Car Tyre Sizing / Tyres Sidewall Marking

Tyre size and sidewall Markings explained: This online guide serves as a reference for our visitors and customers.This guide can help you identify the right tyre size for your car via reading the sidewall markings of your tyres Please feel free to give us a call at 0845 094 09 09 if you would like to inquire about our extremely competitive prices for car tyres delivered free throughout mainland UK.

The most efficient way to ascertain your car's tyre size, is to go outside to the vehicle and check it yourself. The tyre's size will be imprinted clearly on the sidewall. The picture above illustrates what you are looking for.

Tyre sizes are made up of a number of different numbers and letters these are baicaly Tyre width, Tyre pofile, diameter / rim size, loadrating and speedrating. For example tyre size:
205/55 R 16 91 V is made up of the following information:

Tyre Width:- The tyre width in the size above and in the piture below is the 205 marking on the tyre. The tyre widht is measured in millimeters and acutaly is the section width of the tyre this includes the widht that has grooves or tread convered on including the sidewall excluding any raised lettering and the rim protector.

Height / profile:- The hieght profile of the tyres is the hieght of the sidewall expressed as a percentage of the width. It is known as the aspect ratio in this case 55 % of 205 is 112.75mm the section height.

Rim diameter:-This is the size of the rim diameter and is measured in inches in the case it is 16 inch

Load rating:- The load index is a numerical code associated with the maximum load a tyre can carry in this instance 91 denoates a load carraying capacity of 615 kg for more information and load ratings charts please visit our load rating section.

Speed rating:-The tyre speed rating (i.e. V) is the maximum speed for which the tyre is rated. For example, the V rating identifies speeds up to 149 mph. On some high performance tyres the speedrating is shown as ZR and are konwn as Z rated tyres. In the above example the R only denotes radial. For more information on speed ratings please visit our speed ratings section for futher information and speed ratings charts.