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Sidewall

285/50R18

285 mm across the tread, a sidewall 50% of that — 143 mm — on a 18-inch rim. That puts the whole wheel at 29.2 inches tall.

143 mm sidewall742 mm · 29.2"
Sidewall
5.61"
143 mm
Overall
29.2"
742.2 mm
Circumference
91.8"
2.332 m
Revs per mile
690
per minute at 60 mph

What it needs to sit on

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It mounts on a rim between 8" and 10.5" wide, and the tread follows the rim: roughly 5 mm of section width for every half-inch, so about 273 mm across at the narrow end and 298 mm at the wide one. Written the way lift kits and wheel wells are, it is a 29.2×11.2R18 — tall by wide, in inches.

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
265/55R1829.5" +0.9 %+3.3 mm60.5 mphside by side
275/50R1828.8" -1.3 %-5.0 mm59.2 mphside by side
295/50R1829.6" +1.3 %+5.0 mm60.8 mphside by side
305/45R1828.8" -1.4 %-5.3 mm59.2 mphside by side
275/55R1829.9" +2.4 %+8.8 mm61.4 mphside by side
295/45R1828.5" -2.6 %-9.8 mm58.4 mphside by side
265/50R1828.4" -2.7 %-10.0 mm58.4 mphside by side
305/50R1830.0" +2.7 %+10.0 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.


285/55R17157 mm sidewall — 10% more
285/45R19128 mm sidewall — 10% less
255/60R17153 mm sidewall — 7% more
315/50R17158 mm sidewall — 11% more
255/50R19128 mm sidewall — 11% less
265/50R19133 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
CONTINENTAL CrossContact UHP420A
Western Auto ADVAN S.T.320A

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
265/55R1830.3 mph50.4 mph70.6 mph10,088
275/50R1829.6 mph49.3 mph69.1 mph9,865
295/50R1830.4 mph50.7 mph70.9 mph10,135
305/45R1829.6 mph49.3 mph69.0 mph9,859
275/55R1830.7 mph51.2 mph71.7 mph10,236