uhhhh... you do understand that manufactures use the cheapest tire that would work with the car. "work" as in just regular driving and acceptable level performance/wear especially for an econo-box like ours.

i would definitely try the G19's.

 

Stock 185/55R16 Overall
Diam. 24.2"

205/50R16 Overall
Diam. 24.1"

195/50R16 Overall
Diam. 23.7"

195/55R16 Overall
Diam. 24.4"

As you can see 205/50-16's are actually the closest dia to the stock 185's.
195's will work but 205 will probably have better traction due to being slightly wider. Your speedo might be slightly more off with 195's too.

 

Thanks for the great info! I would have thought 195 would be closer to the oem size, but am not very knowledgeable about this stuff.

 

A few people run 205/55 and report that the tire will rub only in extreem situations. It does result in a 3.6% difference, but it also provides more tire height resulting in a more comfortable ride. I would assume tire life would be better. I may do this when the time comes, or perhaps the 195/55.

Granted the 205/50 provides more tire choices than stock, but I hate the idea of having a less diameter tire. The Fit is low enough already...

 

Of note, the 205/50 is a taller tire than stock. It has a diameter of 24.1" while the stock 185/55 is 24". while .05" isn't much of a lift... it's better than stock and likely you won't have the rubbing issues but still have better performance than 195's.

Remember the speedo/odo being off means your WARRANTY is off. by the same amount. Sometimes in your favor, sometimes not. the 205/50 will be slightly in your favor for warrranty and the closest to stock/highest performer that likely won't rub.

~SB

 

For what it's worth, the recommended tire size for the Mugen wheels on the Fit is indeed 205/50R16 (Honda Fit Alloy Wheels - Genuine 2009-2010 Honda Fit Alloy Wheels)

The Mugen wheel is 6.5" wide (compared to 6" for the stock alloys) though.

 

I would not recommend wider tires. According to automotive books, these tires will be dangerous as they could slide off the wheel in hard cornering. Do a search on google why it's not recommended to use wrong size tires.
Dunlops are fine. I expect over 40 K out of mine.

 

which books?

I agree on the general, not so much on the specifics.

If we were talking 225, definitely. 215, probably. But 205? Hum... I think that should be within the acceptable size for a 6" rim.

I cite TireRack... Tire Tech Information - Tire Specs Explained: Rim Width Range with the tire in question having a range from 5.5" to 7.5" (listed on TireRack and Michelin Tires, need to click on specs).

But hey, it's a seller site... so I know it isn't the "final word" on the topic... but so far, it's good enough for me.

 

You are correct if you are using the Wrong size but 205 is not the wrong size for a 6" wheel, it is just a different size. The Width of the tread isn't what's important but it's the width of the bead (which is the contact point between the wheel & Tire) which matters. A 205 is designed to be mounted on a wheel width that is between 5.5 & 7.5 as goobers stated. Squeezing a 225 or a 165 width onto a 6" wide wheel would be dangerous and fall in the category of "wrong size" but with 195 & 205, there is no danger.

~SB

 

Ok, sounds convincing... if the information on the acceptable widths for this wheel includes 205s.... It's two sizes above what honda chose to mount on its wheels (185 195 and 205) so it sounded like a bit too much difference. Still, I would not even want to to sacrifice gas mileage with increased rolling resistance and probably increased weight of the wheel.

But, to each their own.

 

How would this affect gas mileage?

Also, before I purchase I just want to make sure that this tire will fit my stock rims?

 

Depending on the tire, going to a 195 or 205 might have a slight affect on mileage. If you select a low rolling resistance and light weight tire( you can get 205's that are only 1 lb more weight wise per tire) then this would not be much of an issue. As far as rather a tire will fit a 5.5 inch rim is determine by the tire manufacture. If it is designed to fit a 5.5 to 7.5 inch rim then it (the tire) will fit a wheel that size.

Of course their is nothing wrong with staying stock size and you do have one dunlop and two bridgestone (well 3 if you count the winter tire) to chose from in the stock 185/55/16 size. Although one of the bridgestones has been unavailable for a while.

 

For some reason I thought I saw that the warranty on the Pilot Exalto A/S were 75k but it's actually 45k. That's semi expensive for that rating, isn't it? I looked up the Potenza G 019 Grid which have a better life span but am wondering if they will wear our quicker? The other thing is that they are on back order for 7 weeks according to Tire rack... Inspection runs out this month.

 

Given that you live in Maine, the Continentals listed above (in a different size) won overall in Tire Rack's snow test for selected all-season tires. See report here. Because they are higher-performance tires ("W"-rated), they may not wear as long as "sedan"-oriented tires. The treadlife warranty is 6 yrs/50k miles.

 

If I go with the Michlen Pilot Exaltos, with this affect my speedo that much? I was hoping the tread life would have been better but I guess you can't ask for much with this size tire.

 

While it would affect the speedo... the affect is minimal.

Using Committobefit08's numbers from TireRack, you'd get 64.73 mph when the speedo indicates 65, if you switch to 205/55/16.

I don't think it's enough to worry.

 

I find the Miata site helpful in determining relative tire size: www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

The 205s will effect mileage negatively and be heavier than a slimmer tire. They aren't as good in the snow. That's it. 205s on 6" wide wheels are fine. As was mentioned, we are not talking about 225s or something.

 

How would it effect gas mileage? I don't understand how that could change anything?

 

more contact patch = more friction = more rolling resistance. even though it handles better, there is slightly more friction, which will decrease gas mileage. take your pick.