What Size Wheels Fit My Car? A Wheel Fitment Guide for Beginners

Upgrading to bigger wheels is one of the most popular modifications you can make, but it isn’t a decision you should take lightly. Your wheels greatly affect your vehicle’s drivability, and finding the right wheel size for your vehicle isn’t as easy as it seems.

How Big a Wheel Can Your Car Take?

There are two main measurements to consider when answering the question, “What size tires fit my car?”

First, you’ll need to consider your wheel fitment, or how wide and tall a wheel can be to fit in the wheel well without rubbing against your car’s suspension. Getting your vehicle’s wheel fitment right means considering the bolt pattern, diameter, width, and offset of your wheels.

Second, you’ll have to figure out how much bigger your new wheel and tire are compared to stock. Going for a drastically different wheel size can throw your speedometer off, so it’s best to stick to less than a 3% difference in size.

How Does Wheel Size Affect Your Car?

Having bigger wheels can certainly make your car look cooler, but it isn’t just about the aesthetic. Your wheel size can affect several other factors, such as the following:

Steering

Your steering system is very largely affected by bigger wheels and tires. It’s much harder to move the steering wheel to change direction. Once you get larger tires, you’ll have to replace the steering system components too, which can be very expensive.

Stability

One great thing about having bigger wheels is having better vehicle stability. Bigger wheels have greater contact with the road, which means your vehicle’s wheels cover a wider surface area than if it had smaller wheels.

Braking

Vehicles with smaller wheels typically need a greater stopping distance, which can make them hard to drive for both new and experienced drivers. Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that with larger wheels.

Larger wheels shorten your braking distance, making it easier for you to avoid other vehicles on the road.

Fuel Economy

If you’re dead set on getting bigger wheels, then you might want to prepare yourself for pricier gas bills. Bigger wheels typically mean greater fuel consumption because most vehicles need to produce more power to roll bigger wheels on the road.

Acceleration

How do you feel about your car taking longer to accelerate? You might have to make some compromises if you want bigger wheels.

First, larger wheels will increase your car’s total weight, which can negatively affect your car’s acceleration. Second, while your car can reach higher speeds with bigger wheels, the time it takes for you to accelerate can take much, much longer.

If speed is important to you, then you might want to reconsider getting the biggest wheels you can fit on your car.

Handling

Unfortunately, while bigger wheels can make your car look cooler, they can also make your vehicle harder to drive. Bigger wheels are heavier, which makes them a lot harder to maneuver.

If you do a lot of off-roading, then you might want to think twice about getting bigger wheels. Bigger tires typically have more sidewall than smaller tires, so they tend to flex more and make it hard to drive over unpaved roads.

Ride Comfort

A downside to having bigger wheels is that they can make your ride uncomfortable. Bigger wheels typically mean you’ll feel the impact of every bump or hole in the road, and they tend to create more vibrations and noise too, which can travel to your cabin.

Can You Use Wheels With Different Bolt Patterns?

Imagine finding the perfect set of wheels, with the right look, width, and backspacing. Unfortunately, the bolt pattern doesn’t match, and your mechanic says you can’t use them for your car.

The bolt pattern refers to the number of lug nuts on your vehicle’s axle and the diameter of the imaginary circle they create. Wheels with a different bolt pattern won’t fit your vehicle, so you typically can’t use them to replace your smaller wheels.

You can opt for bolt pattern adapters, but even those can’t guarantee a perfect fit. Driving around with tires with different bolt patterns risks your safety.

How To Find Wheels That Fit Your Car

From bolt patterns to offsets, figuring out what wheels fit your car can certainly be hard. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. You can find all types of tire calculators online, and each one can help you find wheels that fit your car.

With a tire or wheel fitment calculator, you just have to input your current wheel’s fitment and the size of the wheels you want to replace them with. A list of recommended sizes that are compatible with your vehicle should pop up.

How To Read Your Tire and Rim Size

Before you can replace your tires with bigger ones, you first have to find out the size of your current wheels. You can go ahead and consult your owner’s manual, but you can also just check the sidewall of your tires.

Here, you’ll find a combination of letters and numbers that looks like this: P235/40 R18 95W. Here’s a brief guide on what these letters and numbers mean:

If you can’t find it on the sidewall, try checking the inside frame of the driver’s door, where some manufacturers opt to place it instead.