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What size tires will fit my car?
By Product Expert | Posted in FAQs, Tips and Tricks on Saturday, June 15th, 2019 at 6:37 pm
How to Determine Tire Size for Your Vehicle
It’s not often that we drivers have to change our vehicle’s tires, so when the time comes to get some new ones, it can be a bit intimidating. However, it’s important not to dilly-dally and to get those tires changed promptly, as driving on worn tire can be both dangerous and damaging to your vehicle.
Part of purchasing new tires, if you want to take matters more into your own hands, is finding out what size tires your vehicle needs. We’re going to help you find the answer to that commonly asked question: “what size tires will fit my car?”
Understanding the Tire Number
If you still have the old tires on your vehicle, all the information you need to determine tire size is right there. Using a simple equation based on the information you can find on the side, or “sidewall” of your tire, you can easily calculate the size.
Tire size consists of three measurements: width, aspect ratio, and tire size.
Read More: How to Tell That Your Tires Need to be Changed
Where can I find the tire size information on my tire?
On the sidewall of your tire, there should be a long number that is likely preceded by a letter. This may look intimidating, but it’s kind of like a secret code- once you have the key, you’ll be able to extract all sorts of useful information from this number.
To get our tire size figure, we need to find width, aspect ratio, and rim sizes.
- Width: The tire width should be the first number on your tire, generally three digits. It should be followed by a slash mark.
- Aspect Ratio: After the slash mark, the next number is the aspect ratio. This is generally two digits.
- Rim: The third number, the rim size, refers to the wheel itself that the tire fits over. This will generally be two digits occurring at the end of the initial number/letter sequence.
Note: If the format of your number is different from the one described above, you likely have a different type of tire optimized for off-road performance, which this post does not apply to.
