Which Tyre Size would Fit my Rims?

 

Planning on getting a set of new rims or second hand rims? Wondering about what tyre specs would fit? Read on.

Before we begin, you need to be familiar with the tyre specifications. The specifications of a tyre can be found on its sidewall and typically look like this:

tyre-marking

What it means?

A is the Section Width. In the example above, it means the tyre has a width of 195mm.

B is the Aspect Ration. It is the height of the sidewall expressed as a percentage of the width. In the example, the sidewall is 65% of the width (195), which makes it 195 x 0.65 = 126.75 mm

C is the Tyre construction. R denotes radial construction, which is typical of passenger tyres.

D is the Rim diameter in Inches. So 15 means that the tyre can fit rims of 15 inches.

E is the Tyre Load Index. It represents the maximum weight the tyre can carry. By looking up a Load Index table, 91 (in the example) gives you a load capacity of 615kg.

F is the Speed Index. It is also known as the speed rating as it tells you the maximum speed the tyre is suitable for a full load. By looking up the Speed Index table, you will see that T allows you a maximum speed of 190km/h.

 

Load Index Kg Pound(lb) Load Index Kg Pound(lb)
62 265 584 96 710 1565
63 272 600 97 730 1609
64 280 617 98 750 1653
65 290 639 99 775 1709
66 300 661 100 800 1764
67 307 677 101 825 1819
68 315 694 102 850 1874
69 325 717 103 875 1929
70 335 739 104 900 1984
71 345 761 105 925 2039
72 355 783 106 950 2094
73 365 805 107 975 2150
74 375 827 108 1000 2205
75 387 853 109 1030 2271
76 400 882 110 1060 2337
77 412 908 111 1090 2403
78 425 937 112 1120 2469
79 437 963 113 1150 2535
80 450 992 114 1180 2601
81 462 1019 115 1215 2679
82 475 1047 116 1250 2756
83 487 1074 117 1285 2833
84 500 1102 118 1320 2910
85 515 1135 119 1360 2998
86 530 1168 120 1400 3086
87 545 1202 121 1450 3197
88 560 1235 122 1500 3307
89 580 1279 123 1550 3417
90 600 1323 124 1600 3527
91 615 1356 125 1650 3638
92 630 1389 126 1700 3748
93 650 1433 127 1750 3858
94 670 1477 128 1800 3968
95 690 1521
Speed Symbol Speed (kmh) Speed (mph)
E 70 43
F 80 50
G 90 56
J 100 62
K 110 68
L 120 75
M 130 81
N 140 87
P 150 94
Q 160 100
R 170 106
S 180 112
T 190 118
U 200 124
H 210 130
V 240 149
W 270 168
Y 300 186
(Y) > 300 > 186

How old are your tyres?

Tyres more than 4 years from the date of manufacturing lose their properties and can be a hazard. Fortunately, the date of manufacturing is stamped on the tyre sidewalls for easy reference. You will see something like this on the sidewall of the tyre:

tyre

Look at the last four digits of the code. The first two indicate the week of manufacture while the last two digits represent the year. In this example, the numbers are “3011”. This tyre was manufactured during the 30th week of the year 2011.

 

Getting the right tyre size for your rims.

The width of your rims and tyres are closely dependent.

When you change your car rims, make sure the tyre width fits the rim. For example, if your new rims are 15 x 6.0”, there is a range of tyre width that would match. Never go with a tyre with a width that is too wide or too narrow. In this example of a 6″ rim, the tyre width ranging from 175mm to 205mm would fit, with 185mm or 195mm as optimum.

To know which tyre sizing would fit for your rims, refer to the Tyre/Rim width table below.

Rims Width (inch) Min Tyre Width (mm) Ideal Tyre Width (mm) Max Tyre Width (mm)
5.0 155 165 or 175 185
5.5 165 175 or 185 195
6.0 175 185 or 195 205
6.5 185 195 or 205 215
7.0 195 205 or 215 225
7.5 205 215 or 225 235
8.0 215 225 or 235 245
8.5 225 235 or 245 255
9.0 235 245 or 255 265
9.5 245 255 or 265 275
10.0 255 265 or 275 285
10.5 265 275 or 285 295
11.0 275 285 or 295 305
11.5 285 295 or 305 315
12.0 295 305 or 315 325
12.5 305 315 or 325 335

Once you have the tyre width, the next step is to figure out the Aspect Ratio of your tyres so that you minimize the speed offset due to the change in overall diameter of your wheel. This is a good tool you could use. http://www.willtheyfit.com/