A few years after I had bought my '05 R53 from factory, I started getting into mods like many of you. As far as tire rubber went, I just wanted a wider tire that didn't sacrifice any of the original specs of the OE tire size (195/55/16). After a little bit of searching with an online tire calculator, I discovered that the 215/50/16 tire size was pretty much DEAD ON to the OE 195/55/16s, it was just 10% wider than the OEMs. Everything else, spec wise, according to the tire size calculator was pretty much the same, with any differences being so negligible that it didn't seem the car would notice any change in tire size. The purchase was made. Over time, I've realized I made a very unique choice as I haven't seen many others with that size.

I've been riding on 215/50/16's since about 2009 (pretty much 15 years), and after buying a new pair to replace balding front tires late last year which was surprisingly hard due to lack of choice, out of curiosity I did a check for the tire size for my next replacement. Lo and behold, I do believe ALL tire manufacturers no longer hold 215/15/16s in stock. I'm going to miss having a slightly wider tire without sacrificing much in the way of statistical differences in tire sizes. I suppose maybe I'll go with the most popular offset choice for the 195/55/16s which is the 205 tire width.

RIP 215/50/16 I'm going to miss you.


Pretty much an exact match! RIP 215/50/16