What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Rough roads and different tyre/wheel sizes - peanutstew

Hi

I'm looking for a new (used) car. Needs to tick several boxes, one of which is that I live in the mountains where the roads are poor quality with loads of rough patches, potholes, etc.

The cars I've short listed have the following spec tyres:

- 205/55 R16.

- 205/60 R16.

- 215/65 R16.

I've been told that the higher the side wall of a tyre, the more it will protect the suspension of the car and save frequent trips to the garage for new drop links, bushes, shocks, etc. I seem to have to have these sorts of things changed a lot at the moment!

With that in mind, how much difference would the above size wheels/tyres make?

Also. is it possible to easily change a car's tyre size, say from 205/55 R16 to 215/65 R16? Or would that be a real pain both practically and when it comes to insurance etc?

Many thanks

Rough roads and different tyre/wheel sizes - Big John

I think where you have road problems is with lower profile tyres than are listed. I have had three cars over 21+ years with 205/55 r16(on purpose!) tyres and they have been great re ride including horrible roads etc. They are also cheaper and last much longer. I've always avoided lower profiles tyres than that. However the higher the tyre profile the better re suspension protection but there is a trade off re handling etc.

Generally the list of compatible tyres/wheels for your car are listed in the manual or on a sticker on the car (eg Skoda inside petrol flap!). Any change from original fitment should be mentioned to your insurance company.

Edited by Big John on 11/11/2024 at 00:27

Rough roads and different tyre/wheel sizes - daveyjp

The second figure is a percentage of the first in terms of percentage of sidewall to tyre width.

55/205 55% of 205mm 113mm deep side wall

60/205 60% of 205mm 123mm deep side wall

65/215 65% 215mm 140mm deep side wall.

Changing profile from say 55 to 60 should be possible, but speedo will be affected as rolling radius changes. Changing width will require new wheels and that can then affect brakes, steering, suspension so generally not advised, unless larger wheels are an option on the vehicle, example I had an Audi with 16 inch wheels as standard, but 17 inch were an option, however tyre profile was reduced so less sidewall!

Rough roads and different tyre/wheel sizes - Engineer Andy

Remember to calculate the actual sidewall height, as daveyjp did, not just look at the percentage figure, because it depends on that and the tyre width equally, given the result is a multiplication of the two.

My former car, a mid 90s Micra, had 175/60 R13 tyres, so 'higher profile' and thus better on the suspension than the other OEM size Micras then had, 155/70 R13? Nope - the former's sidewall height was 105mm, the latter's was 108.5mm high.

In reality, there probably wasn't much of a difference, as the law in the UK states to be legal, any replacement must have a rolling diameter / circumference of OEM within a limit of +1.5 / -2% of the OEM (when the car was new) fitted.

As it was, this law meant, even if I wanted to, I couldn't fit the 'other' OEM tyre other trim levels of my car used, because it was outside of that limit, at least without having the speedo and odometer recalibrated, which probably would cost quite a bit.

On the other hand, my current 2005 Mazda3 was allowed to change from its OEM 205/55 R16 tyres (sidewall 112.75mm high) to 195/65 R15 (sidewall 126.75mm high), because that does fall within the legal limit without any recalibration needed, as was indicated in the car's handbook/door plate.

I'd already driven my then company's pool car, which was a hatch (lower trim) version of mine which did have those tyres and smaller wheels fitted, and I noticed that the ride quality was better but with negligible loss in handling ability (it may make more of a difference for cars that inherently don't have good handling characteristics).

When one of my 16in OEM alloys corroded and caused the tyre to leak, which was also near the time to change tyres anyway, I decided to swap all the tyres and alloys out for the smaller size, still retaining the OEM alloy type (just 15in versions).

Both the 205/55 R16 and 195/65 R15 tyres (about 25% and 35% cheaper respectively) are very common / popular sizes, and thus are cheap in comparison to, say, near ones like the 205/60 (123mm high sidewall) fitted to the latest version of the Mazda3.

The smaller alloys were then (2018) about 40% cheaper than the 16in equivalents, so the cost of replacing everything at the 15in size wasn't much more expensive than replacing 1 alloy at 16in, and having all new 205/55 R16 tyres, because the other size was.

Even so, the OP's 3 tyres aren't of the 'uncommon' type (quite the opposite for the 205/55 R16, the 205/60 [and another similar one, the 215/60] is slowly replacing it as the OEM of choice for new Focus / Golf sized cars of the lower to mid-trim levels, along with some 17in ones).

Best to stick with what the handbook / door panel plate says you can use, as my situation as needing to replace at least one alloy (the others were going the same way and thus made my decision even easier / cost-effective) is not that common.

It's always good to check out on tyre fitters' websites what tyre size combos are common ones, and thus cheaper (for the overall sidewall height) to buy. Sometimes though, some otherwise excellent cars come fitted with unusual OEM tyre sizes, which are more expensive to replace, and where there's not any 'more common' (and thus cheaper) alternatives without (or at all) changing the wheel size or a recalibration.

I'd rather buy an otherwise great car which has that 'flaw' than not, if nothing otherwise comes close.

Rough roads and different tyre/wheel sizes - John F

Further to all the above, the most important thing regarding wheel and tyre integrity is keeping the pressure at or slightly above the recommended psi. A mere 30psi allows for huge deformity of a tyre if it hits the sharp edge of a deep pothole at speed. If any lower it's the same effect as hitting the rim of the wheel with a sledgehammer, especially if it has a low profile tyre. I recently saw an unhappy man on the phone by a stranded Aston Martin (heavy lump of a V12 atop rubber banded alloys), presumably seeking help about a flat tyre on a distorted front wheel rim. (Curiously the recommended front pressure on a DB9 is apparently a mere 36psi - on my Audi W12, approx two Americans heavier, it is 42psi.)