85_ZED28

Will taller tires decrease the gear ratio?
Is it a significant difference in performance?

thanks for any help!

F-BIRD'88

Yes, and it all depends.....

tall skinny tires are way better in the snow

Mark A Shields

Going with shorter tires is said to be the poor man's gear change. I forget which summit issue, but there is a way to calculate your new gear ratio by changing tire sizes. By getting taller tires the gear ratio decreases numerically but you have a higher gear ratio, which will worsen you acceleration.

85transamtpi

Just adding to Marks statement...in most cases it will increase top speed and gas mileage.

jcb999

Just as a 3.08 is ten percent higher than a 3.36, a 27 inch tire is ten percent taller (and hence larger in circumference) than a 24.5.

Tire diameters can vary up to about .5 inch between companies. In some cases, you can change the net effect of a rear end ratio by approximately 5 percent by investigating the various tire options.

A 4.10 can be made to act like about a 3.9 with a little bit of work.