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Sidewall

255/35R20

255 mm across the tread, a sidewall 35% of that — 89 mm — on a 20-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 27.0 inches tall.

89.3 mm sidewall687 mm · 27.0"
Sidewall
3.51"
89 mm
Overall
27.0"
686.5 mm
Circumference
84.9"
2.157 m
Revs per mile
746
per minute at 60 mph

What it needs to sit on

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It mounts on a rim between 7" and 9.5" wide, and the tread follows the rim: roughly 5 mm of section width for every half-inch, so about 243 mm across at the narrow end and 268 mm at the wide one. Written the way lift kits and wheel wells are, it is a 27.0×10.0R20 — tall by wide, in inches.

What goes wrong on this size

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4 drivers have filed a complaint. 0 of them ended in a crash, and nobody was hurt. Nobody died.

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

What let goComplaints
blowout2
tread separation2

Where the wheel is named, 4 of 4 were on the front — the end that steers.

What fits instead

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Same 20-inch rim, height within 3%. Past that the speedometer starts lying and things begin to rub.


SizeHeightRide heightSpeedo reads 60, you doCompare
245/35R2026.8" -1.0 %-3.5 mm59.4 mphside by side
265/35R2027.3" +1.0 %+3.5 mm60.6 mphside by side
235/40R2027.4" +1.4 %+4.8 mm60.8 mphside by side
275/30R2026.5" -2.0 %-6.8 mm58.8 mphside by side
235/35R2026.5" -2.0 %-7.0 mm58.8 mphside by side
275/35R2027.6" +2.0 %+7.0 mm61.2 mphside by side
245/40R2027.7" +2.5 %+8.8 mm61.5 mphside by side
265/30R2026.3" -2.8 %-9.8 mm58.3 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.


255/40R19102 mm sidewall — 14% more
255/30R2177 mm sidewall — 14% less
225/45R19101 mm sidewall — 13% more
225/35R2179 mm sidewall — 12% less
285/35R19100 mm sidewall — 12% more
265/30R2180 mm sidewall — 11% less

Tires graded in this size

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


TireTreadwearWet grip
Toyo Crusade HP500A
Venezia Strada II500A
HanKOOK iON evo (OE)460A
Yokohama AVID W4s400AA
HanKOOK Ventus evo (OE)380A
Neutral/Universal N7000360AA
Nexen RADIAL N3000340AA
Michelin Pilot Sport 4320A
Goodyear EAGLE F1 SUPERSPORT300AA
Nexen RADIAL N6000300AA
Bridgestone RE97AS RFT280A
CONTINENTAL ContiSportContact 5P280AA

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
245/35R2029.7 mph49.5 mph69.3 mph9,898
265/35R2030.3 mph50.5 mph70.7 mph10,102
235/40R2030.4 mph50.7 mph71.0 mph10,138
275/30R2029.4 mph49.0 mph68.6 mph9,803
235/35R2029.4 mph49.0 mph68.6 mph9,796