Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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Look for size P215/60R16 at a service bay near you

By: Bob Ulrich

Quick, what size tire will you see more than any another rolling into your service bays this year?

If you bet your money on P215/60R16, odds are you are correct. That size has been the most popular original equipment size since 2004, at least through 2009 (more on that shortly).

Because passenger car owners change tires every three to four years, you should be seeing a lot of demand for P215/60R16s. Replacement shipments back that up.

At the replacement level, it has been the third most popular size the last two years. According to the 2011 Modern Tire Dealer Facts Issue, the top size has been P225/60R16, which accounted for close to 7 million units in the United States in 2010. P215/60R16 shipments totaled about 5 million units.

Down the road, P215/60R16 will still be a popular size. In 2010, it was the second most popular size at OE, behiind the new number one, P265/70R17 (which was among the top five replacement sizes as well).

Can you believe it? A 17-inch size is the most popular OE size for the first time! If that isn't a trend, I don't know what is.

Anyway, back to P215/60R16. Most of the 5 million tires shipped at the replacement level were broad-line tires. However, more than 1 million of them were ultra-high performance tires. Sure, they were on sedans such as the Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord, but they still had a speed rating of V or higher.

You won't see a lot of P215/60R16s on light trucks or SUVs, so if your area caters more to those vehicles, well, all bets are off. That's where the P265/70R17 comes into play, along with the always popular P235/70R15 and its 16-inch counterpart.

Related Topics: Broad-line tires, Facts Issue, Original equipment, Tire sizes

comments

1. Ed | January 20, 2011 at 07:06PM
   If I may question your article. The 235/70r15 has never been much in size since the 1970's. then the Chev Trail Blazer & its GMC counterpart.
   
   It is amazing how fast sizes that were so popular a few years ago are so dead now. It shows how critically important it is to stay on top of your inventory.