Buying new tires can be a daunting prospect for many consumers. Unless you happen to be an auto enthusiast, you probably have only the most rudimentary knowledge of how your vehicle works. The easy solution is to head to a tire dealer and have them tell you what size rims you need. However, if you're wanting to buy custom or tricked out car rims online, you'll need to be able to figure out the size for yourself.

The two easiest ways are to check the sticker plate in your car, it should be located inside the driver side door, or look online for the vehicle specifications for your exact make and model. That should tell you the standard rim size. If you want to install larger wheels, as many drivers do these days, you're going to need to do some measurements. You'll need three numbers.

First, measure the diameter and width of your existing wheels. You can choose to go with that stock size or something larger. Just keep in mind that larger wheels will mean you need lower profile tires in order for the combination to clear your vehicle.

The offset of your existing wheels is determined by measuring between the center line of the wheel and the wheel mounting pad. If you buy wheels with the wrong offset, the wheels may rub on the body of the car or even interfere with the car's brakes or suspension system .

Lastly, you need to know the bolt pattern for the wheels. This means noting not just how many lug holes there are, but what the diameter is between opposite holes. A bolt pattern of 4x100 means that the wheel takes four lug nuts and that the holes are 100mm apart.

With these three numbers, you should be able to choose rims that will be appropriate for your vehicle. If you don't know your numbers,  click here to find wheel and tire package that we guarantee will fit your vehicle.