QuestionQUESTION: I have a 2001 Ford Taurus that has 215/60R16 tires on it and while searching for tires I noticed that Yokohama makes an all terrain tire in that size, the Geolander AT/S. The load rating and speed rating are the same as the touring tires that I currently have and I was wondering if it would be bad to put such tires on a car. It does not list the tires as LT or P on the sizing. I realize that the tires will be noisier than a touring tire and not handle quite as well but the winter traction and wet traction will be much better and I am mostly interested in the novelty of the idea.
ANSWER: Ryan,
Your car is not a truck or an SUV, so tires designed for trucks and SUV's are going to be designed with that application in mind - and noise, high speed operation, fuel economy, handling, and dry grip are not a priority.
An All Season car tire is much more suited for a Taurus than an All Terrain SUV tire could ever be. And some All Season tires give excellent snow and wet traction without the need to have an on-off road capability.
And if you need more snow traction, a dedicated winter tire is even better than an All Terrain tire!
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QUESTION: I do not wish to use dedicated winter tires. The Geolander tire is not designated as an LT tire. It doesn't have a P designation either and the tire was designed for a Subaru Forester which coincidently weighs exactly the same (3300lbs) as my Taurus. My question is really from a safety point of view more than anything. Do you think it would be unsafe to put an all terrain tire on a car, considering the all terrain tire was designed for a "wagon", (not an SUV or Truck) that has exactly the same curb weight?
AnswerRyan,
Yes, I think it would be unsafe to put that tire on a Taurus.
But I don't like to use words such as "Safe" and "Unsafe". Too "black and white". I like to use the term "Risk", which is a little easier to understand that there are degrees of potential danger that aren't well expressed the other way.
An All Terrain tire has some compromises in it that allow it to be used off road. Not only is the tread pattern more open, but the tread compound has to be "tougher". The net effect is that it will consume more fuel, not have as good of traction properties on pavement, and isn't optimized for "Car" usage. It matters not what you call the Subaru, all the Geolander's - and the line is quite extensive - were designed for a similar application using similar materials. The fact that this one size has a single application does not mean it was optimized for that application - quite the opposite.
So I see a "Risk" of putting this tire on a Taurus - the same risk as putting it on a Subaru. But if the vehicle is going to be used off road - something that might make sense for the Subaru, but makes no sense for the Taurus - then this might be a good fit of vehicle / usage.
BTW, the "LT" in the tire size has more to do with load carrying capacity, then with application.
