How to Read Tire Size Measurements

Wheel size is a very important factor when choosing tires. Choosing the right tires helps you get more road grip and enhances safety. However, not many motorists know how to determine the size of the tires.

There are different type of tires available in the market but it depends upon you how to pick one according to you need. The inscriptions on the sides of each tire contain necessary information. Knowing how to decipher these signs, you get to know all the features such as rubber typed used and see whether it’s suitable for a certain type of car.

Instructions

  • 1

    First try to determine the width of the wheel. For the calculation, you can use some traditional formula that involves the measurement of the width of the tire to get the width of the wheel disc. For example, if you have a tire i.e. 255 mm, the width of the disc is 255 mm - 20% = 204 mm. To put this value in centimetres, divide that number by 10.

  • 2

    So you can determine the size of your wheels according to the available options or directly looking at the labels on the lid of the tyre. As a rule, the size will be listed and indicated as follows: 6 x 14, 6.5 x 15, etc. Here, the first number is the width of the rim in inches and the second number - rim diameter in inches again. Based on these figures, you can easily determine what size tire you want to buy.

    The inscriptions on the sides of each tire contain necessary information. Knowing how to decipher these signs, you get to know all the features such as rubber typed used and see whether it’s suitable for a certain type of car.

  • 3

    If the information from the rating plate sticker has worn off and there is no possibility to find this information, you can go to the automotive sites on the internet. Select the make, model, year of production and modification of the car and tire sizes to find the parameter.

  • 4

    When choosing the size of the wheel, remember that the diameter of the rim vary from an average 10 to 23 inches (depending on vehicle). The width of the tire can vary between 2.3 and 4 inches. The smallest of these indicators are suitable for motorcycles, scooters and motor scooters etc.

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