hi whilst pricing and doing tyre reviews I noticed there was more choice in 205/55/16 , i run presently on original 205/50/16 my 5 is an Nc 1.8 so can I change tyre as seen better tyres options in 205/55/16 will my car still perform the same any info much appreciated
As lond as there’s enough room for the slightly increased tyre “height” without anything fouling on full suspension compression, you possibly won’t notice much difference.
You will “gear up” the car slightly, so the speedo will tend to under-read compared to what it reads on 50 profile tyres.
The 50 or 55 is the aspect ration of the tyre as a percentage of it’s width. E.g. a /50 tyre is 50% as high as it is wide. So a 205/50 tyre would be 205 wide and 102.5 high. So a 205/55 would be 205 wide and 112.75 high. So an extra 10mm high basically. This would effect the gearing of the car and speedometer accuracy. It would only be a small amount but some insurance companies get sniffy about anything that isn’t exactly to factory spec’.
Ian
You must advise your insurance company that you have a non standard tyre size on your car. Some charge an admin fee to note that on your insurance policy.
205 55 16 is about the most common size of tyre there is and therefore you will also find they are cheaper.
I assume this is a MK3, in which case, on standard wheels they will fit absolutely fine and you will find your speedo actually is more accurate to actual speed.
If the driving experience is better or not will depend on the tyre you chose.
Thanks to all for the info and advice it is appreciated, I happen to notice there was aplot more tyre choice with the 205/55/16 , certainly my wheel arch will take exta height , so I need to decide stick with my original or change , it is always the same with me everytime I research a good tyre or the one I would like it is not in my tyre size it is the same with my Volvo XC70 getting an all terrain my choice or preference is usual not in tyre size very frustrating
anyway I am going to be looking for a good all season tyre for my mk 3 i do like good tyres on my cars I believe there is the right tyre for each model will take time , again thanks for replies food for thought
You are so over thinking this. No insults intended but if you are reading about “best tyres” then you are not taxing your tyres enough to know what is good or not. If you want to drill a hole in your wall for DIY Screw Fix’s cheap drill will do the job, reading up what the very best drill is with features such as underwater or zero gravity operation are all very good, but you will never use them. In fact a better analogy is the “latest” smart phone. The geeks and marketing will make it seem like the “new features” are essential to life, but the reality is you browse the internet, send some texts and use the alarm clock. It is very much the case with tyres, all the manufactures are going to say theirs are best, the reality is what is best? As it stands now, on the chance of buying a tyre that some internet review says is great, based on the fact that a load of random people, who may or may not be genuine, have said some stuff about tyres which most likely have nothing to do with the car you drive, the roads you drive on and the way you drive you are willing to put a different size tyre on. So there is nothing wrong with putting a different size tyre on, but the logic of choosing a tyre based on a review on a Golf or Juke or any other tyres that won’t have been on your car because it does not come in the right size while being the “best” tyre is what is flawed here.
There are loads of good tyres available in the correct size. At the very grippy end of dry weather performance you can get the Yoko AO52, the AD08R, R888R, RS-R. You can get a Michelin PS3, Avon ZV7, Dunlop Sport Maxx, Uniroyal Rainsport, Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125, Kumho HS51 and on and on including winter tyres. The choice is there for whatever type of driving you want.
It makes such an amazing difference to read the writings of someone who actually knows what they are writing about, well written there that man.
It honestly never ceases to amaze me how so many very intelligent car owners will take as gospel the rambling chit chat and general bull sh-t of tyre kickers and tyre fitters almost as if they actually knew what they were talking about. In all of my years working as a consultant to one of the World’s leading tyre manufacturers, I honestly can’t recall meeting a tyre wrench monkey who talked anything other than total garbage!!
NickD is so very astute in writing “There are loads of good tyres available in the correct size” and in so many cases it would only be a driver of exceptional capabilities with lightning fast reactions and finite levels of feel driving on a smooth and perfectly surfaced track who would be able to differentiate the performance of a good tyre and an exceptional one.
Many thanks Nick.
