Tires: Go with 195/50/16 or 205/50/16

[tranzformer]

I need to get another set of tires. Currently I have 205/45/16 and was wondering if I should change the size of the tires. Any comments?

 

[SNike05]

you will barely feel the difference in handling but your gas consumption will increase. I would stick with the 195 unless I was going to 17" wheels.

 

[SuperProtege5]

No it wont increase too much. I upgraded to 205/50/16 and maybe lost 2 mpg. Plus it rides better in my opinion

 

[xvdarkyvx]

2mpg is a lot in my opinion...

 

[CTt3P5]

2mpg!!! $hit, mine were just delivered today. Gonna have to keep an eye on the figures.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

My mpg barely changed. Stick with the 205/45's. The only thing that is off is the speedo. Gas consumption is mainly controlled by your foot. Don't push the pedal that hard.

 

[CTt3P5]

I really didn't think that the change from 195 to 205 would matter with gas that much (if at all)....just gonna have to take it easy in the corners with the new rubber. hehe

**edit**As far as a comparo between the two...I can't comment....yet.

 

[RaiderMS3]

I had 205's for 2 years, no problem. more options for brands in that size, and they look sweet.

 

[toucci]

205s will give the car taller effective gearing and in my case weigh slightly less than the stock 195s... so how is this going to hurt mileage? (scratch)

 

[SNike05]

more surface touching the ground thus more friction, why do you think all this eco cars have bicycle tires.

 

[toucci]

more surface touching the ground thus more friction, why do you think all this eco cars have bicycle tires.

rolling resistance (NOT friction) is more complicated than being a function of just contact patch size... you have to look at tread pattern, sidewall stiffness, tread material, and other things I don't know about. but my point is that saying 205 tires in general are going to hurt mileage and then people making up numbers about how many MPG they lost is BS.

 

[Protege52003]

you have to take into consideration the % error on the diameter of the tire and apply that difference to the milage, too.

-R

 

[neuspeed_junker]

don't give a sh*t about gas mileage, i like my 205/45/16

 

[neuspeed_junker]

I had 205's for 2 years, no problem. more options for brands in that size, and they look sweet.

the kumho 712's are doing pretty well on my car , i had the 711's and they were pretty s**** .

 

[SuperProtege5]

Yea I'm not sure if ti was 2mpg but I believe that whatever it is, it's not worth even factoring into the decision.

 

[SNike05]

regardless of the numbers it makes a difference. I took into consideration when I had to decide between 215 and 205 so I was simply sharing my thoughts.

 

[njaremka]

205/45's fit on the stock rims? what tire are you running in that size?

 

[aMaff]

Taller tires than stock = better gas mileage and slower acceleration because of taller gearing. Shorter than stock = wose mileage and better acceleration. Of course at this point we're pretty much picking nits. Just consider than to do the same distance, a smaller wheel has to turn more times than a bigger one.

And next time, post this in the Rims / TIRES / Suspension forum.

For reference sake, I now have 205/40-17s, when I change 'em, I'm gonna get 215/40-17s because they'll fit on my wheels better, have better traction, and make the speedo slightly more correct.

 

[the tortoise]

I have the 205's on mine and it actually made the speedo more accurate. It's bang-on now, as confirmed by a GPS.

The deciding factor is whether you want to make the improved ride vs. razor-sharp handling compromise.

In real world terms, the fuel consumption is not going to be different. If you wanna save gas, slow down.

 

[P5w3kids]

I'm running 205/50R16s, and I'm fairly smart, but somehow I hadn't thought to include a 5% correction in my mpg calculations. Just picked up nearly 1.5mpg!

That said, the tread design and composition will make a larger difference than the tire width. Economy tires use hard rubber. Sticky performance tires use soft rubber. The gforce sports on my car are pretty sticky. But I'm still getting about the same mpg as I got on stock tires after the correction. Go figure.