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Sidewall

255/55R18

255 mm across the tread, a sidewall 55% of that — 140 mm — on a 18-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 29.0 inches tall.

140 mm sidewall738 mm · 29.0"
Sidewall
5.52"
140 mm
Overall
29.0"
737.7 mm
Circumference
91.2"
2.318 m
Revs per mile
694
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 29.0×10.0R18 — tall by wide, in inches.

What goes wrong on this size

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8 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 blister. Goodyear is named more than any other brand.

What let goComplaints
blister2
crack1
tread separation1
not stated4

Where the wheel is named, 2 of 4 were on the front — the end that steers.

What fits instead

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Same 18-inch rim, height within 3%. Past that the speedometer starts lying and things begin to rub.


SizeHeightRide heightSpeedo reads 60, you doCompare
235/60R1829.1" +0.2 %+0.8 mm60.1 mphside by side
275/50R1828.8" -0.7 %-2.8 mm59.6 mphside by side
245/55R1828.6" -1.5 %-5.5 mm59.1 mphside by side
265/55R1829.5" +1.5 %+5.5 mm60.9 mphside by side
245/60R1829.6" +1.8 %+6.8 mm61.1 mphside by side
265/50R1828.4" -2.1 %-7.8 mm58.7 mphside by side
235/55R1828.2" -3.0 %-11.0 mm58.2 mphside by side
275/55R1829.9" +3.0 %+11.0 mm61.8 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.


255/60R17153 mm sidewall — 9% more
255/50R19128 mm sidewall — 9% less
235/65R17153 mm sidewall — 9% more
285/45R19128 mm sidewall — 9% less
235/55R19129 mm sidewall — 8% less
275/55R17151 mm sidewall — 8% more

Tires graded in this size

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


TireTreadwearWet grip
Bridgestone DUELER H/L ALENZA PLUS "W" Spd Rtd800A
Americus CUV560A
Sumitomo CUV560A
Thunderer R601560A
Hankook veNtus S1 evo3 SUV (OE)520A
PARAGON SCORPION ZERO ASIMMETRICO520A
PARAGON SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON520A
Thunderer CELSIUS CUV520A
Venezia Strada III500A
Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S500A
Nexen ROADIAN HP460A
CONTINENTAL 4x4Contact420A

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
235/60R1830.1 mph50.1 mph70.1 mph10,020
275/50R1829.8 mph49.6 mph69.5 mph9,925
245/55R1829.6 mph49.3 mph69.0 mph9,851
265/55R1830.4 mph50.7 mph71.0 mph10,149
245/60R1830.5 mph50.9 mph71.3 mph10,183