[quote=NickD]
You are so over thinking this. No insults intended but if you are reading about “best tyres” then you are not taxing your tyres enough to know what is good or not. If you want to drill a hole in your wall for DIY Screw Fix’s cheap drill will do the job, reading up what the very best drill is with features such as underwater or zero gravity operation are all very good, but you will never use them. In fact a better analogy is the “latest” smart phone. The geeks and marketing will make it seem like the “new features” are essential to life, but the reality is you browse the internet, send some texts and use the alarm clock. It is very much the case with tyres, all the manufactures are going to say theirs are best, the reality is what is best? As it stands now, on the chance of buying a tyre that some internet review says is great, based on the fact that a load of random people, who may or may not be genuine, have said some stuff about tyres which most likely have nothing to do with the car you drive, the roads you drive on and the way you drive you are willing to put a different size tyre on. So there is nothing wrong with putting a different size tyre on, but the logic of choosing a tyre based on a review on a Golf or Juke or any other tyres that won’t have been on your car because it does not come in the right size while being the “best” tyre is what is flawed here.
There are loads of good tyres available in the correct size. At the very grippy end of dry weather performance you can get the Yoko AO52, the AD08R, R888R, RS-R. You can get a Michelin PS3, Avon ZV7, Dunlop Sport Maxx, Uniroyal Rainsport, Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125, Kumho HS51 and on and on including winter tyres. The choice is there for whatever type of driving you want. ] hello I have read your reply with interest, firstly I never take affence , I took on board what you have said , i totally agree it is about what you drive and how you drive , I have driven like many so many cars vans 4wd etc driving is a passion in 34 years of driving still no points and been blessed no accidents so you can appreciate to me tyres on my cars always been important , funny my wife say,s I over think things lol I am going to stay with original size but I will have a look at some of those tyres you have mentioned , again thanks for reply I hope this thread will help other 5 drivers have a great Christmas
I decided to go with the Dunlop sport maxx for their quiet properties. Not experienced enough to offer comparison with others but would definitely buy again. I felt that tyre noise was an important factor for the mx5.
NickD fitted those Dunlops to my NC, and they transformed it from being noisy twitchy and skiddy to quiet and planted. Almost three years later it is still just as good.
At the time I was wondering about going to 215/45 17 instead of the 205/45 17, mainly because the original Bridgestones looked narrower than the vulnerable rims, and also the speedo over-reads by about 3% - the 215s would have made it almost right, and very slightly lessened the apparent 4x4 look.
However, I stuck with the size specified by Mazda to keep everything standard: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Hi guys can I join in on this I am looking at NS-2R it Seems that they do not make them in 205 but Nick suggested 215 again reading the famous Google the difference in minimal. We are looking for a track day reasonable cost tyre, is this the best option having to go away from standard sizing
Mike
There are loads of cars on 215 45 17, you will have no problem and if you have 16" rims you can run the 205 55 16 again with no issues.
Personally I would go with the Federal RS-R at £75 delivered rather than the NS-2R
I changed a few years ago to the 215 width and fitted Goodyear F1 Aysmetric hoops. I’ve been very happy with them…reasonably quiet, a bit of protection for the rims built in, great grip and the speedo still reads over. I probably will need to renew a couple for next years travels and I can’t see any need to look further
Hi, I wandered through this post about tyres as I was going to ask about my tyre sizes. I’m a newbie to mx5, it’s my everyday car and travel about a bit for work. I needed a new tyre, so ordered the 50 as it says for my 2008 Mk3. When I got to the garage I had 55s on . Luckily he had a matching 55 in stock.
My question was does this make a difference to the car? I obviously know no difference in handling as it’s had them on all the time. Seems from the above comments that it makes ltitle difference. I wonder why a past owner changed them?
Also it has Pirelli on the back and bridgestone on the front. Does this make a difference??
I know very little about tyres, car ‘performance’ etc. I just love my car and have great fun driving it.
Any comments welcome!
thanks,
Carol
205 55 R16 is probably the most common tyre size in Europe. There can be many reasons for fitting them but I strongly suspect the two top reasons were that they would have been significantly cheaper than the OEM size and in a close second when the car arrived at a tyre place, they had them in stock rather than having to order them and wait a day.
If you were to “back to back” this set up against the standard size, you would probably notice a difference, but I would strongly suggest in daily driving you would be very hard pressed to find one.