225/50R17 tire size — geometry, and the plus-one above it
The comfortable 17-inch option on a mid-size car, and the size directly beneath a very common 18.
Metric notation · Passenger touring
- Overall diameter
- 25.86 in
- 657 mm
- Section width
- 8.86 in
- 225 mm
- Sidewall height
- 4.43 in
- 113 mm
- Aspect ratio
- 50%
- sidewall as a share of width
- Wheel diameter
- 17 in
- the hole in the middle
- Circumference
- 81.2 in
- 2063 mm
- Revolutions per mile
- 779.9
- geometric, not measured
- Revolutions per km
- 484.6
- 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+6.14 in
- 33x10.50R1733.00 in tall+7.14 in
- 33x12.50R1733.00 in tall+7.14 in
Compare any two sizes, including ones this site has no page for, in the comparison tool.
Platforms recorded with this size
25.86 in tall. 8.86 in of section. 4.43 in of sidewall. 81.2 in of circumference, 779.9 revolutions per mile.
Mid-size saloons and coupes in mid-range trim carry this size widely — Accord, Camry, Altima, Mazda6, and the more comfort-oriented specifications of several European saloons.
The size directly above it
225/45R18 keeps the 8.86 in section, adds an inch of wheel, and gives up five points of aspect ratio. The result is 25.97 in against this size's 25.86 in: 0.11 in, or 0.44%.
Nothing about a vehicle's speedometer, odometer or stability control notices a change of that scale. What changes is the sidewall, which falls from 4.43 in to 3.99 in, and the mass and cost of the wheel behind it.
Everything within a fifth of an inch
| Size | Wheel | Diameter | Difference | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 245/35R19 | 19 in | 25.75 in | 0.11 in | 9.65 in |
| 245/40R18 | 18 in | 25.72 in | 0.14 in | 9.65 in |
| 255/35R19 | 19 in | 26.03 in | +0.17 in | 10.04 in |
| 205/60R16 | 16 in | 25.69 in | 0.17 in | 8.07 in |
| 245/45R17 | 17 in | 25.68 in | 0.18 in | 9.65 in |
Wheel diameters from 16 to 19 inches, section widths from 8.07 to 10.04 in, and every one of them within 0.7% of this size. The band around 25.9 in is one of the most crowded in the catalogue because it is where the mid-size car market has sat for two decades.
On the same wheel
215/50R17 is 0.39 in shorter at 25.46 in, and 225/55R17 is 0.89 in taller at 26.74 in. The first is a width change, the second an aspect change, and the aspect change moves the diameter more than twice as far — which is the general rule for any 10 mm against any five points.
Reading beyond the size
Speed symbol and load index both vary within this code, and both sit after the size on the sidewall rather than in it. The load and speed index decoder takes a service description directly, and the comparison tool takes any two size codes.
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.