What is a tire section width?

The section width of a UTV tire is typically the first measurement that is stamped or raised on the sidewall. Sometimes in mm but more often in inches, the section width is crucial to understand so that your new wheels and tires fit.

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UTV Tire Section Width

A tire's section width (also called "cross section width") is the measurement of the tire's width from its inner sidewall to its outer sidewall (excluding any decorations or raised letters) at the widest point. As noted, this measurement is typically in inches but you may see in mm (more typical in automotive tires). This measurement is made without any load placed upon the tire and after the tire has been properly mounted and inflated.

Because a UTV tire's section width is influenced by the width of the wheel, the correct rim width for the tire size being measured must be used. The width of a tire mounted on a narrow rim would be "narrower" than if the same tire was mounted on a wide rim.

The industry rule of thumb is that for every 1/2" change in rim width, the tire's section width will correspondingly change by approximately 0.2" or 5mm.

Tire dimensions tire specifications explanation

Learn

What is a tire bead gap

There is more than meets the eye when you dissect how a tire and wheel combo inflates, stays inflated and why some wheels and tires shouldn't be matched together. We take a deep dive into what makes certain wheel engineering superior when deciding your next combo.

Fitment

What is a Dual-Drill UTV Wheel?

A dual drilled wheel is a wheel that is drilled with two sets of bolt holes. With this additional set of holes, dual drill wheels can accept two different bolt patterns. On all dual-drill wheels, the larger hub bore of the two bolt patterns is used to ensure proper fitment.

Backspacing

Wheel Backspacing vs. Offset

4+3? 6+1? 25mm? We put to bed the UTV industry debate on what measurement is better, why we use wheel offset and wheel backspacing in the powersports industry, and we do a deep dive into why each measurement matters.

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