Uhmm, do you mean 265 is the HEIGHT of the sidewall or it's 75(%) of 265 is the height? You have both the first and second numbers being wide/width.

But back in the day....weren't 50s the wide tires everyone put on the back of their muscle cars??? Now a 50 series tire would be a narrow tire right? I guess my memory isn't what it should be. That or I'm just putting way to much thought into this.

 

265 is the width. 75 is the height. Meaning the height is (in this case) 75% of the width.

And to answer your second question; If you think about it the measurements are still the same as back in the day. I have heard this arguement all my life but here goes. When people said they got 50's for their car, what they got was, for example, a 395/50-15. The first mumber was still the width it just looks wide and low because the sidewall is only 50% of the width. Therefore making a wide tire no taller than a stock tire that was probably 235/70-15 originally.
Also the "R" that they used to put in there, ie: 235/70 R 15 meant that it was a radial and not a bias ply.

 

i'm running 255/85r16 bfg mud terrains which are about an inch wider and about an inch and a half taller than the stock 235/85r16 seems to help a little bit with the 4:10s. i didnt have to shim the bumper but my truck is a 4x4

 

I have 265/75/16 on my 2WD....rubs on the radius arms at full lock

you can use this to compare different sizes

Tire size calculator

 

Thanks for schoolin' me ya'all! Now I just wish I hadn't let that set of 4 good 265/85's for a hundred fifty bucks get away! Just have to wait for another deal I guess.

 

I just bought a set of 285/75-16 General's yesterday for $480 out the door. Is that a good deal or what.