Alternate tire size on stock rims?

[mach1219]

yes, you are correct, i do know all of that. I bought the car used and it had different size tires on the front and the rear. the fronts needed replaced, the rears didnt. I matched the size of the rears (205/55) for the fronts. The factory size (195-50) appear to be rather rare and overpriced. The car is lowered and the slightly taller tire really fills in the remaining wheel well "gap", as well as gives it a slightly smoother ride and increase in economy by raising the effective gear ratio. I think they are sp 60, and they do have a beefy looking tread, but you cant see it anyway with the cars lowered stance. A slight speedometer inaccuracy isnt a major concern, and i may correct it down the road if i feel like it. I have done this on other cars by changing the speedometer gear in the transmission. Not sure of the set up or availability of gears for this car, but a mazdaspeed gear would put it real close. Its probably electronically registered however and then i would have to explore other methods, but im not concerned with it. I will also benefit from a slightly inaccurate odometer, which will register less mileage than im actually driving.

oh yeah, i mispelled a word, it has been corrected

 

[dixonab]

Question for you mach1219 (but anyone who has any expertise/knowledge about tires please feel free to respond - I need the help).

You said you had 205/55/16's on your car, but the car has been lowered, correct?

I'm going to be byuing a set of winter tires for my wife's '03 Protege ES, and I'm having a lot of difficulty finding any in 195/50/16. I was looking at getting a set of 205/55/16's, but I honestly don't know a lot about tires. Will these work on the non-lowered Protege? I don't want them to cause any issues (other than the speedometer, which as I understand it will be reading about 5% slow with these tires).

If these tires are no good, can you suggest an alternate size for winter tires?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mach1219]

yes, they work on my lowered car, so they will definately fit a non lowered car with no issues.

if you want something closer to original size, look for some 195/55/16. I think they are far more common than the 195/50/16, but both sizes are fine, in addtion to other choices that are available

 

[dixonab]

mach1219

thanks very much - I spoke to someone at the tirerack.com and he told me they were bigger than what he would recommend, and to go with a 205/50/16...I wonder why?

 

[poundNP5owner]

Tire rack called me after I ordered the 205/45/16. I told him the deal was too good to pass up and the difference in diameter wasn't a big deal. He agreed and I got the deal.

I bet if you call back and tell him you were using the tires and wanted more side wall for a better ride he would agree. They have to Cover Their Ass and don't want to go to far from the factory size.

The only problem with the new tires is that it looks like it needs to be lowered now.

 

[mach1219]

mach1219

thanks very much - I spoke to someone at the tirerack.com and he told me they were bigger than what he would recommend, and to go with a 205/50/16...I wonder why?

205/50/16 is 24" tall, 205/55/16 is 24.87" tall, factory 195/50/16 is 23.67" tall.

205/45/16 is only 23.2" tall and shorter than the factory tire, assuming you have the same size as the 03 ES.

Any of these will work. the 03' mazdaspeed has 215/45/17 which are 24.6" tall.

I prefer the taller tire to ease the ride some (rides really stiff with the lowering springs, and even before it was lowered.) Also, thinner sidewalls dont really do much to improve handling, thats more hype than anything and is more about looks (more wheel, less tire) . the taller tire fills in more wheel well gap, and increases the final drive ratio, which should also increase economy by lowerign cruising RPM's

if your looking for a snow tire, you probably want a taller tire. Dont get caught up in what the people at tire rack tell you. I odnt know why anybody even orders from them, the prices are good until you add in thier enormous shipping charges, and sales tax also where i live.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

thanks very much - I spoke to someone at the tirerack.com and he told me they were bigger than what he would recommend, and to go with a 205/50/16...I wonder why?

Here's a good resource for figuring tire sizes http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

In my experience, Tire Rack always calls when you order a non-standard size tire to make sure you realize the differences.

 

[dixonab]

thanks guys

After all the bouncing around, I had a heckuva time trying to find tires at any of those sizes.....

I decided to break down and buy some steel rims (15") so that I would have an easier time finding tires (very tough right now in Ontario to find a decent deal on tires).

Wound up ordering a package deal of 15" rims and 195/60/15 Pirelli Winter Carving Tires.

I totally appreciate the help all. These are for my wife's Protege, and now she'll be les scared to drive in the winter.

Now I'm going to attempt to find some tires and used rims for my 99 Explorer (which have 255/75/16's on them now - not looking forward to buying tires for that).

 

[mach1219]

Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport Performance Winter tires are available at tire rack in 195-50-16 for $107

 

[maskedSONY]

Anybody know a good place to get Kuhmo Ecsta ASXs for a good price? They were at $60 on Tirerack before the new year then they got jacked up to $77 per tire. :mad: I should have pulled the trigger.