15" wheels on an 02' ES
 

I really want to replace my 16" wheels on my 02' protege ES with 15" wheels for a better selection of tires. The stock tire size is 195/50/16 i believe. I found a five bolt wheel that I really like and some tires I want. They don't make a 195/50/15 in this size, but they do make a 195/55/15. Will this be ok to mount on the ES model? Thanks for any help you can give.

Aaron

Check out these sites to see if the wheel and tire you want are going to be compatible:

http://www.dsm.org/tools/tiresize.htm
http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

Mazda uses weird (high) offsets for their wheels compared to other manufacturers. If you go too far off the stock offset you might run into problems with rubbing. The tire size is important because if you are too far off the stock circumference your speedometer will be off. I hope this helps you with your decision.

Just so you know, I am running Toyo Proxes 4 in the stock size on my stock '03 wheels and I love them.

You'll also find a better selection if you go to a 205/40 or 205/45 even. As soon as
those awful stock Dunlops wore out (didn't take very long!) I switched to 205 width.
Forget about the 195/50, don't need it.