215/60R16 — the middle rung of the 16-inch 215 ladder
Three aspect ratios, one width, one wheel, and an 0.85 in step between each of them.
Metric notation · Passenger touring
- Overall diameter
- 26.16 in
- 664 mm
- Section width
- 8.46 in
- 215 mm
- Sidewall height
- 5.08 in
- 129 mm
- Aspect ratio
- 60%
- sidewall as a share of width
- Wheel diameter
- 16 in
- the hole in the middle
- Circumference
- 82.2 in
- 2087 mm
- Revolutions per mile
- 771.0
- geometric, not measured
- Revolutions per km
- 479.1
- 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
- 31x10.50R1631.00 in tall+4.84 in
- 33x12.50R1633.00 in tall+6.84 in
- 35x12.50R1635.00 in tall+8.84 in
Compare any two sizes, including ones this site has no page for, in the comparison tool.
The size sits on mid-size saloons and on the earlier generations of compact crossover, where a 16-inch wheel with a reasonably deep sidewall was still the default answer.
Three aspect ratios, evenly spaced
| Size | Aspect | Diameter | Sidewall | Step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 215/55R16 | 55 | 25.31 in | 4.66 in | — |
| 215/60R16 | 60 | 26.16 in | 5.08 in | +0.85 in |
| 215/65R16 | 65 | 27.00 in | 5.50 in | +0.85 in |
Every five points of aspect ratio adds 0.85 in of diameter and 0.42 in of sidewall, because the sidewall appears twice in the sum and 5% of 215 mm is a fixed quantity. The percentage steps are not equal — 3.34% going down, 3.24% going up — because the base moves while the increment does not.
This is the tidiest set of three in the 16-inch part of the catalogue, and it is a good place to build the intuition that the middle number in a size code behaves like a dial rather than a dimension.
Where it lands against other wheels
255/40R18 and 255/35R19 both measure 26.03 in, which is 0.13 in below this size — the same standing height with 1.57 in more section and roughly an inch less sidewall. 225/50R17 is 0.30 in shorter at 25.86 in. 235/45R18 is 0.17 in taller at 26.33 in.
There is no shortage of alternatives at this diameter. What none of them offers is this much sidewall on this small a wheel.
Sidewall depth and what it is for
5.08 in of casing between the rim and the road is generous by contemporary standards and modest by the standards of the 15-inch sizes it replaced. It is the reason this size rides the way it does, and the reason a 16-inch wheel in it survives kerbing that a 45-series 18 would not. That is geometry, not a rating: how a particular tire behaves is a property of its construction and compound, not of the numbers on its side.
Balance marks and where the valve goes
New tires in this class often carry a coloured dot on the sidewall marking either the lightest point of the casing or its high point of radial runout, depending on the manufacturer's convention. Which dot means which, and how a fitter uses it, is set out in the uniformity dots and balance marks reference.
Related
- 31x10.50R1631.00 in tall
- 33x12.50R1633.00 in tall
- 35x12.50R1635.00 in tall
Class: Passenger touring. Every figure above is computed from the size code, not stored — see how these numbers are calculated.