An explanation to tyre guide

[Pelicanbill]

Question:If the stock tires that are 265/70-16 what sizes of tires will fit on the stock rims?

Is there any leeway there with sizing? What will changing each of the numbers do to the size of the tire?

How big can I go tyre wise without doing a body lift? Thanks guys.

After you're done reading the tire and rim threads....

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Answer:
Pretty much, you can fit almost ANY size of 16" tire on the RIM...that's not really a limiting factor, the wheel wells are your limiting factor.

From a practical stand point, ANY diameter 16" tire will fit on the rim, and any WIDTH up to ~ 13.5".

As far as what the numbers do to the sizing...

For a 265/70/16 starting point:

The 265 means its section width (How wide the tire is sidewall to sidewall - NOT the TREAD width....sidewalls)...in millimeters (mm).

1 inch is ~ 25.4 mm, so 265 mm = 10.4"

So, roughly, a 265 is about the same as 10.5" wide.

The 16 means that the hole in the middle of the tire is meant for a 16" diameter RIM.

The 70 is more complicated...

Its called the aspect ratio, and its the ratio of the sidewall height to the sidewall width...

...so if the tire has an aspect ratio of 70, its sidewalls are 70% as tall as the section width.

THAT means that the larger the aspect ratio, the TALLER (Larger diameter) the tire will be, if everything else stays the same....as the larger the aspect ratio, the taller the sidewalls will be;

IE: The 70 aspect ratio is 70% of 265 mm, or 185.5 mm, the same as about 7.3"

You have sidewall below the rim, and above the rim, when on the ground...so, the diameter of the tire will be a sidewall + the rim diameter + the other sidewall.

185.5 mm x 2 = 371 mm, or ~ 14.6" (Same as 2 x 7.3" = 14.6", etc...)

So, we have a 16" rim, plus 14.6" of sidewalls = 30.6" of total tire diameter for a 265/70/16 tire.



If I made your tire 265/75/16 instead of 265/70/16:

I'd have 75% of 265 mm, or 198.8 mm, or ~ 7.8" per sidewall

So that's a TOTAL sidewall height of ~ 15.6",

plus

a 16" rim

So 16" + 15.6" = 31.6" in total tire diameter.

That would make a 265/75/16 tire roughly the equivalent of a 32x10.5/15 tire in overall size.

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Summary - for sizes using mm ("metric" or "passenger car tire" or "P-Metric" tire sizes...)

The first number is the section width, in mm

There are 25.4 mm per inch

The second number is the aspect ratio...bigger = taller sidewalls

The third number is the rim size, in inches.


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Some tires (Called "Light Truck" sized...or "LT" sized, etc...)

These are mostly 15" versions, but newer tires can be other larger rim sizes too lately.

Those might be labeled as " 32x11.5/15, etc.

The 32 is the diameter in inches

The 11.5 is the section width in inches

The 15 is the rim size in inches.

To make it confusing, those are NOMINAL sizes, so a "32" might be 31" - 33" in real diameter, and around + 1/2" or so is pretty typical for both diameter and section widths.


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When you get over ~ 32" in tire diameter, you start needing a body lift (BL)...for wheel well clearance.

32's will clear ok w/o a BL though.

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I'm running 305/70/16's (33x12.5/16's) and a set of 33x13.5/16's on stock 16" rims, and have zero problems with tire wear, etc.....I DO have a 2" BL to make them fit though.

Without a BL, you could go up to 32" in total diameter, and can go up to ~ 305 mm (~12.5") in section width.

A huge number of people get 265/75/16's, and are happy enough if they never had wider than that.

Depending upon what you are looking for other than "more aggressive", you can of course vary the size options to find some one who MAKES what you are looking for, etc. (

(Just because the math says a size will WORK, DOESN'T mean they MAKE that size, etc...)

I have no idea who wrote it ... I found this in Nissan Forum ..... but I thought it clear and concise. Alter it as you see fit. I have no idea if this forum has such a guide already but if so I'll happily delete it

[TonyN]

....except you can't fit 32's on a standard 2nd Gen surf, you'll need to massage things with a hammer especially if you have different offset wheels to standard, and alter the torsion bars.

You can on 3rd Gens with stock rims, with only minimal rubbing.

Its just how to read tyre sizes, what fits a Nissan is different to what fits a Toyota, and Surfs with aftermarket wheels with different offsets alters what will fit as well.

Its not as balck and white as that, but the how to measure metric tyres will help people out as not many people know how to work it out



Theres is a metric to inch tyre converter on the tech files section.

[Pelicanbill]

....except you can't fit 32's on a standard 2nd Gen surf, you'll need to massage things with a hammer especially if you have different offset wheels to standard, and alter the torsion bars.

You can on 3rd Gens with stock rims, with only minimal rubbing.

Its just how to read tyre sizes, what fits a Nissan is different to what fits a Toyota, and Surfs with aftermarket wheels with different offsets alters what will fit as well.

Its not as balck and white as that, but the how to measure metric tyres will help people out as not many people know how to work it out



Theres is a metric to inch tyre converter on the tech files section.

I'm learning .....at least I now know what I want even if I can't get it!

I've been beaten 3!!! times on ebay bidding for sets of wheels and tyres ... I reckon when the timing is right, I'll have loads of money