Replacement Tire Sizes

[Sailr303]

I'm not looking to upgrade my wheels or do anything fancy but I have 185/60/15 tires on my 2007 sedan. This seems to be a difficult size to find as far as selection within brands. I've read all the stuff on the Tire Forum and I didn't understand very much of it. All I want to know is - what alternate sizes can I use on the same stock rims without performance problems. Can anyone help?
Thanks.

[supmet]

195/55/15 - won't rub - wider tire and shorter sidewall = slight improvement in handling and slight decrease in fuel efficiency

205/50/15 - might rub - moderate improvement in handling and medium decrease in fuel efficiency

[Morgan]

I have 205/50/15 with the trd springs and dont rub... lots of things for sale in that size as well!

[scape]

this may be beneficial

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I don't know why you can't find 185/60 though, that's a pretty generic size

to help you out, the first number is width, in millimeters, and the second number is height expressed in a percentage from the width-- the first number

is there a Sears or TireKingdom in your area? they could easily figure this all out for you
;D

[IllusionX]

195/55/15 - won't rub - wider tire and shorter sidewall = slight improvement in handling and slight decrease in fuel efficiency

205/50/15 - might rub - moderate improvement in handling and medium decrease in fuel efficiency


205/55R15 will NOT rub. But the OEM 15x5" might be a little too shallow to fit.

[scape]

I thought the oem rim was 15x5.5

[b_hickman11]

I bought these tires from tirerack in December and they are great! They also have 18 others to choose from.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+TOURING-S&vehicleSearch=true&partnum=86TR5TOURS&fromCompare1=yes&place=2&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y)&minSpeedRating=S

[IllusionX]

I thought the oem rim was 15x5.5

maybe, but mine are 15x5 :( but even 5.5 is close fit for 205's.

i'd go with at least 15x6 for 205.

[Kal-El]

I have 215/50/15's on my stock steelies. Very slight rub on full turn.

They certainly look better when the tire flairs out a bit from the wheel covers (rather than the covers protruding beyond the 185's). Looks less cheap.

My next set will probably be 205/60/15's as I want a little more sidewall to fill out the fenders a bit more. Unless I can get my rims soon (17's). :smile:

[IllusionX]

you are oversized... that results in a loss of power, and torque.. not to mention waste of gas. just becareful

[Kal-El]

you are oversized... that results in a loss of power, and torque.. not to mention waste of gas. just becareful

Who me?

Definitely not over sized. All the people here that have 17" and even 18" are at least that wide and probably wider. Mine still look too small.

Plus, I average 40 mpg and power isn't diminished.

[Morgan]

well 215 on a 5.5" wide wheel is pretty brave... I think my 205's look like they are about to pop off of my steelies but then again the azenis 615 run wide.

My stock wheels are 6" wide and the 205s look great

[41magmag41]

How about 196/60 15's? These are also pretty generic and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this size.

[SailDesign]

I have 215/55/15's on my stock steelies. Very slight rub on full turn.

<snip>

My next set will probably be 215/65/15's as I want a little more sidewall to fill out the fenders a bit more. Unless I can get my rims soon (17's). :smile:

the 215/55-15s are about 1/2" bigger (taller) than stock - not a real problem. The 215/65-15s, though, will be more than 2" taller, and will make your speedo read very wrong (apart from other considerations that may play here). You will be reading 70mph when in fact you will be doing 76.5 mph. The cops are not likely to think oversized tires are an excuse...
If you are rubbing "a bit" now, you will definitely rub with the 65 series. :smile:

[IllusionX]

Who me?

Definitely not over sized. All the people here that have 17" and even 18" are at least that wide and probably wider. Mine still look too small.

Plus, I average 40 mpg and power isn't diminished.

Just what SailDesign said, a 225/35R18 is soooooooo not like 215/65R15. you have to diminish side walls if you want to go with bigger rims. You also have to go with less sidewall when going wider.....

How about 196/60 15's? These are also pretty generic and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this size.

I have 195/60R15 for the winter on 15x6.6" rims. no rubbing at all. Not to mention winter tires have thicker rubber... i have to jack the car much higher when trying to install them from 195/55R15. :D

At first, i was supposed to go with original 185/60R15, but then, the price was just irresistible, and i thought it would equal out the smaller diameter of my summer shoes lol.

