Tyre information
Are you looking for new tires? And you want to know what size you need. You can find all the necessary information on the sidewall of your current tire. There are various letters and numbers that indicate not only the size of the tire, but also the type, load capacity and speed index. On this page we explain everything about the size of car tires.
Find out your tire size
The size of a car tire - unlike the size of a rim - simply consists of two elements, the width and the height. The first number you can find on the side of the tire indicates the width of the tire in millimeters. In the example below, this is 195. After this, a slash is followed by the height of the belt. The height of the tire is shown with a number. This is a percentage of the width of the tire.
An example, the tyre below has a width of 195 millimeters. The height of the tire is indicated by the number 55. This means that the height of the tire is 55% of the width. Do we convert this? The height of the tire in this case would therefore be 107.25 millimeters.
195 55 R |
Tyre width Tyre height Type Tyre |
16 87 V |
Wheel size Load index Speed index |
Tyre width
The width of the tire is shown in mm (millimeters). In the example above, the number 195 can be seen. This means that the tire is 195 mm wide. The width of the strap can vary from 125 mm to 335 mm. The width is always in steps of 10 mm. Tire sizes range from 125-135-145-155-165-175-185-195-205-215-225-235, etc. For the average middle class in the Netherlands, the tire width is 205 mm wide.
Tyre height
In the tire size, the number that comes after the width of the tire (2nd part) is the height of the tire which is a percentage of the width of the tire. In the example above, that number is 55. This means that the height of the tire is 55% of the width of the tire, which in this example is 195 mm. Calculation is easy by multiplying the width of the belt (195) by 0.55. You then arrive at 107.25 mm.
Type tyre
The tire type is indicated in almost all cases with the letter R. R stands for Radial. With a radial tire, steel cord layers are applied perpendicular to the direction of rotation, i.e. across the width of the tire. This makes the tire very flexible and maintains contact with the road surface when cornering. The counterpart of the Radial Tire is the Diagonal Tire. With the Diagonal tire, the cord layers are placed diagonally over the tire. |
Wheel size
The rim size is the size of the rim that the tire fits around exactly. This is the inner size of the tire and the outer size of the rim. The rim size is almost always indicated in inches. The "Inches" unit of measure is widely used in English-speaking countries and is identified by the symbol " which we consider to be a quotation mark. One inch is equal to 2.54 cm.
Loadindex
Click on the table for all indexations
The load index indicates the maximum load capacity of a tire. It is important that the maximum load capacity of your tire corresponds to the weight of your loaded car (preferably it is even slightly higher). For example, when you load up your car for a holiday. In any case, never economize by buying a tire with a lower load index. Above the load index table.
Speed index
V: Speed index (also called performance index). Indicates the maximum speed at which the tire can carry a load corresponding to its load index. This speed index is indicated by letters ranging from K (for the lowest maximum speeds) to Y (for the highest speeds).
more information about speedindex >>
Amerikaanse banden
Op amerikaanse autobanden kunt u een code tegenkomen zoals
32/11.5 R15. Hierin worden de oude inchmaten nog gehanteerd. 32 staat voor de totale diameter van de band, 11.5 voor de diameter van het loopvlak. Natuurlijk kunnen wij deze Amerikaanse bandenmaten moeiteloos voor u omrekenen..
Runflat banden
Runflatbanden zijn banden waarmee je door kunt rijden wanneer deze lek worden. Doormiddel van een versterkte zijkanten die het gewicht van de auto kunnen dragen. Als de runflatbanden leeg zijn kan je er nog 80 km mee doorijden met een maximum snelheid van 80 km per uur.
4x4 banden
4x4 banden zijn dankzij het diepe bandenprofiel beter te gebruiken op onverharde wegen en speciaal ontwikkeld voor auto's met vierwielaandrijving. Er zijn verschillende soorten 4x4 banden ontwikkeld. Voor de ene persoon die meer op onverharde wegen rijdt en voor de andere die het regelmatig afwisselt.
Need help finding the right car tires (size)?
Are you looking for suitable tires for your car? Then take a look at our big assortiment. Are you unsure about the size or do you have another question? Feel free to contact us. The Carmar specialists are happy to help you find the right car tire.