Tyre sizes·255/45R18
255/45R18
Overall diameter 686.7 mm

255/45R18 — 686.7 mm tall, and what it swaps with

255/45R18 is 255 mm wide with a 45% sidewall on a 18-inch wheel. That sidewall is 114.75 mm, so the tyre stands 686.7 mm tall and turns 463.5 times per kilometre.

Section width
255 mm
Aspect ratio
45 %
Wheel size
18 in (457.2 mm)
Sidewall height
114.75 mm
Overall diameter
686.7 mm (27.04 in)
Circumference
2157.3 mm
Turns per km
463.5

Sizes you can swap to

Only sizes whose overall diameter stays within 3% are listed. A different diameter covers a different distance per turn, and that gap becomes speedometer error.

Same profile, different width

Other sizes for this wheel

How the code reads

The 205 is millimetres, the 55 is a percentage of that width, and only the 16 is inches. The R stands for radial construction.

How to read this

  • The first three digits are the width in mm, the middle two are the aspect ratio in percent, the last two the wheel in inches.
  • Sidewall height = width × aspect ÷ 100. For 205/55 that is 112.75 mm.
  • Overall diameter = wheel diameter + twice the sidewall. A 16-inch wheel is 406.4 mm.
  • Once the diameter shifts by more than 3%, the speedometer and odometer drift by the same amount.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is the overall diameter of 255/45R18?

686.7 mm — the 457.2 mm wheel plus the 114.75 mm sidewall at top and bottom.

Q. How many turns per kilometre does 255/45R18 make?

Its circumference is 2157.3 mm, so 463.5 turns.

Q. What can I swap it for?

12 sizes stay within 3% of its diameter — the closest is 255/40R19 at 686.6 mm.

Q. Why is the sidewall 114.75 mm?

Because it is 45% of the 255 mm width. The aspect ratio is a proportion of the width, not a length.