Golf Cart Wheel Size Explained

By far and away the most popular thing we sell here at the GCTS are golf cart wheels and tires. In fact, since 2014 we have sold over 1,000,000+ golf cart wheels to our amazing customers. More than anyone else in the USA! And over these past 10-years we have learned a thing or two about golf cart wheel sizes and the fitment of wheel and tire setups on every make and model of cart.

Wheel Size Does Not Matter for Fitment On Your Cart!

Golf cart wheels can be a confusing topic. Some people mix up "wheel" with "wheel and tire", or think that wheel size matters for fitment on your cart. But it doesn't. A golf cart wheel is the aluminum or steel portion of your wheel and tire assembly. The wheel is what bolts to the hubs of your golf cart. As we always say, when it comes to wheel and tire fitment on your golf cart the most important number to consider is the overall HEIGHT of the tire you are pairing with your wheel. The wheel size itself doesn't really matter! It's the tire size you put on your wheel that does matter.

Golf cart wheel size is truly only important for two things:

Desired Wheel Style: This is how big you want your wheels to be! The larger the wheels, the more intricate and cool the designs and finishes tend to get
Desired Tire Height and Tread Style: Do you want a street golf cart tire, all terrain tire, or turf tire? Larger golf cart wheel sizes typically means there will be more upgraded tire styles and tread patterns available for them compared to smaller wheels or factory sized wheels.

So when you are shopping for your new set of golf cart wheels, consider the size of the wheel and tire combo as a whole (which is always going to be the height of the tire). Now that you have the basics about golf cart wheels explained, lets get to the meat and potatoes of golf cart wheel sizes.

Golf Cart Wheel Size Chart

Golf Cart Wheel Size	Wheel Diameter	Typical Rim Width
8 inch	8" Tall	7" Wide
10 inch	10″ Tall	7″ Wide
12 inch	12" Tall	7" Wide
14 inch	14" Tall	7" Wide
15 inch	15" Tall	7" Wide

The above table and visual chart below it represent the most common factory and aftermarket golf cart wheel sizes. Golf cart wheels on the market come in sizes ranging from 8", 10", 12", 14" and now even 15" diameter. Sizes do not affect golf cart or wheel performance, so it all comes down to choosing a wheel size based on your preference and style desired! The diameter of golf cart tires mounted on these wheel sizes range from 18" tall (standard OEM tires) up to 23" tall (most all-terrain tires).

When mounted together, golf cart wheels and tires are known as a "combo". The first decision you will need to make when searching for new golf cart wheels and tires is whether you want standard (non-lifted) golf cart wheels and tires or over-sized (lifted) golf cart tire and wheel packages for your cart. In order to fit lifted golf cart wheels and tires on your cart, you will need a factory or aftermarket golf cart lift kit.

Standard Golf Cart Wheel Size

8" Golf Cart Wheels

8 inch golf cart wheels on 18x8-50-8 golf cart tires combo 8 inch black steel golf cart wheels on 18x8-50-8 turf golf cart tires

The standard golf cart wheel size is 8 inches. Due to their low cost and durability, these 8" sized golf cart wheels come as OEM equipment on 99% of fleet golf carts. They are typically made of steel and come in black, white, almond or grey finishes. EZ-GO, Club Car and Yamaha golf carts all come from the factory with 8" steel wheels mounted on 18x8.50-8" sawtooth tires.

8 inch golf cart wheels are the smallest size made for golf cart bolt patterns. For this reason, this 8" size wheel is typically offered on tires that are made for non-lifted golf carts. That said, 8-inch golf cart wheels can accept tires as from low as 17" tall all the way up to 22" All Terrain tires! So just because you have 8 inch wheels on your cart, doesn't mean it isn't lifted (if you are running taller than a 20" tall tire).

