suitable tyre

by John Mc Clelland
(Victoria Australia)

I have a mazda 2009 BT-50 dualcab 4x2 3.0 litre auto ute, it is fitted with 215/70/R15c tyres, now how do i know it's the rite tyre or should it have a L/T tyres, oh i forgot to mention this is a 2nd hand vehicle so i don't know if someone has put different tyres on it, i don't want to do any bush bashing strictly touring around Australia

Editorial Comment:

Tirerack.com says: "If a tire size begins with "LT," it signifies the tire is a "Light Truck-metric" size that was designed to be used on vehicles that are capable of carrying heavy cargo or towing large trailers. This includes medium and heavy-duty (typically 3/4- and 1-ton load capacity) pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and full-size vans. They... are designed to provide substantial reserve capacity to accept the additional stresses of carrying heavy cargo."

In practical terms, this means that your vehicle can operate quite satisfactorily with tires that are not LS's, PROVIDED that you are not going to carry heavy cargo or low trailers. The most important characteristic of the tires you use for this vehicle is the load capacity or load rating which is much higher if the vehicle is designed to carry heavy loads but if you are not going to carry those loads then you can get away with a tire without that extra capacity. You simply have to know your own driving plans.

TG