tires for a 2003 protege 5

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2003 Mazda Protege 5 hatchback
Can anyone tell me if I can replace the 195 50 16 tires with 205 50 16 and not have any issues with tire clearence? I am staying with the stock rims.Please help I need to replace my tires this weekend.
Thank you for your help.
 
yes your speedometer will be off just ever so slightly but my p5 has 205 50 16s and it has been just fine. no noticeable speed differentiation from the 195s as the 205 are just a hair taller and wider than the 195s
 
Hey guys, I've got maybe an unusual question and don't see an answer on this board. One of my Kumho ECSTA 4X tires is having tread separation on the shoulder. My last Kumhos had separation within the tread surface. :( So this is the second time I'm missing out on the last 5k miles on a set of four Kumhos, and I'm going to try another brand.

I'd like to try the Yokohama Avid Ascend as Consumer Reports likes them for tread life and noise, but my local Discount Tire only offers them in 185/55/16. I know I can order these tires in the original 195/50/16 size from Tire Rack and have them shipped, but would like to just get them locally if possible. Can anyone tell me the downside to going to a narrower tire on this car? I understand a 185/55 tire will be very slightly taller, and that's fine by me. I drive spiritedly around corners, but do not brake or accelerate quickly. These will not be winter tires, but year-round Texas tires. They'd be about $465 installed after rebate.

My other option is the Yokohama YK580 in 205/50/16, and it is in stock locally. Noise and tread life are not rated as highly and they cost more since they're bigger and higher-performance tires. They'd be about $556 installed after rebate.

What do you guys think? I'm tired of buying new shoes for my girl and I'd like her to quiet down a bit. :)
 
I purchased 4 Yokohama Avid Ascend 195/50-16 from tirerack.com shipped to my door for $444 last month (taxes were not factored in though). I'm fairly pleased with these tires after putting 4,000 miles on them, they even still look relatively new. I purchased these tires based off reviews, which were fairly accurate. I also wanted a tire that could handle a little better in the rain, which they do. As for noise, they're not silent but not loud either.
 
Thanks for the tip, Reginald. Discount Tires called the Yokohama distributor/factory/whatever and they've ordered 4 Yokohama Avid Ascend 195/50-16 for me at $106 apiece. I take advantage of their free tire rotation and they've always treated me well, so I wanted to get my tires through them. I'll pay for them tomorrow so I can get in on the $60 rebate before it expires on the first of November. I'm looking forward to new tires because the tread separation is kinda' scary at this point.
 
I've only had the Avid Ascends a few days so I don't know how they will hold up over time, but for now at least, I love these tires. I got them installed on a rainy day and they handled very well. They are quiter than my previous Kumhos, but those tires were a few years old and I can't remember what they were like when new. I had thought my suspension was getting soft after 12 years, but with these tires, the car is completely competent once more.

Note: my colleague just got another set of new tires at Discount Tire. His 60,000 mile tires had expired after only 20,000 miles. They did give him some credit for reduced tread life, but said they could have given him more credit had he come in for regular rotations. He had done one rotation at home, but of course the shop had no record of that so they couldn't take that into account.

I had taken my car in regularly for rotations, and I got a good store credit on the one bad tire. Last time they rotated my tires, they ripped a lug bolt off, probably because they'd mis-threaded it the time before. They sent me down the street to a garage who fixed it at DT's cost. I asked about that this time, and the sales guy said that Mazdas and Nissans are prone to mis-threading. (??)


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I run 205/50s and funny story i got pulled over coastn down a hill clocked at 42 in a 30 (long story) anyways my speedometer read right at 42 so it was dead on with the police radar so its still very close. As far as brands of tires i would recommend michelin or yokohama i currently have yokohama yk580s right now and they have a 60k mile warranty and great tread wear rating of 580 so its a "hard" tire so supposed to be less grippy but they hold tight bends just as well as my friends focus st with yokohamas with a 240 rating "soft" tire and i have no complaints they have been on for 10000 miles i had michelin b4 those with a 40k warranty that were a bit softer but they quit making those and these yokos feel just as good they are a discount tire exclusive
 
Worry not. I just fitted 205/55/16 on mine. When loaded with passengers though, the rear tires seem to rub on something on speed bumps and sudden dips.

My speed-o should be off by +5 Kph. I wouldn't worry about speeding though since it's almost winter and I'm in Canada. If I speed that means I will be in a collision or thrown off the road.
 
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