Wider tires on an SUV
August 12, 2009 by By email
Filed under Suburban Utility Vehicles
My old tires that were on the SUV when I bought it were worn through, so I bought a new set of tires for myself. However, I failed to pay much attention while the new tires were fitted, and I did not check that the width of the replacement tires were identical.
It seems to me now that my SUV sits lower to the ground than it did with my old tires. That has me worried.
Is there a benefit to having wider tires on my SUV? Or am I better off having tires that are more standard?
A little more traction is the benefit, gas mileage shouldn’t be effected unless the change was ridiculous.
Whether the computer is thrown off and by how far is dependant on the tires. For instance, the change between 255/75r and 275/70r is only 1.25 mm of tire radius height. This is computed by multiplying the two numbers together, and understanding the second is a ratio of the first. A 255/75 tire is 255 mm wide at tread and the height to the wheel is 75% of that, or 191.25 mm.
Always keep in mind that the wheel width needs to be acceptable for the tire width, you can’t put a 275 tire on a 5 inch wide wheel. See a competant dealer for questions.