Correct Silverado 1500 Tire Size for Your Trim and Wheels

Which Silverado 1500 tire size does your truck use?

A Silverado 1500 can leave the factory on one of several tire sizes, and the right one depends on trim, wheel diameter, model year and package. Where you start depends on your situation.

Matching tires to a truck you own

Replacing a worn set? Your truck’s own label decides, so read the steps in the last section first. The full build matrix sits in our Silverado 1500 specs by configuration guide.

Cross-shopping trims before you buy

Comparing trims? The trim table pairs each one with its wheel and tire sizes. Upgrading from stock? The replacement section covers what must not change.

ℹ️ Safety Note: A tire’s load rating is a safety limit, not a styling choice. The figures here are for comparison. Confirm the size and load index for your own truck on its label before you buy.

📍 Check your own vehicle first: Specifications vary by build date, package and market, and two trucks with the same badge can be built differently. Before you buy anything based on this page, confirm against the Tire and Loading Information Label on the driver’s door edge or post, then your owner’s manual. If your truck disagrees with this page, your truck is right.

How to read the size, load index and load range

A tire’s sidewall code gives its type, size and rated capacity in one string.

P-metric vs LT: the code on the sidewall

A leading LT marks light-truck construction; no letters, or a leading P, marks a passenger-metric tire. The numbers that follow are width in millimeters, sidewall height as a percentage of width, and wheel diameter in inches.

Load index, speed symbol and Load Range

The load index is a code for the most weight one tire may carry at its rated inflation pressure; it is not a weight in pounds. The letter after it is the speed symbol, and LT tires also carry a Load Range letter for stronger construction.

🔍 What This Spec Means: Load index limits each tire, so a higher number means a higher rated capacity per tire. It does not tell you what the whole truck can carry.

Silverado 1500 tire sizes by trim and model year

Tire size follows trim, wheel diameter and package. The table shows each pairing for model year 2026 as retailer and dealer lookups list them.

Sizes compiled from retailer and dealer lookups as a cross-check only; GM documentation is not yet retrieved. Load index and Load Range are omitted until sourced.

2019 and 2022: when “Silverado 1500” means two trucks

GM sold a carried-over truck beside the new one in 2019 (the 1500 LD) and again in 2022 (the 1500 LTD). Their tire sizes differ from the current generation’s.

2020–2027: sizes by trim and wheel diameter

The table covers 2026 only. Other model years.

🚫 Fits But Shouldn’t: An 18-inch wheel can carry a passenger-metric size or an LT-metric size, and both mount. Only the one matching your label’s load index and Load Range is right.

What load index do factory Silverado tires carry?

The manufacturer sets load index for each factory size, so the label on your truck holds the figure that counts.

Load index and Load Range by factory size

Applies to the 2026 rows above; type read from the size code, load index not yet sourced.

From load index to pounds per tire

Each load index maps to a pounds figure in a published table, so look yours up there rather than in a retailer chart. Tire rating is one limit among several; see Silverado 1500 payload by cab and engine.

⚠️ Watch Out: A tire with a lower load index than your label lists is a part below its required rating. Match or exceed the label figure, and have the shop confirm it before mounting.

Trail Boss, ZR2 and Z71 tires: what changes

Off-road packages change tire type as well as size, so they get their own check.

Trail Boss: 18-inch LT vs 20-inch

Retailer lists pair Trail Boss trucks with an 18-inch LT-metric size and with 20-inch sizes. Which trim gets which is. LT construction changes the load rating you read off the label.

ZR2: the factory off-road size

Lists show an 18-inch LT-metric size for the ZR2. Z71 is a package, so its tire follows the trim and wheel it is paired with. Package content is covered in Z71, Trail Boss and ZR2 differences.

Replacement and upsizing: sizes that fit but shouldn’t be used

A tire that mounts is not necessarily a tire your label allows.

Never go below the placard load index

NHTSA tells buyers to choose the original size or another size the vehicle manufacturer recommends. Any replacement should meet or exceed the load index on your label.

Plus-sizing, 22s and speedometer error

A change in overall diameter shifts speedometer readings and can affect tire pressure monitoring, so compare diameters with the Tire Size Comparison and Speedometer Error tool. Each size also has an approved wheel-width range; wheel facts are in which wheels fit a Silverado.

🚫 Fits But Shouldn’t: The factory 22-inch size is a low-profile passenger-metric size in retailer lists, and its load index may differ from LT sizes on smaller wheels. Your label’s load index settles which tire is acceptable.

Where to confirm your tire size on the truck

Every number here is a comparison until you check it against your own truck.

The Tire and Loading Information Label

📐 On the Spec Sheet: NHTSA says the Tire and Loading Information Label is on the driver’s side door edge or post, and that buyers should choose the original size or another size the manufacturer recommends. Use the manufacturer’s inflation figure, not the number on the tire. See NHTSA’s tire label guidance.

Owner’s manual and sidewall

1. Read size, load index and pressure from the label.
2. Check the owner’s manual for your model year.
3. Match the sidewall of the mounted tires.
4. Use the window sticker or build sheet for the wheel package.

✅ Do This: Ask the shop: “Does this tire’s load index meet or exceed the load index on my door-jamb label?”

Silverado 1500 tire size questions