How do we determine what should be the size of the tire that your vehicle needs when you choose a tire size? One basic thing you will need to determine when you decide to buy a replacement tire would be the tire size (or diameter of the tire, basically) you need. As you probably know, tires come in all different diameters. You can find tire sizes varying from 13 inches all the way up to 22 inches. So, how do decide?
Thankfully, choose a tire size required by your car or truck isn’t as hard in most cases. In this article, we discuss the different places you can look for to determine the exact size of the tire you need to buy for your vehicle.
Quick side note- If you are looking for the best 35-inch tires suitable for off-roading vehicles, check out our off-roading vehicle reviews.
Determining the tire size:
The simplest way to find your tire diameter is to check out the information label which you may find on the insides of your vehicle’s driver’s side door. It would specify the exact dimensions of the current/ factory-fit tires. This should help you determine the exact wheel diameter for your specific vehicle.
Now, let’s say you don’t find that label in your car. This may happen if the car is second hand, or if the label is lost due to car wash or such reasons. Still, you don’t’ have to worry.
Here’s another thing you can do- check your current tires. You will probably see a jumble of letters and numbers on the sidewall or the insides, which looks like P215/65R15. The last digits in the series indicated the diameter of your wheel in inches which is 15 in this case. P in the beginning indicates Passenger vehicle and the digits after that are the indicators of the width of the tire in millimeters which is, in this case, 215. It may vary, but it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure it out. Once you have the basic idea of even the diameter, you can narrow down the tire choices easily.
There are simpler ways to get the answer though. You can check out the manufacturer’s website for the model and its part recommendations. Another no-brainer would be the user guide that came with the vehicle if you still have it.
Now, if you find this to be a little out of your comfort or expertise, and you can’t seem be able to confidently determine the dimensions of your tire, it is still okay. You can take the vehicle to a reliable mechanic or call somebody over. He can easily size up the tire and make the best suggestions for you vehicle.
Other things that matter about a tire
The size of a tire is not the only thing that you should be concerned about. Actually, there are other factors that hold greater priority when choosing a tire. As mentioned earlier, size is something that you can determine simply going to the manufacturer’s website or by checking out the user manual. Here are certain other things that you should keep in mind when trying to decide the tire size.
Rubber quality:
Quality of a tire has a lot to do with the rubber quality, for it related directly to the durability and sturdiness of the tire. Depending on your budget you can check out the various mid-quality and premium quality tires. You may also want to check out the manufacture
Tire type:
Different types of tires available are summer tire, all-terrain tire, mud-terrain tires, snow-tires or winter tires, performance tires, and all-season tires when you choose a tire size.
Tread pattern:
The choice of tread pattern may also vary based on your vehicle kind and purpose. Usually, for off-roading vehicles, asymmetric tread pattern tires are preferred.
Like the size of the tire, you’d probably be able to find the tread, type, and traction of the tire on your current tire as well. We hope this article offered you some insight into various things you should consider while buying a replacement tire. More importantly, we hope we were able to help you find the right size of tires that you are looking for.
