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Sidewall

235/70R16

235 mm across the tread, a sidewall 70% of that — 165 mm — on a 16-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 29.0 inches tall.

165 mm sidewall735 mm · 29.0"
Sidewall
6.48"
165 mm
Overall
29.0"
735.4 mm
Circumference
91.0"
2.310 m
Revs per mile
697
per minute at 60 mph

What it needs to sit on

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It mounts on a rim between 6.5" and 8.5" wide, and the tread follows the rim: roughly 5 mm of section width for every half-inch, so about 225 mm across at the narrow end and 245 mm at the wide one. Written the way lift kits and wheel wells are, it is a 29.0×9.3R16 — tall by wide, in inches.

What goes wrong on this size

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139 drivers have filed a complaint. 2 of them ended in a crash, and nobody was hurt. Nobody died.

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

What let goComplaints
blowout26
crack26
tread separation23
blister8
out of round7
road hazard6
not stated43

Where the wheel is named, 42 of 85 were on the front — the end that steers. 2 gave out as a spare, which is the one nobody checks.

What fits instead

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


SizeHeightRide heightSpeedo reads 60, you doCompare
255/65R1629.1" +0.3 %+1.3 mm60.2 mphside by side
215/75R1628.7" -0.9 %-3.3 mm59.5 mphside by side
225/75R1629.3" +1.2 %+4.3 mm60.7 mphside by side
245/65R1628.5" -1.4 %-5.3 mm59.1 mphside by side
225/70R1628.4" -1.9 %-7.0 mm58.9 mphside by side
245/70R1629.5" +1.9 %+7.0 mm61.1 mphside by side
215/80R1629.5" +2.0 %+7.5 mm61.2 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.


235/75R15176 mm sidewall — 7% more
235/65R17153 mm sidewall — 7% less
255/60R17153 mm sidewall — 7% less
215/70R17151 mm sidewall — 9% less
255/70R15179 mm sidewall — 9% more
205/75R17154 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
Kelly EDGE TOURING PLUS680A
Sumitomo HTR ENHANCE CX2680A
Goodride SU317600A
Americus Touring CUV560A
Firestone Firestone All Season560A
Sumitomo CUV560A
Thunderer R601560A
Americus A/T540A
Cyclone Radial SUV540A
Tempra R404540A

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
255/65R1630.1 mph50.2 mph70.2 mph10,034
215/75R1629.7 mph49.6 mph69.4 mph9,912
225/75R1630.3 mph50.6 mph70.8 mph10,116
245/65R1629.6 mph49.3 mph69.0 mph9,857
225/70R1629.4 mph49.0 mph68.7 mph9,810