Hey, I'm looking at getting some new tires for my Si rims, I think I want a 205 series tire. So my question is, do I get 205/55/15s? The tires I have now at 195/55/15s, but I'm unsure if I need a different middle number (I think thats the sidewall rating, right??) if I'm gonna go up to 205s? Thanks!

 

20/50/15

 

This is for your use on your 2000 Civic Si Coupe, correct? If so, the car came with 195/55-15 tires stock. If the tire you're interested in using comes in that size, I would recommend sticking with it (195/55-15). Remember, if you're looking for better performance, you'll get more benefit from concentrating on buying better tires rather than wider tires. 10 mm in width won't make much difference at all, but a stickier, higher-performance tire will.

If the tire you're interested in doesn't come in 195/55-15, then you can use 205/50-15, although that size will make your speedometer and odometer read 1.6 percent higher than with the stock size. 205/55-15 is too big (1.9 percent larger than stock) and may cause your tires to rub on your car's fender wells.

We'd be happy to recommend a tire to you, if you let us know (a) what you care most about - dry traction, traction on wet roads, price, treadlife, etc; (b) how much you're willing to trade off performance for price; (c) whether or not the tires will be used in winter conditions (snow or frigid cold); (d) anything else.

When a tire is 195/55-15, that means:

- the width of the tread is 195 mm (treadwidth)
- the height of the sidewall is .55 times the treadwidth (.55 is called the "aspect ratio)
- the diameter of the wheels, measured where the tire bead sits, is 15 inches.

You can learn more about tires on websites such as the Tire Rack's.

 

That pretty much settles it, I don't want my speedo or odometor off so I'm gonna stick with 195/55/15s Thanks!

 

The Yokohama AVS ES100 and the Kumho Ecsta SPT are both available in 195/55-15 and both are excellent tires, with very good dry traction, great in the rain, last a long time, and aren't very expensive (around $60/tire). There's a side-by-side comparison test of both tires on the Tire Rack website (click here).