My OEM 185/60/15 Firestones are nearing the end of their life, so I'm shopping around for different tires.

I happened across a set of used OZ Racing rims shod with General G-Max AS-03 195/50/15 tires that are supposedly near new. I'm going to see the set tomorrow nite.

I know I could get the rims and just upgrade to whatever size tire I want. But I'm wondering about the pros and cons of going to a smaller tire than stock: ride quality, handling, fuel economy, tread life, etc.

The tire calculators say I'm getting a 1" smaller tire and a 4.5% speedo difference.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

I ran 195/55 r15's Yokohama winter tires this past winter season and no complaints. They were smaller in diameter than the stock 15in and my front lip would hit certain bumps so I had to watch out for bumps. Next season I already got my 195/65's winter set: rolling on that higher ground clearance like a boss!

If you enjoy the lower ground clearance, then go ahead for the 195/50's.

 

Good point. I had a '96 Civic where I really had to watch the overhang on the front bumper. Most times I'd remember, but sometimes I'd forget and pull too close to a parking block - and scrape the underside of the bumper on the top of the block. Thanks!

 

unless ur car is lowered it is going to look odd.

 

Stock suspension. I suppose if I don't like the look, I can always swap out to the regular size tire and sell the g-max's. Thanks for pointing that out!

 

sure np. GL with the purchase.

 

The OZ's fell through. So now I have a question in the opposite direction.

Is there any problem with running 185/55/16's on my LX? I know the EX runs this size, so I'm thinking it wouldn't be a problem, and the tire calculators say quarter-inch size difference / 1.2% speedo difference from my LX's 185/60/15's.

Reason I ask - I found a set of 4 OEM Fit Sport alloys with Sumitomo tires that I'm going to look at tomorrow. I'm guessing they're GE and not GK because of the way they look, plus they have the TPMS sensors built in, which GK doesn't need, as it runs TPMS indirectly off ABS.

Thanks again!

 

should work without issue. you can ignore the tpms transmitters inside and next time u get the tire mounted, just tell the tire store to use standard rubber valve stems. GL

 

Yep, my thoughts exactly. Thanks!

 

I wound up getting the bigger 16" wheels for my LX to replace the standard 15's. The new wheel set was the OEM from a 2009 Fit Sport. Tires are 185/55/16 Sumitomo HTR's in nice shape, just a little wear. A little curb rash on the rim faces. Missing the center caps, but I can replace those. $300 took everything home.

 

cool, those GE wheels were good looking.

 

I've been driving around on the Sumitomo HTRs for a little while now, in wet and dry conditions. Enough to form an opinion.

Really makes me realize just how awful the stock Firestones were in comparison. Noisy and very little grip around turns, especially in the wet. I found myself constantly slowing down to avoid tire squeal, certainly more than I would like.

It's not an apples to oranges comparison, as I'm going from 15" steelies to 16" alloys. Tires are lower profile/stiffer sidewall, but the Sumis have all kinds of grip, wet and dry, and they are super quiet. I should have done this right from the start.

 

Most people don't think about tires except for how long they can get by before buying new ones. And for them, it won't make too much difference unless they have a chance to avoid a crash. But really, isn't that a good enough reason to pay a bit more for extra grip?

 

I had sumi htr's long time ago and for the price they were actually pretty decent for dd considering same company as dunlop, not surprised. dunlop has some good tires.

 

..but den same company as falkens which are near junkook level.

 

I got some clearance Falken Azenis a few years ago for a different car, but they only had the right size for the rears. The company made a mistake and sent two sets, but they lasted less than 1500 miles each, with no burnouts or other hooliganism. Downright scary if there was so much as a light drizzle.


Went back to Yokohama S Drives after that, which averaged 10k miles for the rears, 20k for the fronts. At the time, I was thrilled to have tires last so long, but I was coming from bikes that got 5k for the front and 3k for the rear.

 

wow s-drives are like from back in the day when htr's were released.

cars these days mostly use asymmetrical tires

 

I think directional symmetric tires are probably better for water dispersion, and living around Seattle I always look at wet performance as the tiebreaker. Maybe not a coincidence that I've never intentionally bought asymmetrical tires- when I was buying S Drives they tested best in the rain, and now I've switched to BFG Sport Comp2, primarily because they tested better in the rain than the S Drives.


Mind you, I'm not trying to claim some kind of expert level knowledge of tires. I don't go to the track, and I don't wear them out quick enough to try a lot of different models. Basically I just read the Tire Rack comparison tests and consider the local climate.

 

watever works for u.