E vs F rated

[SAP2018]

I’m in the market for new tires. Currently I have 295-70r18 Toyo AT2 on method 18x9 wheels.

The new tires I’m interested in are Nitto ridge grapplers. My main question is: The 295/70 is a pretty high load 129q and the “12ply” F rated 35x12.50 is 128q...why does the 12ply have a lower load rating? Am I missing something here?

I tow pretty frequently (15k) so I want to have solid, reliable tires. I have nothing to complain about with the Toyo’s, I’m simply inquiring because I’m confused about the load ratings vs plies I guess. 35x12.50 is what I’m leaning towards.

thank you!

 

[lpennock]

There are two ratings in any given load range. The normal tire and the floation tire ratings. For an E rated tire the normal tires is rated at 80psi while the floatation tire is rated for 65psi. For a F rated tire the numbers are 110/80psi. The F rated toyo is so they can have a floatation tire rated at 80psi. The Ply rating means nothing. The number that matters is the numeric load rating (125, 127...) as that tells the actual load carry capacity of the tire.

If you tow or carry top heavy loads you are better off with the Non-Flotation E rated tire (LT295/70r18) over the Flotation F rated tire, especially since the non-flotation tire has a higher load carrying rating. If you mostly drive unloaded and want the looks of the wider tire (both are about the same height) then the F rating on the flotation tire will make it better when you tow.

At the Flotation tire 65psi E pressure the F will have the exact same load capacity as the E tire; however, the side walls are a bit stronger so the F rated at 65psi will be a slightly more stable tire.