I am close to putting new rubber on my '03 MCS. I would like to consider some non runflat tires and the Firestone Firehawk GA-02 is one of the few available in a 195/55 16 size. With the reviews on the Firestone running either hot or cold, I have thought of trying a 205/55 16 as an option with more available tires. Has anyone tried this? I wonder if it changes the handling. Thanks for any feedback.

 

It seems most people go 205/50/16 when replacing the 195/55's.

 

Have you heard any negatives to this size change? Any particular brands that seem to have the best response?

 

Anyone ever try going with a 215 width on a 16 inch rim? Provided it's 7.00 wide I don't know why it would have any problems (Other than finding the tire). I'd like to get the benefit of weight savings and wider gripping tires (Smaller rims with wider tires). Seems most of the 215 width tires are going on 17 inch rims.

215/45/R16?
215/40/R16?

 

For autocross I used 215/45 R16 tires on the stock 16" v-spokes. With H&R springs and a 22mm rear sway, I didn't have any rubbing.

 

I'm running Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-03 tires size 205/50 R16 on 16" OZ Supperleggera wheels. They are working well for me. They were also on sale when I bought them a few months ago.

 

205/50R16 is done quite often - I have been using that for daily driving in the summer for 3 years now.

Like Dave, for the track and autocross I run 215/45R16 with no rubbing, though I have them on 7.5" wide wheels. Daily driving on 215/45R16 with wide wheels would be pretty annoying, although the tires I'm using aren't designed to be quiet and comfortable.

 

Thanks to all for the feedback. There seems to be many more choices in the 205/50 16 size. I was just looking at the reviews for Kumho ECSTA AST and they are consistently better than the Firestone Firehawk reviews.

 

Just a note: Real world tire width can be different than the labeled tire width and will not fully answer concerns about rubbing. For example, I had a set of Bridgstone Pole position S03s in a 205 width and discovered that they were actually a tad wider than my 215 width Falken Azzinis. When I stacked the two sets next to each other, the Bridgestone stack was taller by an inch or more.

The Bridgstones tended to rub a bit on the wheel arches when bottomed out. Not the end of the world but a bit disconcerting.

 

I am using 225/45-16 Hankook on stock wheels for autocrossing. They seem to work fine.

 

I have on 205/55/16 Yokohama AVS 100's and have no problems with them. I haven't noticed any handling changes. The ride is much smoother compared to the runflats. Since the tires are slightly taller than stock size, standing start accelleration is less crisp than with the smaller tire size. My next tires will be 205/50/16. However, I really like the way the 205/55/16's fill up the wheel wells.

retroom