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Sidewall

255/65R18

255 mm across the tread, a sidewall 65% of that — 166 mm — on a 18-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 31.1 inches tall.

166 mm sidewall789 mm · 31.1"
Sidewall
6.53"
166 mm
Overall
31.1"
788.7 mm
Circumference
97.6"
2.478 m
Revs per mile
650
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 31.1×10.0R18 — tall by wide, in inches.

What goes wrong on this size

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

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

What let goComplaints
crack10
tread separation3
blowout2
not stated9

Where the wheel is named, 11 of 16 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
275/60R1831.0" -0.2 %-0.8 mm59.9 mphside by side
235/70R1831.0" -0.3 %-1.3 mm59.8 mphside by side
245/70R1831.5" +1.5 %+5.8 mm60.9 mphside by side
245/65R1830.5" -1.6 %-6.5 mm59.0 mphside by side
265/65R1831.6" +1.6 %+6.5 mm61.0 mphside by side
265/60R1830.5" -1.7 %-6.8 mm59.0 mphside by side
235/75R1831.9" +2.7 %+10.5 mm61.6 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.


255/70R17179 mm sidewall — 8% more
255/60R19153 mm sidewall — 8% less
275/65R17179 mm sidewall — 8% more
235/65R19153 mm sidewall — 8% less
225/80R17180 mm sidewall — 9% more
275/55R19151 mm sidewall — 9% less

Tires graded in this size

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


TireTreadwearWet grip
Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra800A
Hankook KInERGy GT (OE)740A
BLACKHAWK HISCEND-H HT01700A
Bridgestone Alenza Prestige700A
Nexen TOUR CUV A/S700A
Hercules ROADTOUR XUV680A
Sumitomo HTR ENHANCE CX2680A
Goodyear WRANGLER AT/S580B
Americus Touring CUV560A
Sumitomo CUV560A
Thunderer R601560A
MICHELIN Primacy A/S540B

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
275/60R1829.9 mph49.9 mph69.9 mph9,981
235/70R1829.9 mph49.8 mph69.8 mph9,968
245/70R1830.4 mph50.7 mph71.0 mph10,146
245/65R1829.5 mph49.2 mph68.8 mph9,835
265/65R1830.5 mph50.8 mph71.2 mph10,165