VW snow tires and rims

ekih

We have a 2014 Jetta that uses 195/65/15 tires.
I have some snow tires 215/65/15 will these fit on the same size rim or do I need to get different rims?
Thanks
James

kyfdx

ekih said:

We have a 2014 Jetta that uses 195/65/15 tires.
I have some snow tires 215/65/15 will these fit on the same size rim or do I need to get different rims?
Thanks
James

They will fit on the rim, but they will likely be too tall for your car. Over 1" in diameter taller..

ekih

how is it taller?
The 215 is the width?
65 is the tire height?
15 is the overall size?

kyfdx

215 millimeters is the width.
215 mm X .65 is the sidewall height. (65 is the aspect ratio)
15" is the rim diameter.
(215mm X .65) X 2.. + 15" is the overall tire diameter.

215/65 vs 195/65 sidewall is 13mm taller... X 2 sidewalls = 26mm taller

26 mm = approx. 1.04"

Mr_Shiftright

Too much---the difference is 4% oversize, and with modern electronics and ABS and Traction Control and all the rest, no more than 3% is recommended.

So you are 1" greater in diameter. This might also (maybe) create some clearance issues.

I mean you can TRY it but I wouldn't recommend it.

ekih

Not to say that I am going to make therm fit, just so I understand.
195/65/15
I thought the first size 195 is the width of the tire?

The second size 65 is the the tire size from the rim to the outside of the tire. Meaning that a 65 has a bigger profile then a 75. With a 75 so to speak you may have to go with a bigger rim 16 instead of 15?

The third is the diameter of the rim.

Mr_Shiftright

You could run 215/60/15s.

There's really no 75 aspect ratio tire that would work on a 15 inch rim---in theory a 175/75/15 would work but I don't think such a tire even exists.

kyfdx

ekih said:

Not to say that I am going to make therm fit, just so I understand.
195/65/15
I thought the first size 195 is the width of the tire?

The second size 65 is the the tire size from the rim to the outside of the tire. Meaning that a 65 has a bigger profile then a 75. With a 75 so to speak you may have to go with a bigger rim 16 instead of 15?

The third is the diameter of the rim.

The 65 is the sidewall height, but it's not a static amount. It is a percentage of the width.

So, a 195/65 tire will have a sidewall height of 195mm X .65 = 126.75mm = 5.07" sidewall
215/65 = 215mm X .65 = 139.75mm = 5.59" sidewall.

Two sidewalls plus the wheel diameter = tire diameter.

The upshot? The 2nd number isn't the sidewall height. The sidewall height is the 1st number multiplied by the 2nd number (with a decimal point in front of it).