Tire Load Rating

[thrasherlife]

I'm looking to get a set of winter tires for my X5 35d that'll be arriving in less than a month. My question is, do we really need to stick to the 107XL load index rating?

From what I can tell the maximum weight per tire is roughly 1850 lbs based on the max gawr (gross axle weight rating) of 3699lbs. The 107XL rating means each tire can do a max of 2149lbs and about 50psi max. I was looking at the Pirelli Scorpion Winter tire which has a rating of 103 which means each tire can handle 1929lbs. What do you think?

[Stinkyxy]

It depends on the size of the rim. Larger rims(smaller side walls) can run a lower rating. Anyone with 22" wheels will be running a 103 up front and a 107/9 load rating in the back.

Below from the manual. I went with scorpion snow and ice which is a good tire for the x5. If you are using an oem setup (19s)it may not be good enough.


Front: 275/40 R 20 106 W XL RSC
Rear: 315/35 R 20 110 W XL RSC
Front: 275/40 R 20 106 V M+S XL RSC
Rear: 315/35 R 20 110 V M+S XL RSC
Front: 285/35 R 21 105 Y XL RSC
Rear: 325/30 R 21 108 Y XL RSC
Emergency wheel:
T 155/90 D 18 113 M
T 155/80 R 19 114 M

Specifications in bar/PSI with cold tires
255/55 R 18 109 H M+S XL A/S RSC
255/55 R 18 109 H M+S XL RSC
255/50 R 19 107 H M+S XL A/S RSC
255/50 R 19 107 H M+S XL RSC
Front: 255/50 R 19 107 W XL RSC
Rear: 285/45 R 19 111 W XL RSC