Tire size question - Help!

[aholeinthew]

I have a 2009 Mazda 5 Sport so it has the 17" wheels and stock tires are 205/50 R17. All 4 of my tires are shot and I've been putting it off for too long so need to get this figured out. From what I am seeing 17" tires are more expensive and way harder to find used around me. I am considering putting 16" wheels on. I found someone on Facebook Marketplace selling (4) 16" Mazda wheels for only $100 so I'm thinking about picking those up because I know I can find some good used 16" tires or worse case scenario I'd buy new.

Are there any downsides to switching from 17" to 16" wheels? I'm not worried about the speedo being off but I can't find a straight answer as to how it will affect the handling. In my opinion it's a pretty rough ride so I def don't want to make that worse. If I do get these 16" wheels what would the "optimum" tire size be that would give the best ride and handle well? Any help would be a huge help as I need to get this figured out this week hopefully. Thank you!

 

[TheMAN]

why don't you order tires off tire rack or discount tire, and take them over to a discount tire/tire kingdom store to get them installed?

never depend on what's locally available

 

[Lazy2.5]

Switching to 16's is fine, as long as the new tire diameter matches.

etc. 205/55r16 would be perfectly fine.

in my experience used tires are usually not worth it. if you find some decent ones, check the manf. date on them. if they are older than 6 years, you likely won't get too much life out of them before they start to crack.

I bought come continentals used for around $600 last year with most of the tread remaining. I still got lots of tread left, but it's cracking. Not worth it. manf. date was 2017.

 

[negusm]

In the US most tire shops won't mount used tires anymore (Mavis, Firestone, Mr Tire). Discount Tire still does. Call around before you waste your time like I did.

If you get smaller rims, make sure they fit, have the correct bolt pattern, backspacing, etc.

As suggested by Lazy2.5, get new tires with an extra inch of sidewall. Your speedo will still work right, your MPG won't suffer and your ride will be much improved. A taller sidewall is the enemy of a rough ride.