215/45R17 — the shortest sidewall on a 17-inch wheel
A hot-hatch fitment where the wheel grew and the arch did not, so the tire had to give up profile.
Metric notation · Passenger touring
- Overall diameter
- 24.62 in
- 625 mm
- Section width
- 8.46 in
- 215 mm
- Sidewall height
- 3.81 in
- 97 mm
- Aspect ratio
- 45%
- sidewall as a share of width
- Wheel diameter
- 17 in
- the hole in the middle
- Circumference
- 77.3 in
- 1964 mm
- Revolutions per mile
- 819.2
- geometric, not measured
- Revolutions per km
- 509.1
- geometric, not measured
- Typical load index
- 82–99
- 1047–1709 lb per tire
A passenger tire's load index tracks its air volume, and volume tracks section width and sidewall height. Sizes in this class sit in the band that carries a typical two-tonne car with its rated payload across four tires.
The load-index range shown is the band this CLASS of size is typically produced in — not a list of what is in stock for this exact size today. Load index and speed symbol are printed on the sidewall of the specific tire you are holding, and the required minimum is on the placard of the specific vehicle you are fitting. Read both.
Nearest real sizes in imperial notation, same wheel
- 32x11.50R1732.00 in tall+7.38 in
- 33x10.50R1733.00 in tall+8.38 in
- 33x12.50R1733.00 in tall+8.38 in
Compare any two sizes, including ones this site has no page for, in the comparison tool.
3.81 in. That is the distance from rim flange to tread on this size, and no other 17-inch fitment in this catalogue is lower. Overall diameter is 24.62 in, section width 8.46 in, circumference 77.3 in, and the geometric revolutions-per-mile figure is 819.2.
The size belongs to the small performance hatchback — Fiesta ST, Polo GTI, Mini in several specifications, Swift Sport — where a 17-inch wheel was wanted for brake clearance and appearance but the vehicle had neither the arch room nor the track for a wide tire.
Short sidewall, small diameter
Most of the sizes that share this wheel are taller. 225/45R17 is 0.35 in up at 24.97 in; 205/50R17 is 0.45 in up at 25.07 in; 215/50R17 is 0.85 in up at 25.46 in, on the identical 8.46 in section.
That last pair is the cleanest illustration available of what an aspect-ratio change does on its own. Five points, one number in the code, no change to width or wheel, and 0.85 in of diameter — 3.32%.
Its nearest neighbours are on smaller wheels
| Size | Wheel | Diameter | Difference | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 185/65R15 | 15 in | 24.47 in | 0.15 in | 7.28 in |
| 195/55R16 | 16 in | 24.44 in | 0.17 in | 7.68 in |
| 205/55R16 | 16 in | 24.88 in | +0.26 in | 8.07 in |
All three are narrower and all three carry more sidewall. A car offered with this size and with one of those is being offered the same rolling diameter in two very different packagings, which is the normal way a manufacturer covers a model range.
Rim width matters more here than usual
There are only 3.81 in of casing between the rim flange and the tread on this size, and that is the whole budget available to take up any difference in the wheel it is fitted to. Sports compacts and hot hatches are sold with a spread of wheel widths in 17 inches, so the same code on two cars can present two noticeably different stances while both tires are, by the code, 8.46 in wide. How much a given change of rim width moves the figure is quantified in the rim width to tire width reference.
Speed symbols
The letter after the load index rates the casing, not the size, and on a code fitted to both warm- hatch trims and ordinary compacts it varies by several steps between one 215/45R17 and another. Nothing about that shows in the eight characters, and nothing about it changes the geometry above. The speed rating table lists the scale.
Related
- 32x11.50R1732.00 in tall
- 33x10.50R1733.00 in tall
- 33x12.50R1733.00 in tall
Class: Passenger touring. Every figure above is computed from the size code, not stored — see how these numbers are calculated.