Is there a big difference between 195/50/15 or 205/50/15 and 205/45/16 tires when it comes to ride quality?

Are the 205/45/16 comparable to 205/40/17 (I've owned this size tire)?

I want the 16's (Rota C8's) because they will look better than the 15's, but I am also concerned about the comfort of the ride. With 205/40/17 I could feel every crack / bump on the streets and I am just not sure if looks are worth suffering with ride quality.

Did a search and couldn't find anything related

 

Not really too much difference in ride quality, however if your car is lowered too much with a 205 series tire on there I have seen some pretty bad scrubing on the inner fender wells. Just have a good set of shocks and springs and you will be set.
The C8s are nice! and I would go 205/50/16 if you are going 16s. The tires on my car are 195/50/15 and they are super nice tires with stiff as hell sidewalls. I would recomend getting some 15s just because I think they look dope as hell on hondas. but thats just the kinda guy I am.

 

Firt of all please tell us what car it's going on.

If it's a 1992-1995 Civic I'd say a 15'' wheel with a 205-50-15.

If it's a 1996-up Civic then a 205-45-16 or a 215-45-16 would be great too, but a 205-50-15 would work well too.

More details please.

What are your intentions for this car?

Any auto-Xing?

Stessing handling? Ride? Looks alone?

Help us help you.



Oh yeah - Georgia represent.

 

His name is Hybrid93Hatch....
Try the 195/50/15, it'll keepthe same gearing as the stock diameter.
Or, if you don't care about the overall diameter, 205/50/15...
The ride between the two would practically be the same.
Really though, ride quality....?

 

Word.

 

The car is a 93 hatch.
It will eventually (early 03) have a GSR motor. I may do some drag racing on occasions, but mostly will be a street driven car. That is why I was asking about ride quality. If there is not much difference then I might as well go with the 16's.

Georgia represent? I've been here all my life except for 9 months last year I was in Orlando. Can definitely say I prefer the Sunshine state over the red-neck one ....just speaking of Savannah since that is the area I am in

I will eventually make it down to Orlando or some other state


[Modified by Hybrid93Hatch, 3:09 PM 11/28/2002]

 

Well you won't be fitting up the good 205 or 215-45-16 tires on a 1992-1995 Civic, you'll be stuck with the shitty 205-40-16 because the 45 series will be too tall and will scrub if the car is lowered a bit.

Go 15s and you'll never regret it.

 

Oh and I've owned 16'' wheels and tires on my old 1992 Si hatch and they sucked compared to my 195-50-15 and 205-50-15 tires that I replaced the 16s with.

Plus there aren't many good sticky tires (if any) in a 205-40-16. There are good ones on 205-4516 and 215-45-16 (Falken Azenis!) but like I said, good luck having them not scrub like hell.

 

I believe 205/45/16 is about the same as 205/40/17 which is the tires size for 17's on a civic I would definitely go with a 205 tire if 16"

 

205/40/17 overall diameter ~ 23.8"
205/45/16 overall diameter ~ 23.6"
205/50/15 overall diameter ~ 23.5"
195/50/15 overall diameter ~ 23.125" (good)
175/50/13 overall diameter ~ 20.2" (now we're talking)

 

i notice a huge difference between 15's and 16's. the way i figure it: 16's = lower profile tire - doesnt absorb much. 15's = taller/wider tire - absorbs more of the roads imperfections. i have a pretty stiff ride though.
-Bryan-

 

I have 205/50/15s in my 95 GSR's and its great, id stay with this size, im looking for some nice bronze rims. But i am definitly stayin with 15s

 

well, wheel diameter is actually a factor in speed, where the smaller the better. 15's would give u better acceleration than 16's would. as far as ride "quality", the higher the profile, the less you will feel the anomalies on the road (but also the worse it will be on cornering).
generally, don't expect large differences with just your wheels or your tires.
i would suggest the 15's with either the 205 or 195 (the difference would be minimal), imo anything above 15's are too big for a civic.