OK, my friend is trying to put a 205/50/16 on her cooper. I have seen 205/50/15 tires on them before but never the 16 inch version. SO is this tire an acceptable size for a mini cooper or is this too far off to fit and not look huge on the car. She doesn't want the car to look like an ATV. The previous wheels were just a set of 15 inch wheels with OEM tires.

 

205/50/16 is a perfect size imho especially for 16x7.5" wheels.

 

The stock tire O.D. on my R56 MCS was 24.5" with 205/45-17. I believe the OEM tires for 16" wheels are usually about 24.4" O.D.

205/50-16 usually fall around 24.1" and 205/55-16 are usually 24.9." So, with the 50 the speedometer will read faster than you are going (even more that with the stock tires) and the 55 will tell you a lower speed. Since most speedos read fast with stock tires, the 55 might be closer to true speed.

 

on a R56, i would probably do 55's just to minimize that bulky
looking arch.

if the arch was painted, then would do 50's. on a earlier MINI,
definitely do 50's.

 

I have 205-50-16 Kumho ASX all seasons on my MCS, and use 205-50-15 Falken Azenis for the track. The Azenis are wider for some reason but do not look out of sorts...they just make an already lowered car lower yet. The all seasons are only slightly wider than the OEM runflats that came with the car.

 

I just put 205/50-16 Kuhmo ASTs on my new R90s and the speedo was exactly the same (reads 2 mph over actual, GPS calibrated) as the stock 15 inch Contis that came on the MINI (R50).

 

I chose 215/50 R16 but the selection is pretty limited in that size. It does match the OEM OD on the 195/55 almost exactly. The 205/50s are going to run just a tad bit under and 205/55 will be a tad over but only about 1.5% speedo error in either direction. I would agree the the new ones look a little funny with the low profile and the black trim but there are plenty of picture in show my wheels for you to make that decision. The 215s sure give you a lot of width on the 195 stock if you got room on your wheel.