Tyre Size Calculator At Blackcircles.com we often receive queries regarding using a different tyre size on a car. Converting toa different size of tyre is possible, but it must be done within strict criteria. If you get it wrong, the consequences can be dire. When a person is considering changing the wheel and tyre size of their car, itis important to remember that you will need the diameter to remain as close as possible to the original size. Diameter Is Key Why is the diameter so important? It is because speedometers, traction control, torque and the gear Settings of a car are based on how far the tyre travels ina full evolution. This is linked to the outside iameter. If the size is too different this affects the time/length it takes for a full tyre revolution (the tyre rolling circumference), which will cause your speedometer to display incorrect readings and your gearing will be adversely affected. Sp, when changing the size of whee! and tre fited to your ca, Ieneeds tobe the same overall diameter as what the car was designed to work with. Unfortunately it isn't immediately easy to work out the outside diameter when changing tyre sizes as tyre sizes are measured using the inside diameter. Qnatyre, the outside diameter is determined by the sidewall and is more commonly referred to as the aspect height Keeping the Same Diameter To keep the same overall ameter, you need to make adjustments. If for example, you were to move gp aim size from 16" to 17%, you wll need to choose a tyre with an inch lessin the stancing height of the tyre. Understanding Tyre Size Maths This is where it gets a Litmore complicated. Understanding Tyre Size Maths This is where it gets a b/tmore complicated The aspect height of a tyre is shown in the tyre size as a percentage of the width - the aspect ratio. Let's take the tyre size 205/55/16 for example. 205 is the width of the tyre in millimetres - fairly straight forward. However, the 55 Is the ratio of the tyre’s width to the tyre’s height. So it means that the aspect rati instance that is 112.75mm. is 55% of the 205mm width. In this At this point you will need to convert the size from millimetres to inches ~ there are 25.4 mm in every inch. To find out what the standing height is, you need to double the aspect height, (top and bottom of the sidewall) and then add on inside diameter — in this case 16”. So, in our example, the standing height will be 24.88 inches. Now, that you have the standing height of the old tyre, you can work out which new tyre size will also work on your car -as the standing height will need to be the same. Maths Summary: 1. Multiply a tyre’s width by the aspect ratio to get aspect height (205 x 0.55 = 112.75) 2. Convert into inches (112.75 / 25.4 = 4.44) 3. Double the aspect height (4.44 x 2= 8.88) 4, Add inside diameter of tyre (8.88 + 16 = 24.88) When changing tyre size, the tyres should not have more than a 1% difference in diameter - ess than 0.5% would be ideal