I have a 01 Max-AE with OEM tires ( 225/50R17)...I bought some winter tires and put them on steel rims (205/60R16)...is this a safe size to go with? overall the radius/circumference is almost the same...but the width is slightly more...is this size okay?

 

Those tires are pretty skinny. What's the load rating on those tires? I would have gone w/ something like 225/55/16 instead of 205s

 

They are slightly skinnier and would do very well in snow as there would be more pressure between the tire and road.
I guess at the time of buying, they didnt have many options on 225s...so thats why i went with 205s...

 

I responded to your thread in the 5th gen forum but I'll respond to this one as well. I put 205/60-16's on my 2K2 (stock size is 225/50-17) for winter and have used them for 2 seasons now with no problems.

The load rating on this tire is 92 versus the load rating on the stock RE92s of 93. Yes, it is slightly lower and it is generally advised not to do that, but I decided it would be safe for a couple of reasons. First off, the load rating on the stock tires is designed to handle the car's weight with a full load of passengers and trunk. So as long as you don't plan on pushing the limits of the vehicle weight rating, the 92 rating should do fine. The other thing is that the 2K2 GXE comes stock with, I believe, tires with a load rating of 91. Since this is okay, I see no reason why a load rating of 92 would not be okay for my SE (the weight difference between the two models is pretty minimal). I posted a thread on this before I put the tires on, and nobody that responded seemed to think the 205/60-16s would be a problem and as I said, I have now been running them for 2 winters. I would recommend that you put in slightly higher tire pressure than the factory recommended tire pressure to account for the difference in load rating.

 

You'll be fine with those tires. The difference in load rating is minimal as the other posters have suggested. The smaller width will give you much better traction in the snow.

Overinflating the tires may reduce your traction in the snow as the tire will not be as able to change shape to maintain contact with the road surface. Off-road vehicles lower their tire pressure for sand and loose soil to gain traction. Obviously you can play with your tire pressure until you find something you're comfortable with. Maybe 30-32 psi?

CM.