is there a significant difference between the two sizes? reason being, i've decided to go with the falken ziex's for my daily driven 92 civic. here's the price difference:

195/50/15 $175 for 4
195/55/15 $255 for 4

is the extra $80 worth it for oem size?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ieatrice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is there a significant difference between the two sizes?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not in width, only in the height of the sidewall (and the outer diameter of the tire).

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ieatrice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've decided to go with the falken ziex's for my daily driven 92 civic.</TD></TR></TABLE>

In the O.C. (with Ryan and Seth and Marisa and Summer)? Why in the world would you want to buy an all-season tire like the Ziex in the O.C.? Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no snow or frigid cold in the O.C. And a summer tire (like the Yokohama ES100, just to name one example) will do MUCH better than the Ziex on dry pavement and in rain. The Ziex will be better in snow - that's why it has an all-season rating - but otherwise, you'd be much better off with a summer tire.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ieatrice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">here's the price difference:

195/50/15 $175 for 4
195/55/15 $255 for 4

is the extra $80 worth it for oem size? </TD></TR></TABLE>

No. The 195/50-15 size is better for your car. The outer diameter is about equal to stock, so it won't have the speedometer and odometer error that the 195/55 will. The 195/55 will also accelerate slower. So no, it's not worth it to spend more for a tire that's a worse choice. Get the 195/50-15.

However, I would recommend a summer tire rather than the Falken Ziex. I mentioned the Yokohama ES100, which you can get for $59 plus shipping from the Tire Rack. Through October 29, Discount Tire has a $50 rebate on these, and has free shipping, so even though their website shows them for $64 each, you end up getting them for $206 (plus sales tax) for a set of four, which is a heck of a deal.

There are other brands and models of tires that offer more performance for more money, but the ES100 offers great "bang for the buck", which is probably what you're looking for.

 

wow! thanks for the quick response. so i should get some 195/50/15 es100's?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ieatrice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so i should get some 195/50/15 es100's?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I would recommend, yes.

 

but why 55 series have higher speed rate than 50 series??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Zzz GSR zzZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but why 55 series have higher speed rate than 50 series??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good question.

If you're referring to the Yokohama ES100, it doesn't. The 195/50-15 and the 195/55-15 tires both have a V speed rating (good to 149 mph, which should be more than ample for a Civic hatch).

If you're referring to the all-season Ziex ZE-512, the 195/55 has a V speed rating and the 195/50 only has an H speed rating (which is still good to 130 mph).

Tire manufacturers often have different speed ratings for different size tires because of the vehicles that those size tires are likely to be used on and the speed rating of the OEM tires for those vehicles. They normally try to at least match the speed rating of the OEM tires.

For example, 195/55-15 is the stock size for the 1997-2001 Integra Type R, whose top speed is around 143 mph, which is why its stock tires were 195/55-15 with a V speed rating. So tire manufacturers often have at least a V rating for their 195/55-15 size, so that they can be used on the highest version Integras. (Not always, though - so it's worth checking before buying.) 195/50-15 is usually used on cars with a lower top speed and whose stock tires had a lower speed rating. For example, the 1992 Civic DX hatchback came with 175/70SR13 tires stock, and that S speed rating was good for 112 mph. I don't know what the top speed was, bone stock, but it was probably less than 112 mph and almost certainly less than 130 mph. So tires with even an H rating on a '92 Civic hatch should still be fine.

If you have a heavily modded car (e.g. turbo), then it's a good idea to double-check to make sure that the tires you buy have a speed rating sufficient for your needs, particularly if you plan to use it at speeds well into triple digits (hopefully on the track). Otherwise, for a mostly-stock car that is street driven, getting tires with a speed rating at least as good as the stock tires is usually sufficient (but it still doesn't hurt to double-check to make sure that the speed rating of the tires is higher than you are likely to use them).

HTH