Don't mix up the width of the tread (what sits on the ground) with the rim width. It is an 8.5 inch tread width, but mounts on a 5.5" width rim. It is actually supposed to be a 6" minimum rim, but plenty of people use a narrower rim. I am not condoning this act, but I currently have 50 series tires on my beetle on 6" rims that should be on 7" minimum. After 16K miles, I see no adverse wear, or premature failure signs.
YMMV,
Courtney

----- Original Message -----
From: TC <trclark@SHAW.CA>
Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 11:10 am
Subject: BFG T/A KO 27-8.50-14's how do they get em on a std 5.5" rim

> I hear people put these 27-8.50-14 BF Goodrich T/A KO on the
> standard 5.5" x
> 14" rims
> I dont quite undersatnd how a 8.5" tire fits on a 5.5" rims
> can any one explain
>
> Any if any one actually runs these on a standard 2wd westy in the
> snow/ice/wet
> how do they perform compared to a real snow tire ?
>