Tires Sizes

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I would like to know if a tire that is size 70R15 will fit on a rim that currently has 75R15 tires on it. I was gifted a brand new set of tires from a Jeep Wrangle that are 70R15’s and I have a set of rims from my Jeep Cherokee that currently have 75R15’s on them. Thanks for your help. -Jeepheap

2

You need to give use the complete numbers for each: 235-70R15, for example.

3

All of the tires are 225’s. So current tires are 225-75R15 and new tires are 225-70R15.

4

The new tires will likely have a lower load-carrying capacity.
Refer to the sidewall of both tires to compare these ratings.

5

As VDC said, be sure to check the load arrying capacity. www.carbibles.com will tell you how to read the sidewalls.

Note that they’ll be slightly smaller in circumference also, affecting your speedo and odometer slightly. The same website will also tell you how much of a difference that’ll make.

6

Thanks for the info. I will check it out.

I am not as much concerned with load rating. Especially if they won’t fit on the rims. I don’t do much extreme driving or heavy hauling, infact, I only use the car to commute to work.

Which leads back to the original question, will the different tires fit on the rims?
Thanks again, JeepHeap

7

It would be good to know the year and model of the Cherokee. For example, Tire Rack lists 215/75R15 and 225/75R15 tires for a 1998 Cherokee SE.

The 215/75R15 and 225/70R15 have a load rating of 100s. The 225/75R15 has a load rating of 102s. Depending on the Cherokee model the 225/70R15 should be acceptable.

Using Firestone Destination LE’s as an example, the of the 225/75R15 tire diameter is 28.3" and the 225/70R15 diameter is 27.4" or ~3% smaller.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Destination+LE&partnum=275SR5DESTLEOWL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Jeep&autoYear=1998&autoModel=Cherokee%20SE&autoModClar=

Ed B.

8

Yes. Both the old and the new have a 225mm “section width” and both have 15" beads. They’ll definitely fit physically.

The referenced website will explain what these numbers mean.

9

Thanks for the info. I have a 1998 Cherokee. So you were right on. The fatory equipment was the Goodyear Wrangler 225/75R15. I bought a set of the GYW 235/75R15’s for it, and it made the ride a lot better.

Because I have 2 sets of rims, I will probably put the gifted tires on one set and keep them around for spares.

Thanks again, JeepHeap

10

As to using them as “spares”, I’d recommmend against it. You definitely do not want to mix tire sizes.

11

“I am not as much concerned with load rating.”

You should be. Larger capacity tires are less likely to fail. Remember the Ford / Firestone situation a few years ago concerning inflation pressure? That discussion was about load carrying capacity!