tire size for protege 5

[darrylintoronto]

just wondering if it is safe to put 205/50/16 Blizzaks on my car for the winter. The car came equipped with 195/50/16 tires originally.

The guy at firestone said it is not a problem, the guy at the mazda dealership said it was not advisable.

who do I beleive?

most certainly appreciate all related input.

 

[azmp5]

I have the same size on my car , only in all seasons. Mazda guy is lame.

 

[bucksatan]

That size will work no problem.

But if you are getting snow tires, consider getting steel rims for them. Makes it easier to put them on in the winter, and remove them in the spring. You can use 14 or 15 inch tires too then, which are way cheaper than 16 inch snow tires.

 

[Razor]

anybody tried 185-60-15 snow tires?

 

[Johnny Cache]

I run 205/50/16 B.F.Goodrich G-force super sports all- season's with no problem on the stock rims ( P-5).
It's a "plus-one"upgrade size
on tire-rack for this car.

Sure did open up a lot more choices, tire wise.

 

[P5w3kids]

just wondering if it is safe to put 205/50/16 Blizzaks on my car for the winter. The car came equipped with 195/50/16 tires originally.

The guy at firestone said it is not a problem, the guy at the mazda dealership said it was not advisable.

who do I beleive?

most certainly appreciate all related input.

This size is fine. BUT I'd look into ways to better protect the fender edges from corrosion. My P5 is rusting around the rears now, and it's possible that using wider tires and snows at that might have increased the amount of chipping and thus rust. Or not.

Either way, if you're looking into snow tires they probably salt the roads, and the P5 doesn't react well to salt. Wish I could go back a couple of years and find a way to better protect these areas from chipping and rust.