I am looking at the Borbet LV4 Anthracite wheels coupled to Kumho Ecsta 4X's for my 2013 MCS. My question - and the thing that has me still on the sidelines - is whether to commit to the 195/55R16 or go with the 205/50R16. To be fair, this was discussed a few weeks back but I admit I am still confused - it almost seems the the difference is so nuanced that it really doesn't matter. But wanting to be sure, can anyone weigh in and tell me what the difference would be? As I understand it, the 195's have more sidewall, so will offer more protection from road hazard plus a softer ride, while the 205's are stiffer and better at cornering performance but that comes at the price of a harsher ride. Yet all that being said, all differences may be so marginal it may not even be noticeable in day-to-day driving.

Bonus question - I like the idea of the Borbets - the Anthracites will look nice against the Pepper White/Green Park trim MCS, and it keeps everything "European" (except the treads). But at 20.5 lbs, they are a bit heavier than the other wheels I've looked at, which in my price and style range could go down to 17-17.5 lbs. Is the difference there something I'm likely to notice?

 

This is my set up and it is a bit better on the ride - Handling is about the same for daily driving.

 

The difference between 195/55 and 205/50 isn't really worth worrying about. The main reason to go for 205/50 is there's a much larger choice of tires in that size. The ones I'm interested in don't come in 195/55.

 

The difference in tire sizes for the Kumho 4X is not much.

If you have smooth roads then it doesn't matter, but if you have potholed roads the 195/55-16 would be safer. If you really like driving corners fast you are better off with 205/50-16.

If you drive the speed limit and are not crazy about driving fast all the time a wheel 17lbs is not that much different than one that is 20 lbs. But a wheel less than 17 can be more responsive/quicker handling than one 21 lbs or more. Add the weight of the tire to the equation for even more difference.

Kumho ecsta 4X is a good budget tire for an Ultra High Performance ALL Season tire. Your thread title mentions 16" Summer tire which the 4X is not.

Did you really mean Summer tire or did you mean any tire for street use in the summer, since you may have winter tires that are separate?

 

I went with 205/50 insted of the OEM 195/55 and am very happy. Why not go with the wider tires especially when they cost a bit less?

 

One thing when you go wider...
You DO loose a bit of MPG....one step is not MUCH, but it does add up a bit...most folks take the few tenths of a MPG loss ongoing in exchange for the lower initial tire cost and wider selection, and added grip....
This is what I did, and all worked out, but in the last couple of years, the selection of 195/55r16 have become better, and the price difference is not as great as it once was.
One thing to point out...play with a tire RPM calcualor like this one...
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
so you will know HOW much you speedo will be off...it may be very small, but depending on the cars use, the rpm increase in cruise may not be what you want....running a slightly smaller diameter tire can result in making the common MINI speedo errors worse...so to get 70 MPH, you might need to indicate 75, as opposed to your current 72.

 

Enormously helpful responses - thank you one and all. I am leaning to the stock 195's because (1) the width increase of the 205's seems too incremental to be of significance, (2) the error in the Speedo goes from the edge of negligible into annoying range, (3) the stock size is a pound lighter per tire, (4) less revolutions per mile probably equates to increased tread life (and less axel wear), (5) incremental protection from potholes is probably more significant than incremental performance gain, and (6) the price difference is negligible.

 

Yup...My conclusion exactly
I will be going back to the stock size when my 16's wear out!! my 205's have been good, but the reasons you give is my exact reason to go back....
Lets face it...if you are not pushing your 195's to the limit of grip...you are not gaining anything by going even wider!!

 

You guys are weird, if you don't mind me saying so ;-).
I just went through the same analysis between #1: 195/55-16 vs. #2: 205/55-16 vs. #3: 205/50-16 vs. #4: 225/50-16.
All within 2% of the diameter and speedometer delta of the original #1.

Choices #2 and #4 had the widest selection of high performance tiers, with the same tires in #4 size coming in cheapest (and widest!) of them all.

I went with #4.

To each his own.
YMMV,
alex f

 

205-50-16 here. I've used that size for years on my 06. Now our 08 is riding on the same size. Went with Kumho 4x on the 08. Nice tire for all around use.