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Are you thinking about getting new wheels or rims in Texas? One of the most important things to know is the proper size of your wheels, and the range of sizes your vehicle will accept. This is particularly important if you're looking to buy new rims without buying new tires since your existing tires have to work with the new rims. The wrong size could damage your tires, or even harm your suspension and other critical components.

A great Texas tire shop can help you find the proper size, but this is also something you can work out for yourself.

Determining Your Wheel and Rim Sizes

1. Reading the size from the tire

If your tires are still in good shape, the numbers listed on the side will tell you everything you need to know about sizing - if you understand the code.

So, let's take a fairly commonplace example: P215/65 R15 96H.

There's a lot of information there! However, not all of it directly relates to sizing. But let's break down the whole thing:

• P stands for passenger vehicle. You'll likely never see anything else for a regular consumer car's wheels, although T denotes temporary/spare tires.
• 215 is the tire's width in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall.
• 65 represents the aspect ratio. That is the ratio of the tire's height to its width. Basically, the higher this number, the taller the sidewall.
• R means it's a radial tire, which is the most common type on the road today. However, it could also be Diagonal or Belted.
• 15 is the wheel's diameter in inches. This is the most important number for deciding what size rims to get.
• 95H is a code indicating the maximum weight and speed this tire can support. However, you'd need to pull up a list of codes to know what it means. (1,521 pounds at 130MPH, in this case.)

2. Measuring for yourself

What if the code is too worn down to read? It's totally possible to measure your tire for yourself with a basic tape measure.

You want to measure:

• The diameter across the length of the rim, stopping at the inner edges of the sidewall.
• The width of the tire's edge, from one beaded seat to the other side.
• The bolt patterns and spacing. You need to choose a rim that fits the bolt pattern on your hub, or else you won't be able to mount it.

3. Can you plus-size your rim?

Plus-sizing means installing a rim that is larger than the tire is intended to support, such as putting 15-inch tires on a 16-inch rim. This causes the tire and sidewall to be thinner, which is currently trendy. This is reasonably safe to do if it's only one inch higher, but we strongly recommend against going bigger than that because it will cause tire damage.

Either way, plus-sizing will shorten the lifespan of your tires, so be aware.

Do you need more help? The Wheel & Tire Superstore is your source for the best wheels, tires, and rims in Texas! Please contact us with any questions you might have.