The tire shown above is a 205/45/ZR17 88w. 205 is the width of the tire in millimeters. The next number is the aspect ratio. In this case 45 represents that the side of the tire is equal 45 % of the width. 205mm x .45 = 92.25mm, or about 3.63 inches. A popular misconception is that sports cars have lower profile tires than what is used by Volvo. In many cases this is not true. Take a Corvette for example. The common tire size is 275/40/ZR17. The aspect ratio is lower but the tire is also much wider. 275mm x .40 = 110mm or about 4.33 inches. This is a full 7/10's more sidewall. The next number on a tire sidewall is proceeded by two letters. The first of the letters will be the speed rating, explained later. The second, usually R, represents that the tire is radial. The following number is the rims diameter. The final number is the load rating. In this case 88w.