I have a 2004 R50 Cooper that currently has 175/65R15 tires. This is a limited supply tire size. However, 185/65R15 tires are more common. Wondering if anyone has tried putting a larger tire on their mini and what their experience has been?

 

Play with this calculator to find a more readily available substitute.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tir...5r15-185-65r15

That said; the 185 will result in a slighter lower RPM at highway speeds - better fuel economy too. If I were in the market, I wouldn't have an issue making the change.

But, you lose a little bottom end grunt. If you're not a spirited driver, you'd likely not notice the difference.

 

185/65/15 works fine. So does 195/60/15. I have used both for winter tires, currently have 185/65/15.
Some use 205/55/15 but I think that's getting just a little wide for a 15x5.5 wheel.

 

185/60/15 is actually within 1mph of that.

I ran them on my clubman before trading it in on my Checkmate.

 

Yep, forgot 185/60/15. That's good, too.

 

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 is an awesome 175/65-15 tire.

 

Thanks for all the replies. the information is very useful. Sounds like i would be good with 175/185/195/205

 

So i know i posted this a while ago but i am now at purchase time. Looking for recomendations. Would you go with the spec'd 175/65/15 or would you go with 185/65/15? Does one provide a better ride over the other?

 

185/65/15 would be a smidge softer (taller sidewall) and a smidge better handling
(wider tread), all other things being equal (which they often aren't). Would also
make the speedo slightly more accurate than stock (won't over-read actual speed
quite as much).