winter tires!

[faridk89]

just want an explanation of what these mean, im a complete noob when it comes to cares, especially rims and tires
215/50/R17 Pirelli Winter Snowsport tires

r17 is 17 inch rims but what does 215/50 mean? just looking for winter tires for my protege5 and dont really know what im looking for...so any explanations/tips would be awesome

 

[The ManLaw]

215cm width, 50=50% of 215cm for sidewall height. advice tip, get skinnier tired for winter. spreads snow easier and digs in instead of riding on top of it

 

[faridk89]

215cm width, 50=50% of 215cm for sidewall height. advice tip, get skinnier tired for winter. spreads snow easier and digs in instead of riding on top of it

i dont know if i want to dig in that much, i live in canada and thats how a lot of people get stuck around here, but would these fit the p5? on 17's?

 

[CTt3P5]

My recommendation is stay away from 17's for snow tires. The stock size is 16 so why would you want to +1 size for winter use?

If I were you I'd look into 14" or 15" for winter use. Or you could use your stock 16" wheels for winter and get a 17" package for summer use.

And the skinnier the width (first number 215) the better for snow use. For example 14" would be 185 and 15" would be 195 ideally.

 

[MarvinM02]

As another Canadian, I've been running on 195/60/15 on steelies for a few years. No problems changing lanes over the ice ruts. Plus the extra sidewall width helps with the bumps.

 

[faridk89]

thanks for the help guys, i ended up with

Bridgestone Blizzak WS60
195/55 on 15's...good reviews so wish me luck on my numerous snowboarding trips!