Stick with 195, or move to 205?

[blisteringft]

This summer I'm getting new shoes for my 2003 P5 - still has the OEM Dunlop SP 5000m on all 4 wheels.

Wondering if I should stick with the stock size, 195/50 16, or if I should move to 205/50 16. Moving to 205/50 will reduce the accuracy of my speedo a hair, I know, but it also gives a TON of tire choices. Sticking with 195/50 pretty much only allows me a high performance tire - which is fine but a little quieter and less jarring ride would be nice.

I guess here's what I'm wondering:

1) Is there really much of a difference in snow between a 205 and 195 - assuming same tire characteristics?
2) Is a wider tire any more or less noisy - assuming the same tire characteristics - than a narrower one?

I realize the OEM 5000m is crap in the snow and almost any all season tire will be better. But I'm concerned that moving to 205 width would make traction worse, even with a tire that has better tread. A little quieter and smoother ride would be nice. I'm not looking to give up much performance for this, but it seems like there are choices in 205/50 that are less agressive than the choices in 195/50.

Thanks for the help.

[goldstar]

This summer I'm getting new shoes for my 2003 P5 - still has the OEM Dunlop SP 5000m on all 4 wheels.
I guess here's what I'm wondering:

1) Is there really much of a difference in snow between a 205 and 195 - assuming same tire characteristics?
2) Is a wider tire any more or less noisy - assuming the same tire characteristics - than a narrower one?

I don't know how much of a difference there would be between a 195 and a 205 tire in the snow given the same tread pattern but, in general, the narrower tread gives more traction in snow. Tire noise is more a function of tread design and tire compound than width.

I realize the OEM 5000m is crap in the snow and almost any all season tire will be better. But I'm concerned that moving to 205 width would make traction worse, even with a tire that has better tread. A little quieter and smoother ride would be nice. I'm not looking to give up much performance for this, but it seems like there are choices in 205/50 that are less agressive than the choices in 195/50.Thanks for the help.

I'm not sure what you're asking here. Why are you concerned that moving to a 205 tire would make traction worse? If you're referring to traction in the snow, it probably would be worse as already stated. If this is your primary concern, stay with the 195 tire. If you asking about non-snow conditions, the wider tire would improve handling, including traction. You then say that you want a quieter and smoother ride than stock but you're not willing to give up much performance. My recommendation: Choose a 205 tire for better handling over stock but stay away from summer only performance tires in favor of all season passenger tires for that quieter and smoother ride. And you're correct, there are many more tire choices in 205 as opposed to 195 tread widths.

Happy Motoring!

[95ProLeila]

Could you fill out your location please?

If you live somewhere with a lot of snow, I'd hesitate to use the same tires all year round. Wet/Dry traction should improve with the 205 all other things being equal, snow performance might be marginally less, if you notice a difference. If you're looking for well-priced all seasons that still perform well, I would personally recommend Falked ZE-512s, I get mine from vulcantire.com. If you haven't already, use the tire calculator over at miata.net to figure out your exact speedo correction, it's very useful.

[gar777]

you should go to 205/50R16s. the 10mm increase in section width won't make much, if any, difference in your contact patch or snow traction and you'll be rewarded by a greater selection in tires, prices, snow traction, etc. Mazda chose a weird size for our cars. if snow performance is important, though, you should consider dedicated snows. with those, your car would be almost as good as AWD. Usually, come spring, you can find some very cheap used snows.

[firelizard]

Stretch it a bit: go with 175
Just kidding. 205s would be a good upgrade.

[95ProLeila]

you should go to 205/50R16s. the 10mm increase in section width won't make much, if any, difference in your contact patch or snow traction and you'll be rewarded by a greater selection in tires, prices, snow traction, etc. Mazda chose a weird size for our cars. if snow performance is important, though, you should consider dedicated snows. with those, your car would be almost as good as AWD. Usually, come spring, you can find some very cheap used snows.

???

Narrower tires do better in snow, although in this case it wouldn't be a huge difference.

[gar777]

???

Narrower tires do better in snow, although in this case it wouldn't be a huge difference.

sorry that was unclear. what I meant was that you could consider a greater range of tires (at the 205/50 size) and therefore seek out one with a better rating for rain/snow traction. if you go on The Tire Rack site, for example, they rate tires in dry, wet and snow. The more tires, the more possible ratings you might find. My guess is that you could find a 205/50 with a better snow rating than some of the 195/50s and the 205 would, in fact, perform equally or better than the 195 in the snow, despite the 10mm wide section width. Size is just one of many factors that affects snow performance.

[95ProLeila]

sorry that was unclear. what I meant was that you could consider a greater range of tires (at the 205/50 size) and therefore seek out one with a better rating for rain/snow traction. if you go on The Tire Rack site, for example, they rate tires in dry, wet and snow. The more tires, the more possible ratings you might find. My guess is that you could find a 205/50 with a better snow rating than some of the 195/50s and the 205 would, in fact, perform equally or better than the 195 in the snow, despite the 10mm wide section width. Size is just one of many factors that affects snow performance.

okay, that makes perfect sense, first post was just kind of unclear. 195 is a funky size, for dedicated snows though I'd probably look into 185, 195, and 205, just to see what the options are.