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Home > Tyres and rims > How do I find the right tyre size for my commercial vehicle?

Tyres and rims

How do I find the right tire size for my van?

Finding out which tire size fits your van / light commercial vehicle can be a daunting task. On this page, we explain where to find the tire size on your tire and how to understand this number.

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Where can I find the tire size of my van?

The tire size of a light commercial vehicle is printed on the side of the tire. This side is also called the ‘sidewall’ of the tire. The image on the left shows an example of a letter/number combination that can be found on a light commercial vehicle tire.
The combination visible in the image is 205/55R16 91V. We will use this combination to further explain how to interpret the tire size.

How to interpret the tire size for commercial vehicles?

A van tire consists of various numbers and letters indicating what components a tire consists of. We use the example 205/55R16 91V

What is the width of the commercial vehicle tire?

The tire width consists of the first 3 numbers shown on the sidewall information. In this case, that is 205. This number indicates the width of the tire in mm

What is the height of the commercial vehicle tire?

The height of the tire is indicated after the slash ( / ) in the tire size. Let’s refer to our example again: 205/55R16 91V. The height of the tire is the number 55. This is because it comes after the ( / ). The height of the tire is indicated in percentage, a height of 55 means that the tire is 55% of the width of the tire.

How do you recognize a radial tire?

The letter R indicates that it is a radial tire. Radial tires are the standard in the tire world. Previously, diagonal tires (indicated with a D instead of an R) were sometimes used, but nowadays this is almost non-existent.

How do you read the rim size for a commercial vehicle?

Behind the letter R (indicating it is a radial tire) is a number. In this case, that number is 16. This number indicates the rim size in inches. This tire can only be mounted on 16 inch rims.

How do you read the load index of a commercial vehicle tire?

After the rim size, there is still a number and a letter. The last number indicates the load index of a tire. The load index represents the maximum load capacity of a tire at the ideal pressure. In this case, the number 91 means that this tire can handle 615 Kg or 1356 Pounds.
We have collected all common load index numbers of van tires in one overview. You can find this overview a few paragraphs below.

How do you read the speed index?

After the number indicating the load index, there is one letter left. In this case, it is the letter V. The letter V indicates that this tire has a maximum speed of 240 km/h.
The common speed index numbers of light commercial vehicles are also collected in one overview. You can find this overview below.

Overview of the load index for light commercial vehicles

Specific rules for load capacity apply to work vans and light commercial vehicles. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the right tire that corresponds to the load capacity specified by the vehicle manufacturer.
During periodic inspections, it is checked whether the tires match the load capacity specified by the manufacturer. If this is not correct, the entire truck or trailer will be rejected.

Load index	Te beladen gewicht(kg)	Load index	Te beladen gewicht (kg)	Load index	Te beladen gewicht (kg)
71	145	88	560	105	925
72	355	89	580	106	950
73	365	90	600	107	975
74	375	91	615	108	1000
75	387	92	630	109	1030
76	400	93	650	110	1060
77	412	94	670	11	1090
78	425	95	690	112	1120
79	437	96	710	113	1150
80	450	97	730	114	1180
81	462	98	750	115	1215
82	475	99	775	116	1250
83	487	100	800	117	1285
84	500	101	825	118	1320
85	515	102	850	119	1320
86	530	103	875	120	1360
87	545	104	900	121	1400

Overzicht met het overzicht met snelheidsindex voor lichte bedrijfswagens

In the overview on the right you can see the speed rating that can be found on the side of the tyre with the corrosponding maximum speed rating.
De tabel hieronder beschrijft alle snelheidesindexen met de bijbehorende snelheden welke u terug kunt vinden op uw band.

Snelheidsrating band	Maximale snelheid	Snelheidsrating band	Maximale snelheid
L	120 km/h	U	200 km/h
M	130 km/h	H	210 km/h
N	140 km/h	V	240 km/h
Q	160 km/h	Z	240+ km/h
R	170 km/h	W	270 km/h