The Accessory Dream Guide Issue 2

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24 THE ACCESSORY DREAM GUIDE
WHEELS AND TIRES 101
Wheel and tire upgrades are often the first
modification made to Trucks, Jeeps and
SUVs. Not only do they make the most
noticeable change to the look of your
vehicle, but they can also enhance
performance, on or off-road. However,
selecting the wheel and tire package
that looks “just right” takes a little bit of
planning and consideration.
Before we get to the steps of selecting the
right wheel and tire package for your vehi-
cle, let’s quickly review how they are sized.
The wheel and tire industry typically
combines both Metric (millimetres) and
Imperial (inches) units of measurement
when labeling sizes. This can be confusing,
so let’s look at some examples:
2017 Ford F-150
Typical stock tire size: 265/70/17
“265” = width of tire in mm
“70” = profile of how thick the sidewall
is (70% of the width)
“17” = diameter of the wheel in inches
Common upgrade tire “Plus Size”:
305/55/20 (requires a 2-3 inch level-lift to fit
on an F-150)
“305” = width of tire in mm
“55” = profile of how thick the sidewall
is (55% of the width)
“20” = diameter of the wheel in inches
Just to make things a little more confusing,
the off-road community sometimes refers
to a tire size only in inches. For example,
a 33”x12.50”x20 tire is identical in size to
a 305/55/20. Other popular off-road tire
sizes are 35x12.50x20, 37x13.50x20 and so
on. The 12.50 and 13.50 in these tire sizes
refer to the width in inches.
Now let’s get back to the steps for select-
ing the right tire and wheel package:
#1 – TIRE SIZE
- Decide if you want to keep the same size
tire or add larger overall diameter tires.
If you would like to go bigger, you may
need to add a level-lift or lift kit.
- There are many free Tire Size Calculators
online. One of my favorites is https://tire-
because it allows you
to compare tire sizes:
#2 - TYPE OF TIRE
There are 3 main categories of tires for
Trucks, Jeeps, and SUVs
All-Season (Street/High-
way friendly, least aggres-
sive looking)
All-Terrain or “AT” (aggres-
sive looking but still street/
highway friendly, some-
times available in Snow-
flake rate All-Weather)
Mud-Terrain or “MT” (very
aggressive looking, a little
noisier on the street/high-
way than All-Season or AT)
#3 – WHEEL SIZE
- Do you like the look of
tires with thick sidewalls
or a lower profile “thin-
ner” sidewall?
- Do you like the look of
big diameter wheels?
- Do you want both?
#4 - WHEEL FINISH, COLOR & STYLING
Wheels have come a long way since the
days of steel “Chrome Cragar” and alloy
“five-star” wheels.
Black, Grey, Chrome, Machined, and Pol-
ished are some of the popular finishes on
today’s trucks. Combine this with a Gloss,
Satin or Matte effect, which really helps to
personalize the look you want.
#5 – WHEEL & TIRE FITMENT
(do they stick in, stick out, or sit flush?)
Getting that wheel & tire package to look
just right on your ride has a lot to do with how
far in or out they sit on your vehicle. Let’s
have a quick look at what determines this:
- Wheel “Offset” and “Backspace” are
two measurement terms used in the
wheel and tire industry to determine
how far your wheels stick in or stick out
- Offset is the more common term used in
recent years and it is always referred to
in millimeters
- The lower or more negative the
number, the more it will stick out. For
example a wheel with a negative
offset (example “-15”) will stick out
more than a wheel with a “0” or pos-
itive offset (example “+20”)
- Backspace is still used somewhat in
the off-road community and is always
referred to in inches
- The lower the number,
the more it will stick out.
For example a wheel
with a 5” offset will stick
out more than a wheel
with a 6” offset
The experts at North Shore Off-Road can
walk you through the process of selecting
the wheel & tire package that’s just right
for your Dream Ride!
Written by our expert
Steve Hagopian