I got a small suv recently (09 equinox) and noticed 1 axle has load range E tires and the other axle has std passenger tires. Seems a bit unsettled on hwy. is mixing load range tires an issue? Or not? Door sticker says 30psi and all are ok.
I would be concerned about the speed rating of the “E” tires.
Most of us are driving around on tires with speed ratings of S, T, U, H, or V, and while we would probably not exceed the speed ratings of those tires, it would be very easy to exceed the speed rating of an “E” tire.
Do you ever drive faster than 43 mph?
Can you tell us which “small suv” you have?
Since the door sticker says 30psi, I’m pretty sure your vehicle doesn’t actually require load range E tires, as the minimum inflation for load range E is often 50psi
Load range E tires have a 10 ply sidewall, that is a 3/4 or 1 ton rated tire, not a mini van tire… you probably have 1 or 2 ply tires on everything else…
Plenty of load range E tires doing 80+ mph everyday… I think most load range E tires are Q or R, so safe for 100 mph… Max air pressure is 80 PSI normally
The main thing is that is a heavy tire with not much give, meant to haul a lot of weight, so you are riding around in a 1/2 a log wagon… Not recommended either…
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09 equinox. Tire is 235/65/16C. The wheels had been rotated as the tpms system had the front/rear tires out of position. I assume few people relearn tpms when they rotate. I recall 2 tires were 39psi and 2 were about 32psi
Sounds like tires with very different handling characteristics. I’d swap those E tires out for ones that match the other ones, or get 4 new tires if those two tires are worn or low quality.
Load rating and speed rating are two different things 
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Whoops!
You’re right, of course.
I should have read the original post more carefully.
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Load range E tires are typically found on 3/4 and 1 ton vehicles like F350 and Silverado 2500 pickups. They have very stiff and durable sidewalls and the tires probably show a max inflation pressure of 80psi, with most manufacturers advising inflations from 60 to 80 depending on tire position and load.
You’re driving around at half that pressure. Asking the sidewalls to flex a lot more than they were meant to and asking the tread to grip properly without enough weight on the tires to work as they were designed. I can only imagine how odd the car handles with 2 load range E tires.
Stop by the used tire store and get a set of rubber with the proper load and speed rating.
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I do have another set of matching wheels and passenger tires. Great tread also. But wheels have clear coat corrosion issues. I can swap them and deal with corrosion stuff later. I put the current ones on because wheels have no corrosion issues.
The C stands for load range C, C is a 6 ply tire, there is also a D which is a 8 ply tire…
So do you have 2 P metric tires and 2 LT tires?? and are the LT’s C or E load range??
Since you are running 16" tires, that should make your trim level LS/LT, it calls for a basic P235/65R16…
No XL, C, D, E, just basic run of the mill all season tire…
EDIT: Yeah never mind, I had forgotten about the C=Commercial thing… oops…
Just me but I’m tired of problems. What does it cost to have the good rims swapped onto the hood matched tires. Then you can dispose of the mismatched tires and work on the rims at your leisure. Problem solved. Handling restored. Winter coming.
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Xx-16C is for commercial. And load range E is extra info
Can you take a picture of all that and post it here??
What tires are they??
I believe we have that exact size on our fleet’s Ford Transit vans and they are a BEAR to mount, as they are stiff as a board
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I second this. I always use matching tires for safety.
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One has to wonder how tires designed and rated for one category of vehicle(delivery vans) end up on another category (passenger sedan or crossover).
8 years on, and I still remember my church’s old 2000 Dodge 3500 passenger van had P-rated tires on it. Remember, that thing is a 14-15 passenger hauler, not a 4-pax sedan.
If anything, more pew offerings should have been spent on LT-rated tires for that large people mover.
To improve ride quality and handling, it’s recommended to use tires of the same load range and type on all four wheels. Matching tires across both axles ensures consistent handling and performance, especially when driving at highway speeds.
Different load range tires will have different side-wall flex. I wouldn’t mix them.
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