18×8 Tires: What Fits The Rim?
If you are a car enthusiast, you likely appreciate a pair of sleek rims that compliment the overall car aesthetic. However, before choosing the perfect rim and tire combo for your car, you have to decide what kind of driving experience you want. If you own 18×8 rims, there are only a selected number of tire sizes that can fit that rim comfortably and it’s your job to find out which.
Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place because we are going to help you choose the perfect tire size for your 18×8 rims. So, 18×8 tires: What Fits The Rim?
18×8 Tires: What Fits The Rim?
There are easily a few dozen options you can go with if you own an 18×8 rim, but according to most tire specialists and online sources, a 225/40 R18 tire is the preferred size for 18×8 rims. This tire size seems to be the most popular choice of them all because it fits the rim perfectly, and it isn’t overly narrow or overly wide. This makes the car feel balanced and able to deliver in virtually all driving aspects most people are interested in.
If you want to go a bit wider than that, the 235/40 R18 tire size also seems to be a fairly popular choice for 18×8 rims. In order to choose the right set for you, you will have to familiarize yourself with all the tire sizing codes and what you get with each of them.
Which Tires Fit A 18×8 Wheel?
As previously stated, there are many different options you can go with. Now, we are going to list all the most popular options out there so you can study each of them individually after you’ve familiarized yourself with all the benefits and drawbacks of different tire sizes.
215/35 R18 | 225/35 R18 |
205/40 R18 | 215/40 R18 |
225/40 R18 * | 235/40 R18 * |
215/45 R18 | 245/40 R18 |
225/45 R18 | 235/45 R18 |
235/50 R18 | 235/55 R18 |
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Wide Tires?
In our recommendations, we have listed both narrow and wide tires, and we are now going to tell you why you should go for one over the other and how that affects your overall driving experience. After you’ve read all the benefits and drawbacks of wider tires, you can compare them with all the benefits and drawbacks of narrower tires here.
Pros
- More traction in the dry
- Improves handling at higher speeds
- They look cooler
- They brake better
Cons
- Increased fuel consumption
- Slower acceleration
- Shorter lifespan
- Costs
Do Wider Tires Offer More Traction?
In order to achieve better traction with your car, you can either increase the contact patch or you can make the car heavier (more pressure per square inch). By widening your tires, you are essentially increasing the contact patch, which means that there is more tire that can hang onto the road and thus give you better traction.
However, these benefits are reserved for dry roads only, as the presence of water can increase the chances of aquaplaning. Therefore, a wider tire isn’t the best choice to make when it comes to rain, especially terrestrial rain.
Do Wider Tires Handle Better?
The reason why wider tires handle better than narrower tires is similar to the reasons we listed above. Moreover, wider tires typically come with stiffer sidewalls, which means that the tire isn’t going to flex as much while mid-corner. You also need to keep in mind that a wider tire distributes the car’s weight better, which means that weight transfer during cornering is not as aggressive as it usually is with a narrower tire.
Do Wide Tires Look Better?
Let’s face it, even though we love all the other benefits you get with wider tires, we mostly enjoy how well the car sits with a set of wide tires. While looking at the car from behind, a wider set of tires sticks out more which makes the car look more purposeful, more hunkered to the road. They do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but pretty much every beholder agrees that you can’t go wrong with wider tires, at least not looks-wise.
Do Wider Tires Brake Better?
By widening your tires, you are essentially giving your car a larger pair of claws with which it can hold onto the road both while driving and while braking. This means that wider tires do help the car stop better because you are reducing the frontal movement with more mass and a larger contact patch. On the other hand, you do need to keep in mind that these braking benefits are mostly reserved for dry roads.
Do Wider Tires Use More Fuel?
A wider tire is a larger object when compared to a narrower tire, which means that it both takes up more space and that it weighs more. This can play a noticeable role in your fuel efficiency in the long run because larger/heavier/wider tires have higher levels of rolling resistance, which means that more force is needed to turn them. This strains the engine a bit more and therefore results in more fuel being burned.
Do Wider Tires Accelerate Slower?
In the last paragraph, we talked about how wider tires need more “oomph” to get going. This also contributes to how much energy is needed to accelerate. It is essentially the same thing as a heavier/larger/wider tire that needs more energy to turn. This results in slower acceleration times as opposed to a narrower tire. The differences might not be huge, but they certainly do exist.
Do Wider Tires Wear Faster?
How long a tire can last is a question that can’t be answered simply by mentioning tire width, as there are numerous different factors that affect tire lifespan. However, if we were to compare two identical tires, and if the only difference between them is the width, chances are that the wider tire is going to wear out faster. Be that as it may, you can always counter that by following these steps in our “How To Make Your Tires Last Longer” article.
Do Wider Tires Cost More?
Wider tires use more material to make, which affects the final price of the tire. Not only that, but a wider tire also costs more to ship and more to install, which also affects the final price of the tire. The general rule of thumb is: The wider the tire, the more it costs. To top all of these factors off, you also need to keep in mind that wider tires aren’t as popular as narrower ones which means that the supply is not as significant, therefore this also pushes the price up.
What Is The Smallest Tire That Can Fit On A 18×8 Wheel?
The smallest tire that can comfortably and safely fit a 18×8 wheel is a 215/35 R18 or a 205/40 R18 tire. Going any smaller than this is going to pose certain safety and comfort challenges that are going to hamper your overall driving experience and therefore should be avoided. These tires are more aerodynamic and likely more comfortable than all the other tires listed in this article.
What Is The Biggest Tire That Can Fit On A 18×8 Wheel?
If you prefer wider tires and all the benefits that come with them, there is no reason why you shouldn’t just go all out and get yourself a 245/40 R18 tire. These tires are perfect for those who drive sports cars and enjoy having a confidence-inspiring experience behind the wheel, even though it may not be the most comfortable or the cheapest way to go.
Which Cars Are Best For 18-inch Wheels?
Most of us can agree that 18-inch wheels look better than comparably smaller wheels, especially on certain cars that not only look better with 18-inch wheels, but also perform better. For starters, 18-inch wheels can typically be found on comfortable sedans and coupes with a sporty edge. 18 inches enables you to maintain the car’s overall comfort, while also making the car a bit sportier and more agile.
Supercars typically come with either 19-inch wheels or more, but there are some supercars that come with 18-inch wheels straight from the factory. Luxury limousines, especially German ones, are also predominantly being shipped with 18-inch wheels because they look large enough, but aren’t punishing when it comes to ride quality.
SUVs with 18-inch wheels are also a thing these days because most luxury SUVs aren’t being driven off-road. Hatchbacks with 18-inch wheels could potentially look out of place, but a sporty hatchback can also easily come with 18-inch wheels from the factory. All in all, sporty cars fit 18-inch wheels the best.
Conclusion
At the end of our “18×8 Tires: What Fits The Rim?” article, we can say that 225/40 R18 and 235/40 R18 tire sizes are the most popular and likely the best tire sizes for an 18×8 rim. However, there are many different potential options you can go with, but you need to decide what you value more as tire size directly affects how compliant a car is on the road.
It is true that most enthusiasts prefer wide wheels because they are sportier, better-looking, and more responsive, but we simply can’t ignore all the benefits you get with smaller tires, especially longevity, costs, comfort, and better fuel efficiency.