QuestionI recently bought a 2002 Chevy Express Van (7 passenger) that has P23575R15 tires. The tires are 5 years old and the van has had limited use, so the tires have a lot of tread left, but a few dry wall cracks and sidewall abrasions. I thought of replacing them. I then also noted that the tires are not XL tires. The tag says the tires should be P23575R15 XL. (The rear axle limit is 3968 using the XL tires at 41psi.) The current P tires are rated at 2028lbs @35psi, but if I subtract 10%, that puts me under the rear max limit. I also don't like the way the P tires "bulge" out. Everyone says my tires look low on air pressure.
1. Should I replace the P tires or can I get a few years use out of them?
2. If I replace them, can I use a LT tire instead of the XL? I want more of an all-terrain tire.
AnswerMatt,
First, you should be aware that recent bulletins from the tire industry indicate that tires degrade simply due to time. The age of a tire is important even if the tire is unused. There some disagreement over how to best express this age limitation, but my take is:
If you live in a hot climate (AZ, CA, NV, TX, and FL) then the limit is six years. If you live in a cold climate (MN, ND, WI, MT, etc), then the limit is 10 years. States in between are ..... ah ........ in between.
The second part is the use of Standard Load tires in place of Extra Load tires. Obviously someone didn't follow the placard information when replacing tires. The smaller load carrying capacity means an increased risk of a load related tire failure - and this has to be weighed along with the issue of the age of the tires.
I am not a fan of replacing P metric tires with LT metric tires. LT metric tires require 15 psi more inflation for the same load carrying capacity. Besides, I think you will find a suitable All Terrain tire in a P metric size.
And lastly - remember this is a van, not a pickup. In my opinion, even thinking about putting an All Terrain tire on this vehicle is wrong-headed.
