The size of a tyre is printed onto the side of the tyre – on the area known as the sidewall. When looking for the size, you will see that it is made up of a series of numbers and letters.
In the above example, each section breaks down as follows:
195 - Width of the tyre in millimetres
55 - Height of the tyre sidewall as a percentage of the width. In this case 55%. Also known as the aspect ratio.
R16 - The diameter of the tyre's inner rim in inches
87 - Load Rating of the Tyre.
V - Speed Rating. Indicates the maximum speed for the tyre when at full load.
You can also use the handy number plate search tool at the Hyper Drive website. This checks the data held by LTSA to find out what tyre size is appropriate for your vehicle.
When using this tool, we recommend that you double check the size provided against what you currently have fitted to your vehicle as multiple sizes may be recommended dependent on the age and model of your vehicle.