What Is Tyre Aspect Ratio

When it comes to car tyre maintenance there are many things that go unnoticed, like the alphanumeric codes inscribed on the side wall of your car’s tyre. Most of us don’t know what they are meant for. The side wall of a tyre carries vital information with respect to the tyre size and helps you get the aspect ratio of a tyre. The tyre ratio helps you find the right tyre for your car. By looking at it, at first instance, the cryptogram appears no less than a riddle. Despite that fact, we Indians have a legacy to solve the unsolved. So, come along, let’s crack down this mystery and unveil the secret behind.

Tyre aspect ratio explained

The side wall code lets you know the tyre specs such as width, load index, diameter, speed rating and profile of a particular tyre. Aspect ratio of a tyre in layman’s term is denoted by a percentage (nos.) which hints at the tyre height (or section height), from bead to the tread, with regards to the tyre width (or section width).

How does tyre aspect ratio matter?

If the aspect ratio of a tyre is higher, then the side wall will be clearly taller. You must have noticed that the trucks, buses and even luxury cars possess high aspect ratios of about 95. Such tyres, at one point may compromise on the handling part but will surely provide you with ultra comfort ride due to more amount of air inside the tyre. So what about the tyres with low aspect ratio? Such tyres, with shorter side walls, will play their role heroically while cornering and by providing better handling. However, here you cannot expect cushioning comfort, as the suspension suffers from the vibrations produced by tyres because the tyre here, holds less air.

Therefore, in order to provide a mix of decent handling quality and comfortable ride, an even balance of high and low aspect ratio is witnessed in most of our regular tyres.

Decoding the tyre measurements and tyre sizes code-

Understand this trail of confusing alphanumeric figures in this way.

For instance, if the side wall of a tyre reads: 205 / 60 R16 92 H

This means,
1) 205 (section width in mm) – It’s the total width of the tyre in millimetres.
2) 60 (aspect ratio in percentage) – As explained above, it’s the ratio of section height to the section width.
3) R (radial construction) – Denotes that the layers run radially across the tyre
4) 16 (rim diameter in inches) – The measurement of rim
5) 92 (load index) – The number states the maximum load carrying capacity.
6) H (speed symbol) – This symbol signifies the permissible speed.

Tyre aspect ratio calculator

Here, if we go by simple mathematics, the tyre aspect ratio percentage can be calculated as under:

H (Section Height of Tyre) / W (Section Width of Tyre) X 100 = Aspect Ratio (%)

Author: Ankit verma

My need for speed began at a very early age and I realised this as soon as I got my first bicycle at the age of 8. When all the other kids would break downhill I would pedal harder just to go faster and enjoy the thrill. Adding to my interest for speed, I grew engrossed in the working mechanics of two wheelers thanks to my father as he is a hydraulic mechanic and would take me along with him on his repair sessions. Eventually I became familiar with the tools and basic technical concepts of two wheelers.Super sport and sport tourers are more of my liking and the sparks to these flames were ignited the first time I experienced the maddening power of a Yamaha YZF R1. I was just 14 years old at the time and got to ride as a pillion with an older acquaintance. This one short ride influenced my every decision in terms of the bikes I want to own. As of today I’m 26 years old and a proud owner of a Yamaha Fz15 version 2.0 and a Kawasaki Ninja 650 2014 model having clocked a decent 30k Kms only while touring, waiting to clock 1000s more as riding makes me feel whole again after enduring the dismal routines of life. Read more