• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Yet Another Tire Size Question

L

Luke_Miller

CEG'er
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
Messages
60
Location
Florida
I'm confused on the tire size for a 99 SVT.

According to TireRack the standard is 215/50. However Discount Tire Direct says 205/55 is standard with 205/50 and 215/50 being options.

In the thread "Tire Sizes" from 5/14 SVTC1136 wrote "215/50/16 is the stock size" while Jim Johnson wrote that the "original [was] 205/55ZR16".

Which is the "standard" or did it vary? Will any of those three sizes work and if so is one "better" than the other.

I'm looking at some Kumho Ecsta ASX. The 215/50 are $86 and the 205/55 and 205/50 are approx $68. BTW. There is $40 rebate from Kumho till June 2 if you purchase 4.

Thanks for your help.
 
I have the Kumho Ecsta ASX, 225/50/16's on mine. They seem to rub a bit on my car, but nobody else seems to have this problem. I just bought mine about a month ago, and I love them so far. They're awesome in the rain, practically no hydroplaning whatsoever. I also got them for dirt cheap at $58 a tire :) I bought them from tirerack.com. A week after I got them they went up to $65 a tire!

215/50 is the standard size for our cars though. 205/55 is an option, but a little narrower.
 
Found this neat little guide to tire sizes.

http://www.tiredefects.com/tire-markings.cfm

So long as your tire size is 2xx/50 R16, your good. The first set of numbers is telling you the WIDTH of the tire. More width, more contact to the ground, more traction.

BiggityBon said:
I have the Kumho Ecsta ASX, 225/50/16's on mine. They seem to rub a bit on my car, but nobody else seems to have this problem.
Click to expand...


225/50 R16!!?? you've got some FAT tires! :laugh:

IIRC correctly, when you increase your wheel size (16" to 17" rims) you have to take 5 off of the 2nd set of numbers. i.e 215/50R16 to 215/45R17. Otherwise you are increasing the overall height of the tire and your speedo and whatnot will be off-spec.

hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
Luke_Miller said:
I'm confused on the tire size for a 99 SVT.

According to TireRack the standard is 215/50. However Discount Tire Direct says 205/55 is standard with 205/50 and 215/50 being options.

In the thread "Tire Sizes" from 5/14 SVTC1136 wrote "215/50/16 is the stock size" while Jim Johnson wrote that the "original [was] 205/55ZR16".

Which is the "standard" or did it vary? Will any of those three sizes work and if so is one "better" than the other.

I'm looking at some Kumho Ecsta ASX. The 215/50 are $86 and the 205/55 and 205/50 are approx $68. BTW. There is $40 rebate from Kumho till June 2 if you purchase 4.

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

When the SVT was introduced, the stock size was 205/55ZR16. The E0 (early 98) used Goodyear GSC and the E1 (late 98 used Goodyear F1. Starting in 99, the stock tire was 215/50ZR16, using BFG KDW.

As you can see, it depends on which year you are asking about. 225/50ZR16 works wonderfully on my 98 E0.
 
BigheadVelaSVT said:
So long as your tire size is 2xx/50 R16
Click to expand...

how accurate is this information?

I ask because I might be able to get a good deal on some 205/50-16, which I would like to put on my '99 SVT (currently fitted with 215/50-16). I am mostly concerned with the Safety/functionality.

Is there enough rubber to go around?

Thanks :D
 
The diameter is a little smaller. That will effect the speedometer slightly. It will also cause a slight loss in ground clearance.

I wouldn't do it, but it is not a horrible choice.
 
so as a "rule of thumb" on could say that you can put a tire that is +/- 10mm width (first #) on any given rim?

As in, if put on the rim there should be no problem, however you should look out for rubbing once the rim is on the car?
 
A general rule of thumb is that you can put a tire up 2 sizes larger than stock on a car. obviously this doesnt work on all cars, for example later SVTs came with 215s but putting a 235 on the car is not recommended since it is very likely to rub.

as for the tires on a given rim width, its all dependent on the sidewall height. obviously a smaller sidewall, like a 35 series, tire wont stretch to fit a wider rim like a larger sidewall, say a 45 or 50 series. also, different tires stretch differently and as such there really is no hard and fast rule, you just have to look at what is specified for each tire.
 
BigheadVelaSVT said:
So long as your tire size is 2xx/50 R16, your good. The first set of numbers is telling you the WIDTH of the tire. More width, more contact to the ground, more traction.
Click to expand...

To a certain extent. 50-series sidewalls will be taller on a 225 than they are on, say, a 195, as the sidewall height is always a percentage of the tread width. It's not a consistent number, it varies with the changes in the tread width.
 
Luke_Miller said:
I'm looking at some Kumho Ecsta ASX. The 215/50 are $86 and the 205/55 and 205/50 are approx $68. BTW. There is $40 rebate from Kumho till June 2 if you purchase 4.
Click to expand...


I am currently running Goodyear Eagle F1 DS-G3, also on a 99 SVT with stock wheels, size 205/50-16.

There is a great calculator at http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html.

The calculator shows that the diameter for the stock 215/50-16 is 24.5" and the diameter for the 205/50-16 is 24.1". That is a .4 inch difference.

Revolutions per mile for the stock tire is 824 while the smaller 205 will give you 838 revs/mile. That works out to a 1.7% difference.

Although the difference in feel is subtle, the slightly smaller diameter can be felt under acceleration. The speedo is off slightly too. There is also noticeably more space between the tire and fender lip if you are into looks.

The DS-G3's have incredible grip and I drive just about has hard as I want in the rain. Yea, I drive really hard. The performance of this tire and the fact that they were on clearance for $49 each made the tradoff in slightly smaller size worth it for me.

I can't say anything about the ASX's as I have never driven on them. $344 for a set of good performance tires is not all that much. I have a friend who just spent $1300 for a set of tires for a G35. Is it worth going to the smaller size to save $68? That is for you to decide.

I can tell you that I am ready to go from the 205's up to 225's and will spend $160 each for the Goodyears. To me, and for the way I drive, it is worth it.

My opinion is that if you drive at all hard, the extra money is worth it. Tires are the #1 improvement you can make to a car IMO.


-Tim-
 
I'm still loving my 225/50/16 tires. It didnt totally fix my speedo reading faster but it cut the difference in half which is good enough for me.
 
I'm currently running some Ecsta ASX's, and I think they are WAY too mushy and soft. I had some Ecsta 711's before that, and they were nice. I think the AST's are probably a much nicer-performing tire than the ASX's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top