WidowMaker

Hey all I found a set of 205/55/16 winter tires at Sam's club... these are 1.2" taller than the stock tires... will they fit without rubbing?
Thanks,
Charles Smith
2002 Pro5

Dima

I donno about rubbing, but what is the brand?

Dima

Plus, even if they don't rub, I think breaks are kinda at risk of running out a little to fast. Because the radius is more then 3%

multipath

Lots of people run tires significantly different in diameter from stock, and I've never heard about the brake thing before. Your speedo will be out, however.

Dima

I think they just never pay a lot of attention to breaks then. Something to do with physics

WidowMaker

Ok, since nobody had any info I decided to be the guinee pig and bought two 205/55/16 tires and had them installed on the factory wheels. I took the wheels home and stuck them on the front of my Pro5.... whatta ya know, they fit! Very clost to the bottom of the strut spring perch but it does fit with no rubbing. I saw in another post that there were questions about a 205 wide tire might not fit on the stock rim.... FALSE it does fit and will work at least on the front of a Pro5 I have not yet tried the 205/55/16s on the rear to see if they will fit but I feel they probably will. I will try to let you guys know if they fit when I get a chance to throw one on the back. The tires I bought are Pacemark Snowtrakker winter tires from Sam's club here in Pittsburgh PA USA I paid $43 US each. www.discounttiredirect.com also has a bunch of 205/55/16 snow tires from $70-$120 US and also has two tires in the better 205/50/16 size (lil smaller and a better fit) for $80 and $106 each... free shipping with all. If I were to do it again, I'd spend the extra cpl bucks and get the Hankook 205/50/16s from www.discounttiredirect.com as they would give me about 1/2" of clearance from the spring perch vs. the 1/4" with the 205/55/16s

Hope I helped some people,
Charles Smith
2002 Black Pro5

BUKOWSKI

Thanks for sharing the details, WidowMaker.

Hmm....

If I have to go as wide as 205s for winter, will I still fit these onto 2000 ES 16 rims?

Fulminatus

Damn, you bought it already..

205 for winter tires? Unless you have a truck, that's probably not a good idea. In fact, the narrower the tire the better for snow. If your tire is too wide, it won't cut throught the snow as well. You will float more, and thus have less traction.
That's why your shoes stomp into snow, and snow shoes stay on top of the snow, the latter has a larger surface area contacting the snow.
2nd thing, if you have ABS, your ABS will be out of whack with tires of significantly larger diameter.

IchBinEinMP5

Just put on my new 15" winter steel wheel and tire set on my P5:

195/60HR-15 Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3 (24.2" OD)

Handling of the P5 changed very little...

Dima

thanks everybody, that was educational enough.

WidowMaker

Fulminatus, thanks for your insight I do know that a wider snow tire is not a good idea, (think snowshoes) but with my limited choices and limited budget... the 205s are a great compromise. The 205s replaced a BALD set of 195s so I will have better traction than without. Not to mention the additional width is only about the thickness of your pinky finger... it should be fine.
Later,
Charles Smith

WidowMaker

Oh, and my Pro5 does npt have ABS but that is a good point for anyone who does. Thanks Fulminatus
Charles Smith

master

you definately can install tires that are bigger in diameter but only if you install all 4 tires. if the front vs rear tires are different, the ABS will go out of wack as it will think one set of wheels is slipping.