Tire sizes? Calculating height... [Archive]

wjfawb0

07-08-2005, 03:16 PM

I thought I would post this to help people understand tire size nomenclature. Tire rack has some pretty good tech articles, and here is one on tire size:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=46

For instance, how to calculate your overall tire diameter?

265/70-16

265 = section width of tire in millimeters (25.4mm = 1")

70 = % of section width that equals aspect height or sidewall height

16 = size of rim in inches that the tire mounts on

Wheel diameter + (2 * sidewall height) = overall diameter

16" + (2 * (265 * 0.70 / 25.4) ) = 30.6"

Lots more tech can be found on tirerack.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp

hytenor

07-08-2005, 07:56 PM

I thought I would post this to help people understand tire size nomenclature. Tire rack has some pretty good tech articles, and here is one on tire size:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=46

For instance, how to calculate your overall tire diameter?

265/70-16

265 = section width of tire in millimeters (25.4mm = 1")

70 = % of section width that equals aspect height or sidewall height

16 = size of rim in inches that the tire mounts on

Wheel diameter + (2 * sidewall height) = overall diameter

16" + (2 * (265 * 0.70 / 25.4) ) = 30.6"

Lots more tech can be found on tirerack.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp

yea, the charts are good for general reference. Unfortunately, tire mfgs like to make their tires of the exact same "size" completely different most of the time. So, no two 265/70/16s are the same, dimention wise. :mad:

wjfawb0

07-10-2005, 06:33 AM

yea, the charts are good for general reference. Unfortunately, tire mfgs like to make their tires of the exact same "size" completely different most of the time. So, no two 265/70/16s are the same, dimention wise. :mad:

I understand. I learned a lot about this with my cobra. A Goodyear or BFGoodrich 275/40-17 tire is not the same size as a Kumho, Yokohama, Avon or Nitto 275/40-17 tire. Nittos are probably the worst brand as far as this goes. Their 315/35-17 drag radial is about as wide as a 295 Goodyear or BFG.