Skip to content
Sidewall

215/70R16

215 mm across the tread, a sidewall 70% of that — 151 mm — on a 16-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 27.9 inches tall.

151 mm sidewall707 mm · 27.9"
Sidewall
5.93"
151 mm
Overall
27.9"
707.4 mm
Circumference
87.5"
2.222 m
Revs per mile
724
per minute at 60 mph

What it needs to sit on

i

It mounts on a rim between 6" and 8" wide, and the tread follows the rim: roughly 5 mm of section width for every half-inch, so about 205 mm across at the narrow end and 225 mm at the wide one. Written the way lift kits and wheel wells are, it is a 27.9×8.5R16 — tall by wide, in inches.

What goes wrong on this size

i

30 drivers have filed a complaint. 1 of them ended in a crash, hurting 1 person. Nobody died.

21 of them name what let go, and it is most often blowout. Cooper is named more than any other brand.

What let goComplaints
blowout8
crack4
blister4
out of round2
tread separation2
road hazard1
not stated9

Where the wheel is named, 14 of 22 were on the front — the end that steers.

What fits instead

i

Same 16-inch rim, height within 3%. Past that the speedometer starts lying and things begin to rub.


SizeHeightRide heightSpeedo reads 60, you doCompare
235/65R1628.0" +0.6 %+2.3 mm60.4 mphside by side
205/75R1628.1" +0.9 %+3.3 mm60.6 mphside by side
195/75R1627.5" -1.2 %-4.3 mm59.3 mphside by side
225/65R1627.5" -1.2 %-4.3 mm59.3 mphside by side
195/80R1628.3" +1.6 %+5.5 mm60.9 mphside by side
205/70R1627.3" -2.0 %-7.0 mm58.8 mphside by side
225/70R1628.4" +2.0 %+7.0 mm61.2 mphside by side
235/60R1627.1" -2.7 %-9.5 mm58.4 mphside by side

Same height, different rim

Bigger rim, same overall height. Sharper steering, harsher ride, and far less rubber between your wheel and the next pothole.


205/80R15164 mm sidewall — 9% more
185/75R17139 mm sidewall — 8% less
195/70R17137 mm sidewall — 9% less
235/70R15165 mm sidewall — 9% more
215/75R15161 mm sidewall — 7% more
215/65R17140 mm sidewall — 7% less

Tires graded in this size

Longest-lasting tread first. The grade is set by the maker and checked by regulators.


TireTreadwearWet grip
BLACKHAWK HISCEND-H HT01700A
Nexen TOUR CUV A/S700A
CONTINENTAL ContiCrossContact LX680A
Goodride SU317600A
Hankook NEW ENGLANDER 4s600A
Americus CUV560A
Sumitomo CUV560A
Thunderer R601560A
CONTINENTAL ContiProContact540AA
Cyclone Radial SUV540A
Comanche RADIAL H/T500A
Falken WILDPEAK A/T AT01500B

If you fit something taller

A taller tire covers more ground per turn, so the needle reads low and the odometer counts short. Over ten thousand miles on the dial, the last column is what you really drove.


Fitted insteadReads 30Reads 50Reads 70Real miles per 10,000 shown
235/65R1630.2 mph50.3 mph70.4 mph10,064
205/75R1630.3 mph50.5 mph70.6 mph10,092
195/75R1629.6 mph49.4 mph69.2 mph9,880
225/65R1629.6 mph49.4 mph69.2 mph9,880
195/80R1630.5 mph50.8 mph71.1 mph10,155