[Franck_Qc]

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

My tires (Toyo Proxes 4) are 205/55R15 and my rims (TSW Kyalami) 15"x 6" and +40 offset, don't rub. This is perfect ! :biggrin:

[Kal-El]

the 215/55-15s are about 1/2" bigger (taller) than stock - not a real problem. The 215/65-15s, though, will be more than 2" taller, and will make your speedo read very wrong (apart from other considerations that may play here). You will be reading 70mph when in fact you will be doing 76.5 mph. The cops are not likely to think oversized tires are an excuse...
If you are rubbing "a bit" now, you will definitely rub with the 65 series. :smile:

215 is width, not height. The 55 measurement is sidewall height.

So my 55's are lower than stock. If I were to go 215/65/15, they would be the same sidewall height as stock.

And as for the speedo, my smaller diameter didn't affect the speedo at all (I have a nav that reads the same exact speed).

[kimona]

Yaris Wheel and Tire Guide:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5021

[SailDesign]

215 is width, not height. The 55 measurement is sidewall height.

So my 55's are lower than stock. If I were to go 215/65/15, they would be the same sidewall height as stock.

And as for the speedo, my smaller diameter didn't affect the speedo at all (I have a nav that reads the same exact speed).

Ummmm - please read Kimona's link. The "55" is the sidewall height, true, but as a percentage of tire width. So the actual height of a 215/55 is 118.25mm. and the height of the sidewall on a 215/65 is 139.75mm. That makes the 65-series 43mm (twice the difference above) taller than the 55-series.

Small differences in height won't show up on an analogue speedo (can't read it accurately enough) but a 10% diffence sure will. :smile:

[kimona]

The only sizes I would recommend on stock 15" wheels with stock suspension are:

185/60/15 = 23.7
195/60/15 = 24.2
195/55/15 = 23.4
205/55/15 = 23.9

[WolfWings]

I run 195/60-15 here, no rubbing issues as long as your alignment is dead-on, even at full lock either direction.

Lets me get a *MASSIVE* variety of tires to choose from, though 195/50-15's are tempting for autocross use sometimes.

[IllusionX]

195/60R15 is alright, but when getting tires for the summer... aren't we supposed to look for a lower sidewall? :)

[WolfWings]

Depends. Sure, larger sidewall ratio = more flex, but stiffer tire in the first place = less flex so it can all balance out.

As I said, 195/50-15 is tempting for summer tires for just that reason, THAT is a sweet spot for summer-tires, 195/60-15 is a sweet-spot for top-end all-seasons.

[808_Yaris]

^ great info!

[kimona]

Depends. Sure, larger sidewall ratio = more flex, but stiffer tire in the first place = less flex so it can all balance out.

As I said, 195/50-15 is tempting for summer tires for just that reason, THAT is a sweet spot for summer-tires, 195/60-15 is a sweet-spot for top-end all-seasons.


195/50/15's are too short.

[scape]

195/50/15 is only .3" smaller diameter than the stock 14" setup of 175/65/14

[EasyDriver]

I was just looking at http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html today investigating what tire I would get to replace my 185/60/15s. Mileage is my primary concern since yet again gas prices have risen to $2.95 here in lower Michigan. Every tire I have had in the older 70 & 60 series has worn poorly. If I was picking a 15" tire for my Yaris today I would get a Goodyear Fuel Max 195/65/15....more tire height, less revolutions per mile=more mpg. Not a lot maybe...but 2% or close to it. It seems like the majority of Yarisworld prefers the cooler looking wider series tires. Perhaps our Hypermiler members could shed some light on this.http://yarisworld.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[supmet]

I was just looking at http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html today investigating what tire I would get to replace my 185/60/15s. Mileage is my primary concern since yet again gas prices have risen to $2.95 here in lower Michigan. Every tire I have had in the older 70 & 60 series has worn poorly. If I was picking a 15" tire for my Yaris today I would get a Goodyear Fuel Max 195/65/15....more tire height, less revolutions per mile=more mpg. Not a lot maybe...but 2% or close to it. It seems like the majority of Yarisworld prefers the cooler looking wider series tires. Perhaps our Hypermiler members could shed some light on this.http://yarisworld.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Going from 185 to 195 will decrease your mileage more than going from 60 to 65 will increase it. You might still end up with an overall increase in mpg using fuel max tires though.

[scape]

if your looking for mpg, and mpg only; a skinnier tire is more important, not a wider one. less rubber, less friction. and a taller tire does exhibit less rotations--but in town driving may suffer from you trying to overcompensate and is generally not a huge factor unless highway is your mainly your thing.

the standard prius has (to my knowledge) 185/65/15. i'd shoot for that if fuel was your concern-- someone on a forum mentioned goodyear integrity's as a good tire for this application, i'll see if i can find a link

just remember, you'll be travelling faster than your speedo reads (@ 60mph = ~62mph)