Alternate tire size on stock rims?

[maskedSONY]

Has anybody run a tire that has a different size than the stock 195/50/R16 that the Protege comes with? Reason I ask is because I'm on the verge of replacing my tires in a few months and I'm curious if I have any options at my disposal aside from buying another pair of the Kuhmo's.

[D-rock240]

Has anybody run a tire that has a different size than the stock 195/50/R16 that the Protege comes with? Reason I ask is because I'm on the verge of replacing my tires in a few months and I'm curious if I have any options at my disposal aside from buying another pair of the Kuhmo's.

205/45 16s

http://www.msprotege.com/members/D-rock240/New/11-10-07%20033i.jpg

[mach1219]

205/55/16 works well, and its slightly taller , which will raise your effective gear ratio, slightly increasing economy

[MazdaSpeeder]

Running 215/40/16s here...the extra grip is GREAT!

[k-fever]

205/50/16 right here.

[solort]

www.tirerack.com has Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tires in a 205/50-16 for less than $50 each after $50 rebate.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Goodyear&model=Eagle+F1+GS-D3&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&partnum=05YR6F1GSD3OLD

[mach1219]

with a 280 wear rating, they wont last long

[solort]

with a 280 wear rating, they wont last long

They will be the best performing tire in any price range. At that price, you could buy 2 sets as cheap as one set of lower performing all season tires. And a 280 wear rating for a performance tire is good. A lot of your new performance cars have tires from the factory with treadwear <200! The tire manufacturers make their own wear ratings for their tires. All 280 treadwear tires do not wear out at the same rate! The type tire you buy can make the single biggest handling improvement on your car. Or make it handle like crap (with high treadwear tires that you will be stuck with forever)!

[maskedSONY]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+HP&partnum=05HR6AMAXHP&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=5

Anybody ever try these out? I'm seriously considering a good set of touring tires for the car next spring. I'm tired of the Kuhmos since they wear out too quickly and are noisy after 50% tread is gone.

[poundNP5owner]

Don't know if you purchased your tires yet, but I just got Kumbo ASTs for $39 a piece.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+AST&partnum=045HR6EASTXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=0

The guy from tirerack actually called me to ask me if I was sure I wanted to run the smaller diameter tire. For that price I'll put on some 70 series balloons!

[mach1219]

They will be the best performing tire in any price range. At that price, you could buy 2 sets as cheap as one set of lower performing all season tires. And a 280 wear rating for a performance tire is good. A lot of your new performance cars have tires from the factory with treadwear <200! The tire manufacturers make their own wear ratings for their tires. All 280 treadwear tires do not wear out at the same rate! The type tire you buy can make the single biggest handling improvement on your car. Or make it handle like crap (with high treadwear tires that you will be stuck with forever)!


Thats funny, belive it or not, i just got some tires with a 600 tread wear rating, and it doesnt slide at all! can you believe it! It actually still sticks to the road. Try it sometime, you might learn something, not to mention save some money and not have to change yourr tires every couple years

[solort]

You must not push your car too hard! Most high treadwear tires are all season with soft sidewalls that dont have very good turn in response.Also, as the rubber is exposed to sun and cold temps over the years, it hardens and loose it's grip. Also the sidewalls can crack.
I'm glad you found some tires that will last you forever! But since the tires are the only connection between the car and the road, I will not skimp with anything but a high quality tire. I use the customer ratings at www.tirerack.com to help me buy the best tire for the money. Try it sometime- you might learn something!

[Tukalama]

Hmm, thanks for the tips on the tirerack. I just bought some tires from the guys that I've been buying from for the last 15+ yrs and he pissed me off this time so I'm gonna be looking around. I've got nexxen summer tires (never even heard of them before the dealer put them on the stock alloys when I bought the car, it also came with Kumho ASX's and Kumho powermax's on 15" steelies). Yesterday I bought Mastercraft glacier grip II's 195x55r15's to take the place of the kumhos after we had a wicked snow/ice storm here in Pittsburgh and after I slid all over the place when I started from a stop. Any comments or pointers on any of the tires I mentioned? the Mastercrafts are part of Cooper tires and were $85/tire installed.

[MazdaSpeeder]

Thats funny, belive it or not, i just got some tires with a 600 tread wear rating, and it doesnt slide at all! can you believe it! It actually still sticks to the road. Try it sometime, you might learn something, not to mention save some money and not have to change yourr tires every couple years

How many years do you get out of tires anyway? I'm on year 2 with a set of 300 rated tires, and they look as though I'll probably get 2 more years out of them with good tread. Tires with a lower treadwear rating are softer...softer tires grip the road better. Sure there are a lot of other factors that contribute, but this is generally true. Hope you learned something.

