Tires for 2.0LX

[ncnmra]

My wife has a 2002 2.0LX and it needs new tires. To my dismay 195/55R15 are VERY hard to find and NOT cheap. I did some math and found that 195/60R15s are a lot easier to find and cheaper. The difference is 3% in circumference. Is this acceptable, or will this cause problems?

Thanks in advance

 

[Brian MP5T]

It's a taller tire but the diference will be almost not noticed. Your speedo will be slower than your actual speed...

 

[ncnmra]

One of the websites I was on (1010tire) said that they do not recommend going over 3% difference because of "potential brake failure". The actual difference is 3.2%. I think I will do it regardless, especially since I have a set of 195/60R15 Blizzaks I can install for her for winter.

This is the second mazda that I've had problems getting tires for. I used to have a Protege5 and the 195/50R16s were another nightmare.

 

[TampaSport20]

My wife has a 2002 2.0LX and it needs new tires. To my dismay 195/55R15 are VERY hard to find and NOT cheap. I did some math and found that 195/60R15s are a lot easier to find and cheaper. The difference is 3% in circumference. Is this acceptable, or will this cause problems?

Thanks in advance

They will work just fine.....just watch your speed

 

[SciFiMan]

What kind of tire are you looking for? There is a fair amount out there for the stock size, but you can also run 205/50-15 like I do. They fit fine and look a little wider. I'm getting new tires just after turkey day (either snow or all season) and I've been looking at these:

Pirelli Winter Carving (snow)
Dunlop Winter Sport M3 (snow)
Falken ZE-512 (all season)
Kumho ASX (all season)
.....and I have Toyo Proxes 4's now that I love but they are lacking when it's snowy & icy. And there are others, depending on how much you want to spend. The most important thing is to shop around if your getting them put on locally. The price for an identical tire will vary widely even at shops a block away from each other. If you find a tire online at Discount Tire, one of their local shops will honor the online price. If you can find a cheap local place for mount & balance, you may save $ getting the tires online somewhere.

 

[ncnmra]

Thanks SciFiMan. She has 6 months left on her lease, and I want to get her through the winter. I don't want to invest a fortune in new tires just for 6 months, but at the same time I want her to be safe.

I've looked a the Falkens and the Kumhos, both of which get good reviews, its just a matter of finding someone in town that can get them....but for some reason the 195/55 is much more expensive than the 195/60....it must be supply and demand.

There are three Mazdas (Protege5, Protege LX, 3 Sport GT) in our family, and ALL of them have wildly different tire sizes......It is frustrating to say the least! ****sigh***

 

[chuyler1]

The stock tires on the Protege5 are 195/50/16 as you know. For the winter I run 195/65/15. Its 5.5% difference according to http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html. That means when I think I'm traveling at 60mph, I'm actually traveling at 63mph.

I have not had any brake failure and cannot image why I would. My ABS has never acted up either.

Besides, they look pretty bad-ass.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/chuyler1/winter/snowtires1.jpg

 

[Foolish]

This wonderful page will show you the difference in tire sizes: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I'm running the Falken ZE 512's in a 195/55/15 on my 2.0 LX, and got them from EdgeRacing.com . They are currently $60/tire on their site now. I have also ordered tires from Vulcantire.com. They are slightly more expensive, ($62 for the ZE 512's) but they offer (pretty cheap) road hazard protection when you buy a full set from them.

The ZE 512's are really nice tires, especially for the money. We've got them on my LX and on my wife's P5.

 

[djp5]

195/55R15? I have a P5 so I'm not as familiar w/ the sedan tires but I thought the 2.0 sedans had the same 195/50R16 as the P5, but apparantly you have 15 inch wheels, not 16s.

as far as changing sizes, don't worry too much. IMHO, Mazda picked horrible sizes for late model proteges...like the P5 size is only shared by a few model years of "sporty" dodge neons. in your situation, I would buy the cheapest size that will reasonably fit. there will be differences, but nothing major or unsafe.

 

[vindication]

I'm selling my 195/55-15 falken 512's. They are in perfect condition and I only ran them for 3k, maybe 4k tops. Look out for a f/s thread soon cause I have to get ahold of a digi cam.

 

[gksspot]

The stock tires on the Protege5 are 195/50/16 as you know. For the winter I run 195/65/15. Its 5.5% difference according to http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html. That means when I think I'm traveling at 60mph, I'm actually traveling at 63mph.

I have not had any brake failure and cannot image why I would. My ABS has never acted up either.

Besides, they look pretty bad-ass.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/chuyler1/winter/snowtires1.jpg

Man those black steel rims look sweet! I wouldnt rock em year round but for a winter set up like it seems your intention is, they are sweeet!

 

[DiS]

My wife has a 2002 2.0LX and it needs new tires. To my dismay 195/55R15 are VERY hard to find and NOT cheap. I did some math and found that 195/60R15s are a lot easier to find and cheaper. The difference is 3% in circumference. Is this acceptable, or will this cause problems?

Thanks in advance

did you look at www.tirerack.com ? 195/55R15 tires are everywhere. Its not that hard to find them if you know where to look, hehe.

 

[chuyler1]

Man those black steel rims look sweet! I wouldnt rock em year round but for a winter set up like it seems your intention is, they are sweeet!

Thanks, unfortunately they look like s*** once they get covered in salt.

 

[gksspot]

Thanks, unfortunately they look like s*** once they get covered in salt.

Tell me about it. I had black steel rims on my Jeep and when winter hit the roads got salty and the rims looked like they were ready to be packageds and sold as powdered donuts... not very fun to clean either.

 

[ncnmra]

Thanks for the insights. Unfortunately in the fine land of Canada the dealers are clueless and can't get the Falken or Kumho tires that are a good deal on Tirerack. Shipping into Canada is a nightmare, they nail you badly on customs charges The cheapest I found available were BF Goodrich Traction T/A for $135 (+ 15% tax!!!) each.

I think we'll just wait it out until her lease expires and get her a new car!!

 

[Bartron8000]

well if you can find somewhere that sells Yokohama IG721 Ice Guard tires, they come in 195/55 15 and i got mine for $88 a tire. they handle so nice in snow and ice.

 

[LarryH]

My 2002 ES takes 195/55 r15's and I bought Kumho KW17 winter tires at a cost of $105.00 each plus tax. The same tire also comes in the 195/50 r16 size, which is what Mazda put on the GT package.
I'm in Toronto, but I would think any Kumho dealer could get a set of these for you.
I'm very pleased with them.
Larry

 

[Bocatrip]

I have purchased the BF Goodrich Traction TAs a year ago and they are quite a good tire for handling and tread life (60,000 mile warranty). However, since I have some kind of alignment issue, the rear tires have to be replaced after only 17,000 miles because the inside of the tires are worn on both rear tires. Please understand that this is my daughters car and she does not believe in putting air in tires! That doesn't help either. I do recomment this tire though.....check it out on Tirerack.com It is one of the more popular replacement tires but is not cheap! I also WOULD NOT GO with a 195 60 15...It is a higher tire and there is always a possibility as a car ages for there to be interference with suspension or other parts of the car. Not a good idea. Just my opinion. I used to sell tires for over 7 years. Always stick with the stock tire unless you are doing custom work to the car.