Usually when changing new tyres or rims for our car, we just let our mechanics do the selecting jobs for best tyre size should be installed on our wheels. Why not today, we take part? Basic specs of tyre sizes are actually easy and anyone could do this thing with one eye closed. It might only be a little info about it, but who knows if it can save you from fraud one day? Just Like the photo, there are three different criteria the we should normally know as a basic general knowledge. However, I have been asking around and most of my friends and families, (especially ladies) have actually no idea about these three simple things. Of course we can always refer back to our car's manuals for the right tyre size, but does it hurt to know what those numbers were really meant for? If we look at any tyres, there will be a series of numbers that goes a little like; 185/60R14, 195/55R15 or 205/40R16.
Now, what are these numbers? The first three digits before the sign "/" are actually the width of your tyre. '185' means your tyre's width is 185mm. How wide the car's tyre should be? That could be our new question to our mechanics. Tyre's width depends on the size of the wheels and the car's kerb weight. If we are using tyre size around manufacturer's/most mechanics' recommendation, I think we should be fine.
The next two digits after the "/" sign indicates the thickness of your tyre from the rim to the ground. Most of us would guess that this next two digits such as '60' means 60mm, after reading the last paragraph, am I correct? Well, we are really wrong people! These numbers like 60, 55 or 40 are in fact the tyre's thickness percentage from its width. Let's take 185/60 for instance; the 60 means that your tyre's thickness is 60% of its 185mm width. Huh! You do the math. How interesting is that?
Moving on, the last two numbers with an 'R' on the front specifies your rim's size. This one is simple. R14 means 14 inches of rim diameters, R15 means 15 inches and so on.
"What if we want to change to bigger sized rims?" and "What size of tyres should we use then?" ; these we can ask to our mechanics or our car's manufacturers. On the contrary, we perhaps can do a little research on our own. Just compare our current/stock tyre size to any size with bigger rims on any tyre size calculator online. These kinds of applications may help us knowing what are the differences or effects of using different tyre size. I would recommend one application for you and here it is; http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html.
Good Luck!!!
Now, what are these numbers? The first three digits before the sign "/" are actually the width of your tyre. '185' means your tyre's width is 185mm. How wide the car's tyre should be? That could be our new question to our mechanics. Tyre's width depends on the size of the wheels and the car's kerb weight. If we are using tyre size around manufacturer's/most mechanics' recommendation, I think we should be fine.
The next two digits after the "/" sign indicates the thickness of your tyre from the rim to the ground. Most of us would guess that this next two digits such as '60' means 60mm, after reading the last paragraph, am I correct? Well, we are really wrong people! These numbers like 60, 55 or 40 are in fact the tyre's thickness percentage from its width. Let's take 185/60 for instance; the 60 means that your tyre's thickness is 60% of its 185mm width. Huh! You do the math. How interesting is that?
Moving on, the last two numbers with an 'R' on the front specifies your rim's size. This one is simple. R14 means 14 inches of rim diameters, R15 means 15 inches and so on.
"What if we want to change to bigger sized rims?" and "What size of tyres should we use then?" ; these we can ask to our mechanics or our car's manufacturers. On the contrary, we perhaps can do a little research on our own. Just compare our current/stock tyre size to any size with bigger rims on any tyre size calculator online. These kinds of applications may help us knowing what are the differences or effects of using different tyre size. I would recommend one application for you and here it is; http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html.
Good Luck!!!
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