, others on LT (light truck) tires.

The Tire and Loading Information placard on the driver's door pillar tells you:

• the original size, including a P or LT prefix
• the load index and speed rating
• the cold pressure for the original tires
• the truck's maximum load, and Ford lists maximum vehicle and axle weights on its labels too

Ford's own tire replacement guidance is to use tires of the same size, load index and speed rating the truck was originally equipped with. Check any tire against yours:

Step 2: Understand what P-metric means on a truck

P-metric tires are designed for passenger vehicles. When a vehicle maker puts them on a truck or SUV, federal safety standard FMVSS No. 110 requires it to divide the tire's load rating by 1.10. In other words, a P-metric tire on your F-150 is counted as carrying less than its sidewall says.

That's not a problem for the use Ford designed the truck around. It does mean there's less spare capacity than the sidewall number suggests, which matters if you tow or haul more than the original owner did.

Step 3: LT tires and load range

LT tires are built for heavier loads. Instead of XL or standard load, they carry a load range letter, such as C, D or E, which replaced the old ply ratings. A higher letter means a higher maximum pressure and a higher load limit.

What changes if you move from P-metric to LT:

The key point: size for size, an LT tire needs more air pressure to carry the same load as a P-metric tire. So the placard pressure, which Ford set for the original tires, doesn't automatically apply after a switch. The right pressure comes from the tire maker's load and inflation table, as Toyo's guidelines describe.

If your truck came on LT tires, stay with LT. Going from LT to P-metric reduces capacity and isn't a like-for-like swap.

Step 4: Match the tire to the work

Whatever you pick, never go below the original load capacity. Our load index guide explains how to read it.

Leveled, lifted or plus-sized trucks

Many F-150s don't stay stock. Bigger wheels, taller tires and leveling kits all change the tire question:

• Overall diameter affects the speedometer. A taller tire turns fewer times per mile, so the speedometer reads low. Our plus-size calculator shows the difference for any size change.
• Load capacity still has to match. A larger, more aggressive tire is not automatically a stronger one. Check its load index or load range against the original.
• Clearance is real. Wider and taller tires can rub at full steering lock or under suspension compression. Fitment depends on wheel offset as well as tire size; our offset and backspacing guide explains why.
• The placard won't cover the new size. Pressure for a non-original size comes from the tire maker's load and inflation table, not the door label.

Florida heat under load

Heat and weight work together. A loaded truck on hot summer asphalt puts more stress on tires than the same truck empty in January. Two habits help:

• Check pressure cold, before you hook up, against the placard or the load table for your tires. Low pressure plus a heavy load builds heat.
• Inspect before long tows. Look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear, and check the trailer's tires too.

NHTSA's tire safety guidance also reminds drivers not to overload: the placard's maximum load is a limit, not a target.

Don't forget the trailer

If you tow a boat or camper, the trailer's tires carry part of the load too, and they often sit for weeks between trips. Check their pressure against the trailer maker's label, read their DOT date codes, and look for cracks and bulges before each season. A trailer tire that fails on the Turnpike stops the whole rig, however good the truck's tires are.

Work trucks and fleets

If your F-150 earns its keep, tire downtime costs money. Our commercial tires page quotes multi-vehicle orders per tire, and our mobile van can come to a job site or yard in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

Next steps

1. Read your placard: P or LT, load index, speed rating, pressure.
2. Decide how much load you really carry, and how often.
3. Use Find My Tires or shop by size, and filter by type.
4. If you're switching between P-metric and LT, ask us to set pressure from the tire maker's load table. Call (954) 773-1896.