Courtesy SEMA Wheel & Tire Council
Testing performed at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) has led to the creation of the Ride Guide, charts that show how vehicles perform when equipped with various size tires and rims. Published by SEMA’s Wheel & Tire Council (WTC), the guide contains comparative performance data for directional response, steering speed response, ride comfort, road grip, and steering firmness response. It is being created in installments; the first two vehicles covered are the 2009-2015 F-150 and the 2014-2015 Mazda 3. Testing is ongoing and more vehicles may be added going forward.
The guide contains a size chart for tires and rims, and keys to a series of five charts related to performance. The performance data is based on actual testing and applies only to 2009-2015 F-150s. For testing purposes the baseline tire was a P275/65R18. Designated as tire “G”, you can see that it is at or near the top in terms of directional response, steering speed response, ride comfort, road grip, and steering firmness response. For someone looking to change tires and rims on an F-150 this would be a very good choice. At the opposite end of the spectrum would be an LT245/75R17; designated as tire “B”, it is in last place in every performance category. Similar comparisons can be made between any of the 12 tire/rim combinations on the size chart.
The complete Ride Guide can be downloaded for free from the SEMA WTC website.