[mach1219]

You must not push your car too hard! Most high treadwear tires are all season with soft sidewalls that dont have very good turn in response.Also, as the rubber is exposed to sun and cold temps over the years, it hardens and loose it's grip. Also the sidewalls can crack.
I'm glad you found some tires that will last you forever! But since the tires are the only connection between the car and the road, I will not skimp with anything but a high quality tire. I use the customer ratings at www.tirerack.com to help me buy the best tire for the money. Try it sometime- you might learn something!

I never suggested "skimping". I drive my car hard enough that if i drive it any harder, to the point where my tires are sliding, I dont need to be on the road with other cars, and neither do you.

If you take your car to a track, thats a different story. But for most people, who drive on the street, they would be better served with a higher tread wear rating, which will still perform with excellent results, as well as last longer

[mach1219]

How many years do you get out of tires anyway? I'm on year 2 with a set of 300 rated tires, and they look as though I'll probably get 2 more years out of them with good tread. Tires with a lower treadwear rating are softer...softer tires grip the road better. Sure there are a lot of other factors that contribute, but this is generally true. Hope you learned something.

no kidding sherlock. thats why they wear out faster, because they are softer. I dont think that was part of the disagreement. How many years they last doesnt tell me anything without the mileage you put on your car.

I have a Nissan Titan, which came brand new with good years with a 360 tread rating. The truck will be three years old in january, but only has 21,000 miles on it. The tires are worn rather low already, one of them is almost to the tread wear replacement indicators. And they have been rotated on schedule

when i replace them, i will be getting a high qaulity, good handling, and long lasting tire with a higher tread wear rating, as there is no need to replace your tires every 2-4 years because you went with a lower tread life, 'softer" tire when the harder tires perform very well, which people would know if they tried them.

Im just suggesting you dont even consider a tire with lower than a 400 tread wear rating, and theres no reason to, unless your racing on a road course or soemthing.

Ive had a lot of cars, and bought a lot of tires. I used to sell tires and install them as well. I dont like seeing the popular misconception that you have to buy a "performance" tire, which comes with a short life, for your car to handle well. its simply not true.

[MazdaSpeeder]

340 tread rating, 15k miles (driven hard) on the tires thus far, and they probably have 3/4 of their life left. The difference in hardness does make a difference in handling, though I would imagine on a Nissan Titan it doesn't really matter. In any case, there are many people whose experience would say otherwise...softer tires grip the road better, leading to better handling. You're entitled to your opinion, but I disagree.

[mach1219]

The titan was simply one example to help clarify my point. I got a good price on some dunlops with a 600 rating, and a rather agressive tread pattern that i dont really care for on this car, but again, the price was right.

they arent that low of a profile either, 205/55 , and my car simply handles great.

Maybe it is a confidence thing, and i have confidence to push these tires, and they handle everything i throw at them. If buying a "performance" tire give you more confidence, then maybe its for you. Your entitled to your opinion, but I disagree

[maskedSONY]

Don't know if you purchased your tires yet, but I just got Kumbo ASTs for $39 a piece.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+AST&partnum=045HR6EASTXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&place=0

The guy from tirerack actually called me to ask me if I was sure I wanted to run the smaller diameter tire. For that price I'll put on some 70 series balloons!


As much as that is a steal of a price, I really would like to get a high quality tire. I'm not too optimistic about that tire in the wet or snow.

[solort]

The titan was simply one example to help clarify my point. I got a good price on some dunlops with a 600 rating, and a rather agressive tread pattern that i dont really care for on this car, but again, the price was right.

they arent that low of a profile either, 205/55 , and my car simply handles great.

Maybe it is a confidence thing, and i have confidence to puch these tires, and they handle everything i throw at them. If buying a "performance" tire give you more confidence, then maybe its for you. Your entitled to your opinion, but I disagree

So which Dunlop model did you buy with a 600 rating? If it's the Dunlop SP 60 tire, it looks to be a noisy (but long lasting) passenger all season tire. Seems to be geared for less sporty cars (like Caravans and Olds 88).

Since you are a tire expert (and seem to have a Protege ES like mine), you have increased the diameter of your tire by 1.2 inches, which is 5.1%. This will throw off your speedometer and cause your car to have sloshier handling with taller softer sidewalls from the all season tire and the "aggresive" tread. But looks like they might do better with snow than most performance tires. But you know all this...

PS- How do you go about puching tires?

