Trying to decide between getting snows on my current 15x5.5 wheels, or just getting some all seasons. I live near Seattle, very mild climate, so not usually much snow, if any.

I'd like to go wider than my current 175/65/15 ContiProContact stock tires.

The Kumho Ecsta PA31 seems like a good option in 205/50/15 but I can't find any mention of them on here.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...5PA31&i1_Qty=4

 

test.

 

I actually just ordered a set of these for my fiancee's R56 - still sitting in my garage, should be getting installed this week with some luck.

 

Cool, thanks for the reply. Please let me know what your initial impressions are!

 

Will do for sure.

I picked these because of the price and reviews in inclement weather - hoping they're as good as TireRack says they are.

I've also had good luck with Kumho tires in the past, I've had them on 3 cars with no issues so far.

 

Thanks! I see they did pretty well in the TireRack tests, sounds like a pretty good choice for a moderate climate. I've never had Kumhos before but I know a lot of people here seem to like them in general.

It looks like they come in 195/55/16 which might be a little more reasonable on a 5.5" wheel... I assume 205 might give me a bit more sidewall flex than I'd want. Any opinions on that?

 

contipro purecontact's or general rt43s

 

Thanks, I will check those out.

 

First number is section width in mm.
Second number is sidewall height in percentage of section width.
Third number is tire diameter and must match the wheel diameter.

Sidewall flex depends mostly on the softness of a particular tire and also on the height of the sidewall. 205/50 is 4.035 inches high. 195/55 is 4.22. 205/50 should have a little sharper turn in if the tires are otherwise identical.

The 205/50-15 vs a 175/65-15 is 0.9 inches smaller in diameter. That lowers your car .45 inches and increases the fender wheel gap by .45 inches. It also increases the error of your speedometer by 3.8%. The increased weight of the 205/50 will reduce your acceleration and mpg a bit.

If you can afford the 175/65-15 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 I would recommend those hand downs in every performance category except deep snow. Otherwise the PA31 is a reasonable choice.

Another option would be the aforementioned General Altimax RT43 in 195/60-15.

 

Thank you for the detailed reply! I had been considering the AS3 when I was running 16" but i haven't seen them for sale in 15" sizes anywhere. Aesthetically I'd prefer wider than 175, I find the fender gap looks a bit goofy.

 

TireRack has the 175/65-15 and will ship to an approved installer near you.

If you are talking about the gap between the tire and fender, you need taller rather than just wider. For example, going wider with a 205/50-15 means you increase the gap because the tire's overall diameter is shorter by .

 

Oh I see them now, I was looking under the wrong speed ratings. No, I'm referring to the space between the outer edge of the tire and the inside of the fender. I was running 205s on 16x7 previously and it filled out nicely, but with the much narrower setup I have now, the fender looks "empty".

 

The 7" wide wheels accounted for more than half of the difference in poke if the wheel offsets were the same. You'll get about 0.6" more poke with 205/50-15 vs. 175/65-15. Or about 0.4" more with 195/60-15.

 

That's a good point... but who couldn't use another half inch?

I appreciate the input, the A/S 3 does sound like a great tire. I'll check out the total cost and see if it fits into my budget this month.

Cheers
Dan

EDIT: I see a set of four comes with a $70 MasterCard as well, that's a pretty nice incentive.

 

Get what suits you. I'm not selling tires. I like tires and solving problems. Wheel spacers are available to add more poke to your current wheels.

 

Just wanted to jump back in on this topic, now that I've had a chance to thoroughly test these tires out.

They're not a UHP A/S, but they perform admirably in the dry so far. In the wet and in the , slush, and snow, I'm utterly amazed at how well they perform. Very impressed with how this tire performed for being an all-season and not a dedicated winter tire.

 

I have 195/60/16s on my 2011 Clubman. i know you are talking about 15s but seeing that Mini recommends 195/60/16 for its snow tires size , I mounted an all season on mine to improve the ride and fill in the wheel space.