Has anyone run tires of this size on an ek hatch?

Diameter is roughly 1.5" larger than stock; would like to know if it will fit without nasty rubbing before I buy...

 

That's a pretty big difference.

For the best fit, get 195/55-15...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's a pretty big difference.

For the best fit, get 195/55-15...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Is this because a 195/65-15 won't fit, or because the larger tire will increase the ride height and change the final drive ratio? The ride height and final drive change will be beneficial for the winter.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slow_dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is this because a 195/65-15 won't fit, or because the larger tire will increase the ride height and change the final drive ratio?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Both. 195/55-15 preserves the outer diameter of the stock tire (185/65-14). That will maintain the accuracy of your speedometer/odometer and will also ensure that the tires don't rub.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slow_dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The ride height and final drive change will be beneficial for the winter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not really. You can always start out in second gear. What you really need for the winter, though, is a good set of winter tires, and most of the better winter tires on the market are available in 195/55-15. There's no need to get anything bigger; if your car isn't lowered, you will have plenty of ground clearance, and if your car is lowered, you have a greater chance of rubbing with bigger tires.

 

Do you have personal experience with this tire size on an ek hatch, or are you telling me that it won't fit because you think it's a bad idea?

The smallest 15" size the particular tire that I'm looking at comes in is 195/65-15

 

No, I don't have personal experience to know that a 195/65-15 won't fit. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. A tire whose outer diameter is 6.4 percent greater than stock is really quite huge, though, so I wouldn't count on it. (The 195/55-15 is within 0.1 percent of stock.)

I assume (from the time of year and your location) that you are looking for winter tires for your car. There are a lot of excellent winter tires on the market, and as I indicated, most are available in 195/55-15; they are shown below, with prices. They tend to break down into two groups:

a) tires that have the very best traction on snow and ice, but have so-so ride and handling on days when it's not so cold; examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50, Dunlop Graspic DS-2, and Michelin X-Ice. The Tire Rack calls these tires "studless ice and snow tires".

b) tires that have good traction on snow and ice and in cold, although not quite as good as the previous group, but they also have very good ride and handling characteristics on days when it's not so cold; examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2. The Tire Rack calls these tires "performance winter tires".

The choice between these two categories depends on the climate in your area, how much highway driving you do in the winter, how much you care about ultimate snow/ice grip versus ride comfort, whether you have another vehicle to use in the worst of winter, etc. Oh, and the tires in category (a) are usually significantly less expensive than category (b), which may be important. For example, I want the best snow/ice traction and I don't mind sacrificing some ride comfort and handling for those three months a year (mid-December to mid-March around here), and winter weather here in Chicago can be fairly nasty, so I have category (a) tires. But your priorities may be different, and you might (or might not) be better off getting the category (b) tires.

Once you decide on which category you want, you can look up tires in that category on the Tire Rack website and find one in your size.

Here are winter tires that come in 195/55-15, with prices shown in USD from the Tire Rack:

<u>Category (a)</u>:
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 $88
Dunlop Graspic DS-2 $70
Michelin X-Ice $89

<u>Category (b)</u>:
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 $113
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 $106
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 $108
Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport $83

I'm not trying to push the Tire Rack, it's just that they have an easy to navigate website and they carry most of the best tires around. I've heard that their prices, even with shipping from the States, are often better than those of Canadian dealers. But you probably already are familiar with Canadian dealers like 1010tires.com and TireTrends.com in BC, and Talon Tire in QC. So feel free to shop around. The internet is a wonderful place.

 

thank you for your advice. I've got some thinking to do.

 

I wouldn't recommend getting that huge of a tire but it should fit if your car isn't lowered. I had a bubble in one of my tires so I got a free 205-50-17 tire (basically same diameter as the tire you're considering). I put it in the back and it looked extremely huge but it was fine. It did rub though whenever I had ANYONE in the backseat.