How to check tyre sizes

At Wheel Power, as well as the highest quality wheel alignment and tracking services, we also have a huge range of tyres for all of your motoring needs. With a stunning array of the most prestigious tyre brands, including Pirelli, Dunlop, Michelin and Falken, as well as speciality tyres and a price range to suit everyone's budget, you can be sure we can provide for all of your tyre requirements.

What size tyres do I need?

It can be extremely confusing knowing what size tyres you need to order for your car. Unless you know what it is you're looking for, tyre markings can be like a foreign language – all those letters and numbers and apparently meaningless codes. In reality, most of the information on most tyres is not particularly useful. What you really need to know can be found in the group of characters that look like this:

205/65 R 15 90 V

Let's look at each of those characters in turn.

205 refers to the width of the tyre, and is measured in millimetres.
65 refers to the profile of the tyre, which is the height of the sidewall of the tyre, expressed as a percentage of the width (this is also referred to as an aspect ratio). An aspect ratio of 65, to continue with this example, indicates that the height of the tyre is equal to 65% of its width.
R in this example refers to the construction type of the tyre – in this case the 'R' stands for 'Radial'. Almost every new tyre these days falls into this category.
15 refers to the wheel rim diameter and is measured in inches.
90 refers to the load index of the vehicle, which is to say, how much it can carry, and is measured in kilograms.
V refers to the vehicle's speed rating. The speed rating indicates the maximum speed a tyre can safely manage when it is inflated correctly and fully loaded. A speed rating of V has a maximum speed of 240 km per hour.
Your new tyres can be any tread pattern and make you choose, but the size must always match those that are already in place and in use on your car.

It may, however, be possible to fit tyres which have a higher load index or a different speed rating to those laid out in your vehicle's manufacturer manual. You should always check in the official documentation to see if this is possible. There may be local motoring laws and regulations which do not permit deviation from the specifications. A good tyre dealer would always be able to help you with this before purchasing and fitting the right tyres.

What else can my tyre tell me?

The other information on your tyre tells you:

the name of your tyre manufacturer
maximum tyre pressure information
when you need to replace your tyres – tread wear indicators show when your tyre is worn down
production date and country of origin

For more information or to get a quote on new tyres, get in contact with one of our experts today.