255/65R16
255 mm across the tread, a sidewall 65% of that — 166 mm — on a 16-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 29.1 inches tall.
- Sidewall
- 6.53"
- 166 mm
- Overall
- 29.1"
- 737.9 mm
- Circumference
- 91.3"
- 2.318 m
- Revs per mile
- 694
- per minute at 60 mph
What it needs to sit on
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 29.1×10.0R16 — tall by wide, in inches.
What goes wrong on this size
14 drivers have filed a complaint. 1 of them ended in a crash, hurting 1 person. Nobody died.
12 of them name what let go, and it is most often tread separation. Goodyear is named more than any other brand.
| What let go | Complaints |
|---|---|
| tread separation | 5 |
| crack | 2 |
| blister | 2 |
| out of round | 1 |
| road hazard | 1 |
| blowout | 1 |
| not stated | 2 |
Where the wheel is named, 6 of 12 were on the front — the end that steers.
What fits instead
Same 16-inch rim, height within 3%. Past that the speedometer starts lying and things begin to rub.
| Size | Height | Ride height | Speedo reads 60, you do | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275/60R16 | 29.0" -0.2 % | -0.8 mm | 59.9 mph | side by side |
| 235/70R16 | 29.0" -0.3 % | -1.3 mm | 59.8 mph | side by side |
| 245/70R16 | 29.5" +1.6 % | +5.8 mm | 60.9 mph | side by side |
| 245/65R16 | 28.5" -1.8 % | -6.5 mm | 58.9 mph | side by side |
| 265/65R16 | 29.6" +1.8 % | +6.5 mm | 61.1 mph | side by side |
| 265/60R16 | 28.5" -1.8 % | -6.8 mm | 58.9 mph | side by side |
| 235/75R16 | 29.9" +2.8 % | +10.5 mm | 61.7 mph | side 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.
Tires graded in this size
Longest-lasting tread first. The grade is set by the maker and checked by regulators.
| Tire | Treadwear | Wet grip |
|---|---|---|
| Comanche RADIAL H/T | 500 | A |
| Nexen ROADIAN AT | 500 | A |
| Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S | 500 | A |
| Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S | 500 | A |
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 instead | Reads 30 | Reads 50 | Reads 70 | Real miles per 10,000 shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275/60R16 | 29.9 mph | 49.9 mph | 69.9 mph | 9,980 |
| 235/70R16 | 29.9 mph | 49.8 mph | 69.8 mph | 9,966 |
| 245/70R16 | 30.5 mph | 50.8 mph | 71.1 mph | 10,156 |
| 245/65R16 | 29.5 mph | 49.1 mph | 68.8 mph | 9,824 |
| 265/65R16 | 30.5 mph | 50.9 mph | 71.2 mph | 10,176 |