Knowing how to read a tire size can be easy once you know what each of the numbers and letters represents on the sidewall of the tire. At Sill-TerHar Mazda in Broomfield, CO, we’ll explain in detail what these represent.
Type Of Tire
On the tire’s sidewall will be a “P” that represents a tire that is P-Metric. This refers to the tire being manufactured for passenger vehicles. With no letters present, then this will be manufactured for Euro-Metric tires. The difference between these types will be the amount of load they can handle.
Width Of Tire
The three-digit number at the beginning is the width. So if the tire has P215, then that will indicate 215 millimeters.
Height/Width Ratio
After the slash mark will be the ratio of the height and width. For example, when the number is 65 it means the height is 65% of the width of the tire. When the number is bigger, the sidewall will also be bigger.
Tire Construction
When the tire size has an “R”, it is referred to as Radial. This means the layers are placed radially.
The Diameter Of The Wheel
When a tire’s diameter is measured, it provides the wheel size. The two digits following the second slash mark represent the diameter. So if the number is 15, then the diameter is 15”.