[mach1219]

yes, you are correct, i do know all of that. I bought the car used and it had different size tires on the front and the rear. the fronts needed replaced, the rears didnt. I matched the size of the rears (205/55) for the fronts. The factory size (195-50) appear to be rather rare and overpriced. The car is lowered and the slightly taller tire really fills in the remaining wheel well "gap", as well as gives it a slightly smoother ride and increase in economy by raising the effective gear ratio. I think they are sp 60, and they do have a beefy looking tread, but you cant see it anyway with the cars lowered stance. A slight speedometer inaccuracy isnt a major concern, and i may correct it down the road if i feel like it. I have done this on other cars by changing the speedometer gear in the transmission. Not sure of the set up or availability of gears for this car, but a mazdaspeed gear would put it real close. Its probably electronically registered however and then i would have to explore other methods, but im not concerned with it. I will also benefit from a slightly inaccurate odometer, which will register less mileage than im actually driving.

oh yeah, i mispelled a word, it has been corrected

[dixonab]

Question for you mach1219 (but anyone who has any expertise/knowledge about tires please feel free to respond - I need the help).

You said you had 205/55/16's on your car, but the car has been lowered, correct?

I'm going to be byuing a set of winter tires for my wife's '03 Protege ES, and I'm having a lot of difficulty finding any in 195/50/16. I was looking at getting a set of 205/55/16's, but I honestly don't know a lot about tires. Will these work on the non-lowered Protege? I don't want them to cause any issues (other than the speedometer, which as I understand it will be reading about 5% slow with these tires).

If these tires are no good, can you suggest an alternate size for winter tires?

Thanks in advance.

[mach1219]

yes, they work on my lowered car, so they will definately fit a non lowered car with no issues.

if you want something closer to original size, look for some 195/55/16. I think they are far more common than the 195/50/16, but both sizes are fine, in addtion to other choices that are available

[dixonab]

mach1219

thanks very much - I spoke to someone at the tirerack.com and he told me they were bigger than what he would recommend, and to go with a 205/50/16...I wonder why?

[poundNP5owner]

Tire rack called me after I ordered the 205/45/16. I told him the deal was too good to pass up and the difference in diameter wasn't a big deal. He agreed and I got the deal.

I bet if you call back and tell him you were using the tires and wanted more side wall for a better ride he would agree. They have to Cover Their Ass and don't want to go to far from the factory size.

The only problem with the new tires is that it looks like it needs to be lowered now.

[mach1219]

mach1219

thanks very much - I spoke to someone at the tirerack.com and he told me they were bigger than what he would recommend, and to go with a 205/50/16...I wonder why?

205/50/16 is 24" tall, 205/55/16 is 24.87" tall, factory 195/50/16 is 23.67" tall.

205/45/16 is only 23.2" tall and shorter than the factory tire, assuming you have the same size as the 03 ES.

Any of these will work. the 03' mazdaspeed has 215/45/17 which are 24.6" tall.

I prefer the taller tire to ease the ride some (rides really stiff with the lowering springs, and even before it was lowered.) Also, thinner sidewalls dont really do much to improve handling, thats more hype than anything and is more about looks (more wheel, less tire) . the taller tire fills in more wheel well gap, and increases the final drive ratio, which should also increase economy by lowerign cruising RPM's

if your looking for a snow tire, you probably want a taller tire. Dont get caught up in what the people at tire rack tell you. I odnt know why anybody even orders from them, the prices are good until you add in thier enormous shipping charges, and sales tax also where i live.

[MazdaSpeeder]

thanks very much - I spoke to someone at the tirerack.com and he told me they were bigger than what he would recommend, and to go with a 205/50/16...I wonder why?

Here's a good resource for figuring tire sizes http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

In my experience, Tire Rack always calls when you order a non-standard size tire to make sure you realize the differences.

[dixonab]

After all the bouncing around, I had a heckuva time trying to find tires at any of those sizes.....

I decided to break down and buy some steel rims (15") so that I would have an easier time finding tires (very tough right now in Ontario to find a decent deal on tires).

Wound up ordering a package deal of 15" rims and 195/60/15 Pirelli Winter Carving Tires.

I totally appreciate the help all. These are for my wife's Protege, and now she'll be les scared to drive in the winter.

Now I'm going to attempt to find some tires and used rims for my 99 Explorer (which have 255/75/16's on them now - not looking forward to buying tires for that).

:-)

[mach1219]

Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport Performance Winter tires are available at tire rack in 195-50-16 for $107

[maskedSONY]

Anybody know a good place to get Kuhmo Ecsta ASXs for a good price? They were at $60 on Tirerack before the new year then they got jacked up to $77 per tire. :mad: I should have pulled the trigger.