QuestionQUESTION: My pickup currently has 235/75/15 on it and i have a set of 215/75/15. could they be used on my pickup. my pickup is a 1978 chevy half ton.
ANSWER: Dirk,
On every vehicle sold in the US, there is a sticker – commonly called the tire placard - that lists the original tire size and the proper pressure for that size. The placard is usually located on a doorpost or in the glove box – but sometimes it is located in the trunk or on the fuel filler door.
BTW, it doesn't matter who makes the tire or what pressure is listed on the tire's sidewall, if the tire size is the same as the placard, then the pressure listed on placard is also appropriate.
So does the tire size currently on there match the tire placard? If it does, then what you have proposed is going down in load carrying capacity - and that increases the risk of a load related tire failure, which sometimes has tragic results,
If the current tire does not match the tire placard, post a followup with what the tire placard says for both size and pressure.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: It says that the tire size is L78x150. So im not sure what the actual size is.
AnswerDirk,
I didn't pick up on the fact that your vehicle was a 1978! Not that it matters in the big scheme of things, but the tire size caught me by surprise.
Oh, and L78-15 was the size! This is using what was known as an AlphaNumeric sizing system, that was replaced by the sizing system we use now, commonly referred to as the Metric sizing system.
Without going into all the details, the way we size tires now means that 235/75R15 is the closest equivalent. So, no, using a 215/75R15 is not a good idea as I have stated above.