Aftermarket Golf Cart Wheel Sizes

When upgrading from factory 8 inch golf cart wheels to a larger size, many customers ask us "What size wheels are best?" or "What size should I get to fit my cart?". And when it comes to 10" vs 12" golf cart wheels, or 12" vs 14" golf cart wheels, again the size of the wheel isn't what is important. It is the height of the tire you will be mounting on that wheel. So pick the wheel design you like best, and go from there on making sure it will fit on your cart with the tire style you want!

Below, we will quickly go over what each golf cart rim size on the market is, and then let you know the most popular sizes of tires people typically get with each wheel size so that you can choose what is right for your cart and your desired style!

10" Golf Cart Wheels

10 inch golf cart wheels on EZGO Golf Cart

10 inch golf cart wheels are one of the best selling and most popular sizes on the entire golf cart market. These wheels are typically aluminum and really class things up from 8" steel wheels as far as looks and performance go. And due to their smaller size, they are the lowest cost custom style aluminum wheels you can get for your cart.

Because 10" golf cart wheels are not much bigger than 8" wheels, they leave a good amount of room for a variety of different tires to fit on them without the need to lift your cart. And if your cart does happen to have a lift kit already, there are some great 20" tall and 22" tall tires that you can pair with 10" wheels to fit your lifted cart. This makes them incredibly popular for golf cart owners looking to add style or capability to their cart. The most popular 10" golf cart wheel combos and their corresponding overall heights are in the list and visual table below:

10" golf cart wheels on 205/50-10 Street Low Profile tires: 18" tall combo, fits all carts
10" golf cart wheels on 18x9.5-10 All Terrain tires: 18" tall combo, fits all carts
10" golf cart wheels on 20x10-10 All Terrain tires: 20" tall combo, fits most cart without need for a lift
10" golf cart wheels on 205/65-10 Street Comfort tires: 20.5" tall combo, fits most carts with without need for a lift
10" golf cart wheels on 22x11-10 All Terrain tires: 22" tall combo, must have 5" or 6" lift kit minimum to fit

12" Golf Cart Wheels

12 inch golf cart wheels on Club Car Precedent golf cart

The 12 inch golf cart wheels are almost equally as popular as 10" golf cart wheels, again due to the fact that so many 12" wheel and tire combos can fit on standard height carts without a lift kit. The big difference between 12 inch wheels and 10 inch wheels is the noticeable face size of the wheel compared to factory 8 inch sized wheels. 12" aluminum golf cart wheels start to get really beautiful, and have some pretty intricate designs from the higher quality brands who make them such as Madjax, TREX, GTW and Steeleng.

Again, a variety of different tire sizes fit 12 inch golf cart wheels. From as small as factory height 18" low profile tires (205/30-12 and 215/40-12) all the way up to 23" All terrain golf cart tires. Just like with 10 inch wheels, this makes 12 inch sized golf cart wheels incredibly popular for golf cart owners. The most popular 12" golf cart wheel combos and their corresponding overall heights are in the list and visual table below:

12" golf cart wheels on 215/35-12 Street Low Profile tires: 18" tall combo, fits all carts
12" golf cart wheels on 215/40-12 Street Low Profile tires: 18.5" tall combo, fits all carts
12" golf cart wheels on 215/50-12 Street Comfort tires: 20.5" tall combo, fits many carts without need for a lift
12" golf cart wheels on 20x10-12 All Terrain tires: 20" tall combo, fits many carts without need for a lift
12" golf cart wheels with 23x10-12 All Terrain tires: 23" tall combo, must have 5" or 6" lift kit minimum to fit
12" golf cart wheels with 23x10-12 Street Comfort tires: 23" tall combo, must have 5" or 6" lift kit minimum to fit
12" golf cart wheels with 23x10.5-12 All Terrain tires: 23" tall combo, must have 5" or 6" lift kit minimum to fit

14" Golf Cart Wheels

14 inch golf cart wheels on Club Car golf cart

We've been signaling to the market since the year 2015 that 14" golf cart wheels were becoming ever-more popular each passing day. And today, this wheel size is almost just as popular as 12" golf cart wheels for the market.

