245/75R16 vs 265/70R16 Tire: Are They Interchangeable?

When you are looking to upgrade your tires, it is important to consider the size and type of tire you need. Sometimes it can be confusing when trying to decide if you should go with a different sized tire. 

In this blog post, we will be discussing the differences between the 245/75R16 vs 265/70R16 tire to help make your decision easier. 

Also you might be wondering if  the 245/75R16 and 265/70R16 tires are interchangeable or not. Keep reading to learn more!

245/75R16 Vs 265/70R16: Whats The Difference?

You can get all this information just by looking at the numbers. These numbers are called tire size indexes. They tell you about four factors about a tire. The factors are width, aspect ratio, construction type, and rim diameter.

Let’s say, the tire size index 245 75R16 is fragmented, then we get this 4 information –

• 245 stands for – Tire Width in Millimeters
• 75 stands for – The Aspect Ratio of Height/Width
• R stands for – Construction Type
• 16 stands for – Rim Diameter in Inches

Width

The first portion of a tire size index indicates the Width of that tire. As you can see, the first portion of one tire is 245 and the other is 265. It means that the Width of the tire 245 75R16 is 245 millimeters and the tire 265 70R16 is 265 millimeters. So the difference in their Widths is 265 – 245 = 20 millimeters.

To get the width, they measure from one sidewall to the other sidewall and it is expressed in millimeters. Tire manufacturers are very careful when measuring width, making it 100% accurate. So, there is no need to doubt the width of the tire by looking at the digit on the tire size index.

Now, the difference of width between 245 75R16 and 265 70R16 is 20 millimeters, which is a big gap. But this gap is minimized by the aspect ratio of the two tires.

Aspect Ratio

You cannot simply interchange tires when there is a huge gap of width of 20 millimeters between them. But this gap is minimized by the aspect ratio of the two tires.

The aspect ratio is the first two digits of the second portion. So, the aspect ratio of 245 75R16 is 75 and the aspect ratio of 265 70R16 is 70. The aspect ratio is measured in percentage and it tells us about the height on the sidewall of a tire in millimeters.

Let’s elaborate to make you understand better. The aspect ratio is 75 for the 245 75R16 tire. So, the height on the sidewall of that tire is 75% of its width. If we calculate, 245 (width) × 75% = 183.75 millimeters.

On the other hand, the aspect ratio is 70 for the 265 70R16 tire. So, the height on the sidewall of that tire is 70% of its width. If we calculate, 265 (width) × 70% = 185.5 millimeters.

So, the gap of the height on the sidewall between the tires is 185.5 – 183.75 = 1.75 millimeters. As you can see, the difference between the tires is very low. Moral of the story is that these two tires are almost similar in size. Though the difference between 245 75R16 and 265 70R16 is very slight, they are not ideal for interchanging. It may affect your riding experience and the reading on the speedometer.

Construction Type

We can learn the construction type of a tire by looking at its index. The letter in a tire index is the construction type of that tire.   

Both tires have Radial Construction in terms of construction type. Both 245 75R16 and 265 70R16 have the same letter ‘R’. It suggests both tires are of radial types. Such tires have a sophisticated construction with square footprints on the top. The radial type tires are ideal for driving on-roads.

Another letter ‘B’ can be often seen in the tire size index. It indicates the tire is a bias ply type, having a different construction type than the radial type tires. The bias ply or cross ply tires are better for driving off roads.

Rim Diameter

The last two digits of a tire index tells the rim diameter of that tire. It is measured in inches. As you can see, the rim diameter of 245 75R16 is 16 inches. Likewise, the rim diameter of 265 70R16 is 16 inches. As things stand, there is no difference between the rim diameters of these two tires.

Measuring from one open bead to the exact opposite one will get you the rim diameter of the tire. This also suggests any of these two tires is adjustable for a 16-inch wheel.

Wrapping Up with a Comparison Table between 245/75R16 and 265/70R16:

Aspects	245 75R16	265 70R16	Difference
Diameter mm	773.9	777.4	3.5 (0.5%)
Width mm	245	265	20 (8.2%)
Circumference inches	95.72	96.15	0.43 (0.5%)
Sidewall Height mm	183.75	185.5	1.75 (1%)
Revs per mile	661.93	658.95	-2.98 (-0.5%)
Aspect Ratio	75	70	5

As you can see, the 245 75R16 and 265 70R16 tires are almost similar in overall size. The difference of the Revs per mile they produce is 0.5%. These two tires have a difference of less than 2 millimeters in terms of Sidewall Height. Though the Widths of the tires are noticeably different, the aspect ratio covers it up.

So Can You Interchange Between 245/75R16 and 265/70R16 Tires?

Yes you can interchange between 245/75R16 and 265/70R16 tires as they are relatively similar on every aspect.

The aspect ratio difference is 0.5% which is less then 3%. That won’t effect to much on speedometer readings.

Faqs

Final Words

Hopefully, now you can say a lot about tires just by looking at the tire size index. There is not much difference between 245 75R16 and 265 70R16 tires. They have less than 2 millimeters difference in Sidewall Height. They fit a 16-inches wheel.

Finally, the 245 75R16 and 265 70R16 tires are interchangeable. You can replace one tire with another size of these two. But it may slightly affect your riding experience. Though you can choose different sizes among these two tires, we recommend you to stick to any one size.

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