I currently have a set of Mille Miglia wheels fitted with 205/55R/16 winter tires. I'd like to go with Yoko AVID ENVigor wheels when the weather clears up, but I'm unclear on how tire sizes apply exactly. Will my current wheels be too wide? Will I need to stick with a 205 tire?

 

They should fit fine. Although you may want to go with a 195/55/r16 tire for the winter and go with the wider 205/55/r16 or even a 205/50/r16 tire for the summer months. Better to run skinnier tires in the snow. granted a 195 vs 205 isn't a huge difference in width

 

Thanks for the response! Is there a general margin of sizes that will fit on a given wheel?

I realized after I posted I could always get the envigors in 205/55R/16 just to be safe. I don't anticipate a lot of deep snow around here, more icy conditions and slippery sleet on the road so hopefully the wide tires I have will handle that well. I sort of got stuck with this weird winter wheel/tire pairing due to several screwups by the tire shop while they had my car hostage on the hoist. Long story.

 

DiscountTireDirect.com has a tire calculator under "tools" at the top of their page. You can plug in the size of your current tire and then plug in other sizes to see diameter, circumference, side wall height, width etc. Most importantly it gives a comparison of miles per hour at both sizes. For example "At 65 mph on your current tire you will be at _ _ mph with your new tire". Give it a try. Its fun and you'll be surprised what may fit.

 

Many tires will list a max/min width that will work (unless you want poke/stretch). If you know your rim width...you can look up the rest.
Not sure how wide the rims are you have, but the tire size you mentioned is a stock size for 16' tires on stock rims...if your rims are wider...it might be iffy.

 

It is probably a 7 inch wide wheel. A 195 is the narrowest I'd want to put on there. Also a 195/55/16 is not a very common size. I'd recommend using a 205/50/16. They will fit your MINI just fine & many of us run that size on our MINIs.

 

Thanks for the input. 205/50/16 would mean a lower profile tire with a stiffer sidewall, is that right?

 

Yes a bit shorter & a bit stiffer. My speedometer reads 3 mph fast with them. A lot depends on the tires maker as far as stiffness & size go. Not all 205/50/16 tires are the same size. I don't understand why, but with 205/50/16 Goodyear GSD F1 tires I had no rubbing issues. I replaced them with Goodyear Eagle GT in the same 205/50/16 size & they rub on the rear fender liners when the cars suspension is in compression. Same size, but different, go figure?

Go on Tire Racks site & check the spec's of the tires you are interested in.

 

Your wheels are 16x7" wide, not too wide for 195/55-16

You can certainly use Yokohama AVID ENVigor High Perf All Season tires

195/55-16 fits rims 5.5 to 7" wide, tire diameter 24.4" which is stock sized
205/50-16 fits rims 5.5 to 7.5" wide, tire diameter 24.1"
205/55-16 fits rims 5.5-7.5" wide, tire diameter 24.9" a little tall, 1 lbs more

The 195/55-16 will fit and be cheaper at $92 and be lighter in weight. I will work fine and is V speed rated vs H rated optional for the 205/55-16.

 

Heres a quest that will make most of u .

my 06 R50 has the stock rims and tires (175/65/15)

What is the widest tire i can put on that before i move to a 16"? "I think" that I want a tire in the range of 205/50/15. that should get me a little lower and more meat on the road. Maybe even thin spacers to push the tires out to the finder flares.

 

I have 205/55/15 on my stock 5.5" spoolers. That's the widest and closest to stock height on 5.5" wheels. Its also the closest to original mph. The 205/50/15 throws off the speedo so watch it. It creates more wheel gap and it lowers your car also so watch the chin spoiler on your car. This tire is not used much for street but is popular for racing as it change the gear ratio for quicker acceleration.

 

Exactly what i wanted to hear!
Dont know why I put 16 rather than 15" wheels...

Speed-o is off on my 06 anyway, by like 5 mph.

Does the wider tire push out past the rim too much and does it change cornering to be slashy or is it still as tight?

 

Cornering is very sharp with the 205/55/15 tires. If you want even better handling then get summer extreme high performance tires. Now you're talking. I have all seasons due to my climate and the expense of maintaining two sets of tires. Also all season tires last longer. They are actually very good. Speedo is off on all Mini's by 5%. The 205/50/15's will make it even worse.