I currently have 205/40/17 tires and I find that that my 2007 Fit feels much slower (lots of tire friction?) compared to my base 14" wheels. I want to trade in my 17" for 15" wheels. Which size tires would be better for the 15" wheels- the 195/50/15 or the 195/55/15? I know that the Spoon Sports racing Fit has the 195/50 but the Fit Sport are fitted with the 195/55/15. I want to be able to achieve maximum handling performance without sacrificing fuel economy with the new wheels/tires.

Would there be a noticeable difference in handling characteristics between the two sizes? Which would you recommend? I think that the 195/50/15 are lower in price (at least in the US)?

 

There is going to be a loss of fuel mileage with the smaller diameter tires if you spend much time on the highway, not so much if you drive mostly in an urban environment and can resist the urge to exploit the new found increase in acceleration and handling... The 195-55-15s have a 23.44" diameter and the 50s 22.67"... Your odometer and speedometer will both read higher with the smaller tires than with the stock diameter tires but the reduction in weight and the effect of lower overall gearing will be a lot more fun and the reduced sidewall height will improve your cornering... I'd go with the 195-50s and if you can afford them a set of 15 x 7 41mm Enkei RPF1 wheels... Big heavy wheels and tires kill performance and places wear on you drive train, steering, brakes and suspension... Even with a supercharged engine on the Spoon car they use the smaller size tire because it works better... The big wheel thing is a styling gimmick on a car like the Fit which was originally fitted with 13" wheels on the earliest models.

 

lolwat.

How would you actually be getting worse fuel economy because the odometer/speedo is off? Do the proper maths to convert it and the mpg will likely be basically the same either way.

 

Where did you come up with me saying that? I said the gauges would be off with the smaller tires and read out higher figures...Just go back and read it again.

 

TC....which tire is better for fuel efficiency/performance:
205/50/15 or
195/50/15

Thanks

 

"There is going to be a loss of fuel mileage with the smaller diameter tires if you spend much time on the highway"

How will less weight hurt anything?

 

I have 205-50-16s on my car right now and they are hurting both acceleration and fuel mileage but not so much when driven at a constant speed over level terrain... Cornering is incredible but the weight, diameter and rolling resistance makes it difficult to accelerate to pass on the highway and you need to use more throttle on hills driving into a head wind.. 205-50-15s are smaller than 195-55-15"s in diameter at 23.07, the 195-50s are 22.67" The weight of the tread and the increase in rolling resistance of the 205s will hurt fuel mileage and performance... There would be a decent amount of improvement in traction when cornering with the 205-50s compared to 195-55s but I think the 195-50s would be real close to the 205s in cornering because of the reduced sidewall height..

 

^Thanks

 

You're doing it again... The diameter easily ads a pound of weigh to the 205 over the 195... So what the hell are you talking about.

 

You don't even know what you said.

Let me explain with as much clarity as possible:

-You say smaller diameter tyres will hurt mpg.
-I ask how this is possible with the reduced weight from the smaller diameter tyres.
-You then say that added height of a 205 adds 1 lb to its weight, thus saying the smaller (195/50) is lighter.

So once again:

Explain how the lighter tyres are going to lessen the MPG's one gets.

 

You have to be shitting me.... Read the post again but with your eyes open this time.

 

It looks like the best choice would be 195/50/15 for me then. The Enkei RPF1 wheels are light- but quite expensive though. I was thinking of getting the Konig Feather, which is still fairly light at 11.9 lbs for the 15".
So if the big, heavy wheels places more wear on the drive train, steering, brakes, and suspension, does this mean that these parts are likely to break down earlier? If so, then I should take these big heavy wheels off ASAP. I'd hate to have premature breakdowns because of these big, heavy wheels.

 

These cars come with 17.4 lb wheels and 17 lb tires so the weight isn't killing it but there is less stress on the components I mentioned.. You might take a look at Kosei wheels, the 16X6 1/2 45mm K4R wheels were fairly inexpensive and weigh 11.8 so the 15" ones would be lighter... It is really amazing how much difference I can feel between the very light wheel tire setup I did have and the heavy stuff I now have on it and I have close to twice the power of a stock Fit... The first time I passed a car on a 2 lane highway with the heavier wheel/tires it shocked me how much longer I was in the left lane...I'll get around to getting some 195 50s with sticky rubber after I finish what I am now working on...Maybe I'll give some 195-45-15s a try.

 

I think you should stick go with 15's and stick to the 195/55 because you have a bigger tire selection and your spedometer will read correctly, and the diameter difference between 55series and 50series tire is pretty small. Ive recently had to buy tires and my choices with a 50series tire were pretty small compared to 55s. Companies don't make to many 50series tires. The only pro that i know of for going with the 50 is that they are nessesary to run wide/low offset wheels. If you dont go with a high offset 15 inch wheel, you will have to roll your fenders and trim the rear bumper a bit. I dont think that you will be gaining any noticeable performance in the tires, but you should gain with going back to the 15 inch wheels. Add to that, your car might look a lot better. What kind of wheels were you going for?

 

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking of going for the Konig Feather (black).

 

Do you think a 195/55/15 Tire with 15x7 Wheel would "RUB" if the car is lowered?
(NOT Slammed)

Thanks

 

195-55-15" on 15X7" 41mm offset works good with Swift springs... You just need to bend the tabs on the front fenders.

 

@tc: really? i use 15x7 with 36offset, 195/50 tyres and lowered (not slammed), and i don't get rubbing issues... no bending tabs or rolling involved... maybe a difference between jdm and usdm spec perhaps?

 

Just one of the tabs would rub on the right front fender usually when turning left on rather bumpy pavement I had big time rubbing with 16X7 38mm offset wheels with 205-50-16s.. I had to raise the car on the coilovers and I still had problems... I now have the tires mounted on 16'X6 1/2" 45mm wheels and no rubbing problems but the weight of the tires has slowed the rate of acceleration considerably..I'll have my Enkei RPF1s back on the car eventually with either 195-50-15s or 195-45-15s ... The 45s would be wonderful if I can get them with a soft sticky rubber compound... I have been considering trying some light weight 14" wheels if there are any decent tires to mount on them.

 

Dunlop Star Specs come in 185/60/14 and 195/60/14...