So I have pretty well narrowed down what kind of winter tire I am looking for, but my problem now is deciding which sizes will fit on my wheel.

I have a set of the 16" 5 spoke alloy wheels to be my winter rims. The stock tire size on those is 195/55/16. Now tire rack shows that I could use 205/50/16 and still be ok. I was also wondering if a 205/55/16 would work, since that size seems to have a lot more available then the other 2. Using the handy dandy fitment tool in the stickies, it looks like the 205/50 would be slightly smaller then stock, and the 205/55 would be slightly larger then stock.

Since my car is completely stock right now, is there any reason why going slightly larger with a 205/55/16 tire be bad?

 

risu - (squirl!)

205/55/16 and 205/50/16 will both fit.

but for winter, 205/55/16 is better.... why? because on our cars, the rear suspension will rub the carwash rails unless you have a taller tire
(larger circumference).

If you use 205/55, the profile (sidewall) is larger so it will give you better
clearance from the rails. :smile:

 

Yay for Ken. I have a Japanese minor and am a bit of a dork. My last name is Wreesman, which I perverted into Risu Man, hence the squirrel addiction.

Good to know, since I am heavily leaning towards the dunlop M3s, but it was looking like I could only get them in 205/55.

 

Just becuase something wider (ie, 205/55) can fit, doesn't mean it's better. The 195/55 is your best bet for your wheel in a winter tire because it's less wide. Less wide does better in snow. 199/55 is the perfect tire for your 6.5" rim size, and yes you can buy winter runflats in that size. I have a set of 195/55 Goodyear Ultra Grip winters in runflat and I can tell you they do great a lower temps in the dry and wet, and I'm sure they'll also do great in the white stuff. You certainly don't need wider winter tires. I was going to buy the Dunlop M-3s but for some reason they weren't available here in Germany. My Goodyears are made in Germany (made me feel better).

 

agree with Steve B,

going with a wider tire is suicide, especially on snowy, icy conditions, you may wanna minimize the tire surface contact. 195 is fine, dunno if you can get more narrow without any problems, which actually would work better.

 

I think Risu wanted to know between the 205/50 and 205/55, which would one recommend as there are more selections in the 205/55 size. ofcourse a narrower tire would be better for snow.


berk- get back to lookin' for your own wheels, man. there's no such size as a 199/55 anyway. wat are you agreeing to? jk

 

Are you sure???

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...er=16&x=19&y=9

hey, i know we don't have winters like you guys here in TX, however......... you fill in the blank now

edit:

this is better, but Ken, you are the tire guy man.... no need for me to say

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...t=All&x=72&y=6

 

i'm pretty sure that the runflat M3's exist in the 195/55R16 size.
i just put a used set of four on my mini on friday w/
monza 16" wheels.

the snow tyre w/ lighter wheel actually seems to ride better (less harshly)
than the stock x-lites and all season dunlops.

 

Yes there is. I think my "199" typo was being made fun of. I bought my winters through MINI in Germany. I ordered the Dunlop M3 in 195/55 mainly because they were less expensive than the Goodyear Ultra Grips, and when I went to pick them up 3 months later my "winter" R84s were mounted with the Goodyears. They were both HR rated, both runflats, and both reported as very capable in cold temps and snow so I didn't make a fuss out of it. I was wishing they were VR rated as I still will drive fast when conditions are right. I travel to Frankfurt every now and then and I don't like driving under 100 MPH in the dry....just feels too slow to me now. I'll get bored and have an accident. BTW, 25% of all tires sold in Germany are dedicated winter tires.

 

That is my basic problem, I picked up some 16" 5 star rims on the cheap to be my winter rim. Now none of the tire stores around here seem to have anything in stock in the 195/55 size. And from looking at tire rack my options would be the continental, which has a crummy looking tread for snow, blizzak ws-50, which is great for snow but meh for dry and wet traction or the michelin x-ice, and i have just had bad experience with michelin.

Basically Michigan winters tend to be kind of wet, fair mix of rain, sleet, snow, slush etc, so I want a tire with good snow traction, but good wet/dry traction too. If I could get the lm-25 blizzak or dunlop m3 in 195/55 I would be all over it, but am having a hard time finding them.

 

You can order winter runflat tires through MINI (probably have them in less than a week). Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip part number is 36120146774 and the Dunlop Sport M3 part number is 36120151314. Both are 195/55/16 HR rated.

 

steve- im not making fun of your typo. Im just making fun of Berky since
he sounded like he knew something agreeing to 199/55/16's. jk berk.

 

Call me I have the m3's 195/55/16

Alex