I have a question about the tire size. On my stock 97-99 5 spoke rims. Should I use the 205/60 R16 size instead of the OEM 215/55 R16? The 215's cost a lil more than 205/60 R16. It adds up when buying 4 tires. What affects comfort and handling again? (sorry, search function not working and read the FAQ's)
Why is it cheaper when the tirewall ratio goes above 55? 215/60's are 48 while 215/55 are 65. What does the tirewall ratio affect? Can anybody fill me in? Thanks.
Why is it cheaper when the tirewall ratio goes above 55? 215/60's are 48 while 215/55 are 65. What does the tirewall ratio affect? Can anybody fill me in? Thanks.
Senior Member
i would go with the 215/55/16. i dont know what the price difference is for the tires you are looking at but here are pretty good prices for 215/55/16's http://www.edgeracing.com/product/ti...55&diameter=16
You could do it, and your speedo shouldn't be off too much by the slightly taller tire if it's a 205/60. We have a link to a tire size thingy on miata.net or something in one of the sticky posts, I think.
Generally the higher ratio the sidewall, the more sidewall you have to "flex" and cushion the ride, improving ride comfort as well as degrading performance and road feel. You also are going to a narrower tread, which will reduce the amount of rubber on the road, which generally further degrades performance-- although granted 10mm isn't very much.
The greatest reason for increased comfort and decreased performance is because tires with higher aspect ratios usually are passenger touring tires further oriented with harder tread compounds and less aggressive tread patterns, while performance tires have lower aspect ratios with stickier, softer tread compounds, stiffer sidewalls (for better road feel) and more aggressive tread patterns.
Since tires generally starting with a 60-series or 65-series sidewall use less aggressive compounds and whatnot, and lots more vehicles use such tires, they are cheaper to make due.
I would not go to a 215/60/16 as your speedo and odometer would then be 3.3% too slow/low, which is a pretty large margin of error to adjust to. A 205/60/16 is only 1.5% too slow, which is easier to adjust to and shouldn't hurt acceleration as much...
Generally the higher ratio the sidewall, the more sidewall you have to "flex" and cushion the ride, improving ride comfort as well as degrading performance and road feel. You also are going to a narrower tread, which will reduce the amount of rubber on the road, which generally further degrades performance-- although granted 10mm isn't very much.
The greatest reason for increased comfort and decreased performance is because tires with higher aspect ratios usually are passenger touring tires further oriented with harder tread compounds and less aggressive tread patterns, while performance tires have lower aspect ratios with stickier, softer tread compounds, stiffer sidewalls (for better road feel) and more aggressive tread patterns.
Since tires generally starting with a 60-series or 65-series sidewall use less aggressive compounds and whatnot, and lots more vehicles use such tires, they are cheaper to make due.
I would not go to a 215/60/16 as your speedo and odometer would then be 3.3% too slow/low, which is a pretty large margin of error to adjust to. A 205/60/16 is only 1.5% too slow, which is easier to adjust to and shouldn't hurt acceleration as much...