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Sidewall

Three numbers on a sidewall.
Here is the shape they make.

Every size drawn to its real proportions, with what fits in its place, how far the speedometer drifts if you change — and the 736 deaths and 3,163 injuries drivers have reported to federal regulators, size by size.

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R

The sidewall is the part nobody pictures

All three of these are drawn at the same scale. The middle number in a size is a percentage of the width, not a height — which is why a 275 can end up with less rubber between the rim and the road than a 195.


Most complained-about sizes

Ranked by how many complaints US drivers filed. A common size collects more simply by being common — read them against each other.


SizeHeightComplaintsCrashesDeaths
225/60R1626.6"31856
215/60R1626.2"28490
205/55R1624.9"27690
225/75R1528.3"258100
265/75R1631.6"253201
235/75R1528.9"219343
245/75R1630.5"18890
205/65R1525.5"18230

Start from your rim