Upgrading to 16" Wheels/Tires

[ksassy]

I have a 1996 I30 and am upgrading from 15" factory wheels with 205/65-15 tires to 16" x 6.5" factory wheels. Would like to mount 215/55-16 Continental ContiExtremeContact tires on the 16" rims to stay close to the original diameter (25.5"). I am concerned that the load rating of this tire is 91. Factory load rating requirement is 92. Is the lower load rating an issue? I also looked at 225/55-16 with a load rating of 94 but feel they may be a little too wide for 6.5" wide rims. Would appreciate any responses that could shed some light on these issues.

[Grant@tirerack]

The actual load capacity per stock tire at the listed 29 psi would be 1279 lbs per tire. The load rating is relative to the amount of pressure you are running as well. A 215/55-16 tire has a load rating of 91. If you run that at the same 29 psi it will have 1249 lbs load capacity per tire. If you run it at 31 psi it will have 1295 lbs load capacity which will be okay. Personally, I'd run them at 32-35 for better handling and greater resistance to heat buildup over time. The tires will last longer and you'll probably get a little better life out of them.