I'm running 205 60 17 Michelin snows in winter with no problems 02 S with stock suspension. Running 205 55 16 summer wit hlots of wheelwell room and wondered if 205 60 16's would work?

 

205/60-17? Seriously?

 

Yup. New tires and no rubbing!

 

Well, a 205/60-16 would be one inch shorter.

 

I think you meant to say your snow tires are 205/50-17 since there are no snow tires that come in 205/60-17.

No 205/60-16 is not a good choice, as it is way too tall for good clearance with street use. Tire diameter is 25.7" vs 24.3" OEM and the tire is really heavy.

205/55-16 is about as tall as you would want, tire diameter 24.9" typically. It also has a decent selection of MINI friendly tires.

 

You're correct Minihune. Don't know how I got the 6 in there but it is 205 50 17. What is the biggest tire I can run with 16 stock rims? The wheel well gap with the 17's is decent but the gap with the 205 55's is pretty noticeable.

 

If you mean tallest tire diameter? Then for practical purposes the 205/55-16 makes the most sense. You get a good selection of tires and it is a little larger than OEM.

You can always drop your suspension a little, not much though with those tall tires.

 

I'm running 205 55 16's now and the gap is noticeably larger than the 205 50 17's. I'd like to keep the suspension stock but don't like that gap.

 

The diameter of a 205/50-17 is 25.1". The diameter of a 205/55-16 is 24.8". That makes a gap difference of 15/100ths of an inch. If the 16 is worn the diameter will be 1/2 inch less. This makes for a noticeably smaller tire. Until you replace it.

I have new 195/55-16 and new 205/45-16 with diameters of 24.4" and 23.2". The difference is identical to what you are looking at new 17 vs. worn 16, and very noticeable.

 

Hsautocrosser, I think you may have hit it on the head. My 205 16's are on their very last legs and the Michelin snows are new. Well into the wear bars so new ones are what's needed but I do have some new 205 50 16's on new Enkei wheels. When i put them on my 02 they looked pretty small but on my 05 that's lowered they look great. What's the diameter diff between the 55's & 50 16's? They are Michelin Exalto. Thanks for the help.

 

You can find diameters for most any tire at TireRack.com. I'm off to an autocross.

 

Weird. Both the 50 & 55 show 24.9 Diameter.

 

Not weird.

205/55-16 is 10mm wider than OEM 195/55-16. It has the tallest sidewall for more comfort in tires that are used with 16" wheels. This size fits wheels 5.5-7.5" wide, perfect for 6.5" wide wheel.

225/50-16 is 30mm wider than OEM, weighs a little more and though it is a 50 series sidewall, the wider tread give it the same height sidewall as the 205/55-16. This tire fits wheels 6-8" wide, perfect for 7".

SO if you want more comfort you can go with 205/55-16 but if you want more tire grip you can go with 225/50-16, both are tall at 24.9" tire diameter. Is that what you meant about both 50 and 55 show the same diameter?

 

205/50-16 24.1
205/55-16 24.9

 

Yes, I want a taller sidewall and more comfort. The specs on Tire Rack for both showed 24.9...I didn't see a 24.1?

 

The exalto is down to two Porsche-specific sizes, 205/55 and 225/50. All of the others appear to have been discontinued.

You asked about the difference in diameter between a 205/55 and 205/50 in post #10.
225/50 does not equal 205/50 anymore than 60 equals 50 on your snow tires.

 

205 55 is what I'll be runnun

 

There aren't many tires available in this size, but how about 215/50 16? The OD difference is only 0.1%, so of all the choices out there it is closest to OEM in OD. I ran that size on my 03 MCS, and loved it. No clearance problems.

 

215/50-16 is possible for OEM 16" rims and nearly OEM tire diameter. Gives a little taller sidewall vs 205/50-16.

Trouble is you have somewhat limited good tire choices-
Kumho Ecsta ASX $102 each Ultra HP All season tire, 420 treadwear
Dunlop Direzza DZ102 $108 each, HP summer tire, 460 treadwear
Falken Ziex ZE-912 $104 each, UHP All season tire, 40K mile treadwear
And in limited supply:
Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grid
Firestone Firehawk GTA 02
Hankook Ventus HR II
Cooper CS4 Touring
Toyo Versado LX II about $149 each
Nexen N7000 $106 each, 360 treadwear

 

Right now I'm running 205 55 16 Hankook Winter Radials W404 on my 02. They're just about shot so since I have 205 50 16 Michelin Exalto's on my 05 Mini and they seem to ride pretty decent I was thinking of going to their 205 55's for the 02. I have the Michelin snow tires for this car so in the winter it will be on those.

 

At 25" tall your at the tallest I can promise to fit. Your picking up 3/10ths in sidewall height. I'd suggest buying one for a careful test fit, if you would. If you didn't drive on or damage the tire, we could take it back for credit. You would only be responsible for freight charges.

 

I mount 205/50-16 and I'm very happy. The tires are Federal 595rs-R

 

I ran 205 50 17's snows and had only an occasional scrape when hitting a dip at speed so some nice new Michelins 205 55 16's should give me the look and ride i've been wanting.