Abstract Tire radial stiffness is traditionally calculated from the wheel load deflection measurement. Statically, this stiffness serves to provide the support for the vehicle. However, this stiffness does not provide sufficient understanding of how the tire behaves dynamically: the tire first radial modes, no matter how they were measured, cannot be correlated with this statically measured stiffness. A comprehensive explanation for this phenomenon is needed for better understanding of tire dynamics and hence building the dynamic tire models. In this paper, the relationship between the tire static stiffness and the tire radial vibration modes is investigated using the bushing analogy tire (BAT) modeling concept. It is found that the tire first radial mode, though it can be of different values through different measuring methods, can be explained consistently with this model. A procedure to obtain consistent tire stiffness for the tire model is also proposed as a result of this investigation.