14 inch golf cart wheels are some of the best looking wheels on the market due to their sheer size, allowing for designs that come close to even some smaller automotive car and truck wheels. A set of 14 inch wheels will really make your golf cart stand out. But due to their larger size, even the smallest / lowest profile tires mounted on 14" wheels might still require a small lift kit to use on your cart. To find out if 14" golf cart wheels fit your cart without a lift kit, read our golf cart tire size explained article. All of our product listings also specify fitment for each major golf cart brand.

In general, all EZGO model carts and Yamaha Drive (G29) / Drive-2 carts can fit 14" wheels and tires with no lift kit. But all Club Car and Yamaha G1-G22 models carts, as well as non-lifted ICON carts cannot fit 14" wheels and tires without a small lift kit.

The most popular 14" golf cart wheel combos and their corresponding overall heights are in the list and visual table below:

14" golf cart wheels on 205/30-14 Street Low Profile tires: 19" tall combo, fits many carts without need for a lift
14" golf cart wheels on 215/35-14 Street Medium Profile tires: 20" tall combo, fits many carts without need for a lift
14" golf cart wheels on 20x8.5-14 All Terrain tires: 20" tall combo, fits many carts without need for a lift
14" wheel with 23x10-14 All Terrain tires: 23" tall combo, must have 5" or 6" lift kit minimum to fit
14" golf cart wheels with 23x10R14 Radial Street Comfort tires: 23" tall combo, must have 5" or 6" lift kit minimum to fit

15" Golf Cart Wheels

15 inch golf cart wheels on golf cart

15 inch golf cart wheels have now been on the market for about four years. While only one inch larger in diameter than 14" wheels, a set of 15" golf cart wheels will require a lift kit on most carts because the smallest tire size you can pair with a 15 inch wheel is a 21" tall tire. This means 15 golf cart wheels will likely never be as popular as 10", 12" or 14" just because they can only work on lifted carts. So keep in mind, if you plan to go with a 15" golf cart wheel and tire combo, you will need your cart to be lifted a minimum of 3" to fit any tire you choose with this setup.

The most popular 15" golf cart wheel combos and their corresponding overall heights are in the list and visual table below:

15" wheel with 205/35-15 tires: 21" tall combo, 3" lift kit recommended for all carts
15" wheel with 215/40-15 tires: 22" overall diameter, 4" lift kit recommended for all carts
15" wheel with 23x10-15 tires: 23" overall diameter, 5-6" lift kit recommended for all carts

One Final note: Golf Cart Wheel Offset

Golf cart wheel offset refers to the wheel hub mounting surface, and where it sits in relation to the barrel of the actual wheel itself. A centered wheel means there is no offset. Most factory golf cart wheels (8 inch wheels) are centered.

When you get into custom golf cart wheels in 10", 12", 14" and 15" sizes - these wheels are typically offset negative to help push the wheels further away from your cart allowing you to fit bigger tires without rubbing on your wheel wells. So when you hear the word "offset" with golf cart wheels, an offset wheel just simply means the hub mounting surface is not in the center of the wheel. There are three types of wheel offset:

Center Offset: Most factory 8" golf cart wheels are centered (no offset)
Negative offset: This offset will cause your wheels to be pushed slightly out from the cart when mounted. Most aftermarket golf cart wheels have a negative offset of 3+4 or 2+5 to ensure they fit on your golf cart with proper clearance
Positive offset: This type of offset will cause your wheel to be pulled in closer to the car when mounted. It does not apply to golf carts.

Golf Cart Wheel Offset Explained

If you want to use a lift kit on your golf cart, you must have negative offset wheels in order to have proper clearance. All the aftermarket wheels on our website are negative offset to make sure they fit on your cart, no matter if it is lifted or non-lifted.