Tire size question (quick question)?

the 89H is the speed and load rating of your tire. It is important. I suggest letting a tire or auto repair shop install your tires. You more than likely do not have the equipment to do it. Also, it can be very hazardous if you do not know what you are doing.

H rated tires are good to 130 MPH

T rated tires are good to 118 MPH which is fine for most family sedans.

89H is the load rating of the tire, or in other words what the max weight each tire will support, along with the speed rating.

In this case, a load rating of 89 indicates a 1279lb weight rating. That's per tire. So an 89T and 89H will both be able to carry 1279lbs per tire.

The H or T, is the speed rating. An H speed rating indicates it is safe up to 130mph, while a T speed rating means it is safe up to 118mph.

By far, for a car, the letter is more important than the number. If your OEM tires were H speed rated, then you want tires that are at least H rated. So basically, you would want a tire with an H, V, W, Y, or Z speed rating.

The number is the load rating of the tire; that is, how much weight the tire can safely carry. This number MUST be the same (or greater) for any replacement tires. The letter is the speed rating of the tire. In this case, "H" means the tire is rated up to 130 miles per hour. The tires that are "T" rated are only safe up to 118 mph.

It's NOT a good idea to replace tires with lower rated ones. Most reputable shops will refuse to install tires with a lower speed or weight rating that specified by the vehicle manufacturer, for both liability and safety reasons. Even if you'd never exceed the safe limit of the lower-rated tires, the manufacturer designed the vehicle to use that specific tire rating.

It's impossible to install tires without specialized equipment and training, but TireRack.com (see below) is the most widely used and accurate website to "virtually" experiment with different tires, and they usually have the best prices when you decide what tires to buy.

Installation on your own is easy - if you have a $2,500 tire mounting machine and $3,000 tire balancing machine in your garage. If not don't be cheap or try to kill yourself - pay the guy $10-15 each to mount and balance them properly.

In the Service Index the 89 is the tires load carrying capacity and the letter is the tires speed rating. Downgrading the speed rating from H to T can change the handling characteristics of the vehicle even at lower speeds.

Most tire sellers will allow you to go "down" one speed rating degree. But in your case going from a H to a T is going down two degrees. Not recommended. There are many top quality tires in your 205/55-16 H89 (or higher) size available to you, including the following.

General Altimax HP

BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S

Sumitomo HTR A/S P01

Kumho Solus KH16

Here they all are on tirerack.com. You can save a bundle if you can mount and balance yourself.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.js...

That would be your load index (the 89) and speed rating (T). Load index is a code that says how much load each tire can carry, and speed rating is the maximum speed tht it is safe to go on those tires. You should look up what each code stands for. Also it would

Be hard to install tires yourself without a tire machine.