Check a wheel after a curb

The size is molded into the sidewall. You use it when you replace a tire, when you check that a spare matches, and when a listing asks for a wheel diameter. The mark is a short code, and the number after R is the one that names the wheel.

What does the number after R mean on a tire?

On a passenger-car size such as 245/40R18, the 18 is the wheel diameter in inches. The 245 is the section width in millimeters, and the 40 is the sidewall height as a percent of that width.

Read it as three parts. Width, then the sidewall ratio, then the wheel. A 245/40R18 and a 245/45R18 can share a width and still sit on different wheels, because the diameter and the sidewall height are both part of the fit. Match the full code on the tire you are replacing, then confirm the listing the day you buy.

The driver's door sticker can show the size the car was built with. If that sticker and the tire disagree, use the tire that is on the car. A winter set, a spare, or the other axle can carry a different code.

What should you look for after a curb hits the wheel?

Look at the sidewall for a cut, a crack, or a bulge, and check the pressure with a gauge. A bulge, or a tire that will not hold air, needs a tire shop before the next drive.

A scuff on the outer lip is the wheel. A cut or a bulge is the tire. Those are different parts, and a scrape on the lip does not tell you the tire is fine. If the car pulls, or you hear a new thump that was not there before the curb, have the wheel checked before a long drive.

Is a rim protector a new tire?

No. A rim protector is a strip or ring for the outer lip of the wheel. It is not a tire, and it does not set the pressure.

It sits on the outer lip, where a curb usually scrapes. Will a rim protector stop curb rash? is SaveARim's note on what a guard there can do.

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