I have noticed that different tire manufacturers advertise different widths for the same size of tire. Some even show different widths within their own offerings. For example I've been looking at 245-50-16 for my car. Goodyear offers the GT2 with a tread width of 10" Yokohama offers the AVS ES100 with a width of 9.1" and BFG offers the Radial T/A with a width of only 8". Thats a 2" differeence between the BFG and Goodyear. I know part of it may be the rim width that they measure the tire on but they all recomend 7.0-8.5" rims and would the rim width really make that much difference?

 

different tires are different widths because of molds. no two tires are alike which is why they are so important.

 

If thats the case does anybody know who makes a "fat" 245.

 

the 245 is the width from the sidewall to sidewall. this should be pretty close between manufacturers. the tread width is just the width of the part of the tire that will contact the ground. these vary a lot between models of tires and some manufacturers exagerate this measurement. also to answer the question about who makes a fat 245/50....they are all pretty similar sizes like i said from sidewall to sidewall. some tires may have a bigger contact patch though. if youre looking for a fatter tire, id go with a 255/50 tire or 265/50. several companies make the 255/50 tires for 16" wheels. bf goodrich makes a 265/50 tire called radial t/a...thats probably the fattest tire you should put on a 16x8 wheel.

 

Would the tread width also be refered to as the "section"

 

Section width is sidewall-to-sidewall.