What Size Tires Do I Need?

tires

Having the correct tire size for your car is vital in maintaining its safe, high level of performance throughout your regular Fishers, Indianapolis, and Noblesville commutes. As such, the experts here at Andy Mohr Buick GMC have supplied you with this personal guide on how to read tire size. Below are step-by-step directions to help you make sure that the tires you have on your vehicle are the right ones for the job!

TYPE OF TIRE  Signs of Tire Wear and Tear eBook

Whenever it’s convenient for you, take a look at the sidewall of one of your tires at what is commonly referred to as the tire size code. While this seems like quite a long string of letters and numbers, we’ll take it step by step to decode your tire size. The first thing you will probably see on the far left of the code is the letter P—this is in reference to the fact that your tire is a P-metric tire. 

This is also how you know the tire was manufactured in the United States in accordance with the required passenger vehicle guidelines. If your vehicle is a light pickup truck, for example, you should not be seeing a P on your tire; rather, yours will either begin or end with the letters LT, which stand for light truck. When in doubt, your owner’s manual will tell you what type of tire is the ideal fit for your vehicle.  

Tire Width 

The next thing you will see when reading from left to right is the tire’s width, which is represented by a 3-digit number in millimeters.  

Aspect Ratio Of Your Tire

The number directly to the right of the slash mark is the aspect ratio. If your tire size code started out looking something like P205/55, you’ll know that the height of the tire is 55 percent of its width.   

Tire Construction tires

The next item to the right of the aspect ratio will be the letter R, which stands for radial. This refers to how your tire is constructed. 

Wheel Diameter

The wheel diameter tells you which wheel size to pair with your tire. For instance, if a tire size reads P205/55 R16, the tire is designed to fit onto a wheel with a 16-inch diameter.

Load Index Number

Next up is the load index number, which corresponds with the tire’s maximum load-carrying capacity in the load index.  

Speed Rating

Finally, you’ll get to your tire’s speed rating. This letter corresponds to the maximum recommended speed for the tire. For example, if you see an H in this spot, it would mean that you should not exceed 130 MPH on that tire. 

WE’RE HERE FOR ALL YOUR TIRE SERVICE NEEDS

As this guide shows, all those seemingly random numbers and letters on the sides of your tires actually contain very important information. Thus, if you call the Fishers, Indianapolis, and Noblesville areas home, we encourage you to get ahold of our team of certified automotive technicians over in the service department; if you have any questions about the above information or your tires need to be inspected, repaired, or replaced, they can help. 

Contact Andy Mohr Buick GMC to schedule your appointment today!

Contact Us

Andy Mohr Buick GMC

9295 E 131ST STREET
Fishers, IN 46038
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