Would a nitto 275/40-18 fit on a stock 18x8 rim? I was talking to someone I know and they said nitto tires run narrow compared to other tires. I found a good deal on two nittos and I just want to make sure I am not going to run into any problems. THANKS!

 

Most probably not. And even if they did they would look like mountain bike ones.

Anyway, you can check that yourself at their page. NT05 does not fit, for example.

 

I'm sure you can also call a discount tire or a big'o tire store and they can tell you for sure over the phone.

 

First off - 9" is the minimum recommended wheel width for every single Nitto tire model that comes in 275/40-18. As well as for other name and model tires.

Your OE 18" wheels may be 8.5" wide, but even that is really too narrow for unrestricted use of that size tire. Emergency or other temporary use is another matter. If the wheels really are only 8", they're way too narrow.


The tire store guy is likely to tell you exactly what he thinks you want to hear so he can make a sale. And what he thinks you want to hear will come from the question(s) you ask and the wording you use to ask them. I'm not saying that all tire sales folks do this all the time, but it's common enough that the answers you get are not reliable enough to count on. Remember, the sales side in it all is to sell. Not design, or interpret the tire engineer's intent, or assume that there are huge margins of safety that they are free to give away for the sake of making a sale.

It's by Tire & Rim Association agreement what the acceptable wheel widths for the various tire sizes are, though once in a while you may see a tire listed for acceptable fit on a wheel outside the width range that's generally tabulated. My point here being that the tire sales guy has absolutely nothing to do with this decision, and really shouldn't be making recommendations outside what's listed as acceptable.


Norm