Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Which tires are suitable for my car?

95 Contour GL, V6, ATX.
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I'm considering replace front tires.

From tires database, it is said my car
need P195/65R14. But in Wal-Mart, only
one this type(Douglas), more available
are P195/60R14.
What is the difference between 65&60?
which one is better and more suitable
for my car?

BTW: Do any people know information to
buy cheaper tires through internet
or local stores?

Thanks a lot.

This really isn't Problem forum material - should've been posted in Wheels & Tires

Anyway, the way I understand it tire size is broken down this way: 195 is your width (in millimeters, I think)/60 is your sidewall height (it is a percentage of width)/14 is your wheel diameter.

I'm also on the prowl for tires. Let me break down my search for you a little and maybe it'll help you understand better.

My car calls for 205/60/15. However, I'm thinking of upsizing just a little and trying for a 215 width. Now, the dilemma(sp?) is do I find a shorter sidewall while I'm at it. A 205/60 sidewall would measure 123 mm; a 215/60 would measure 129 mm.

Doesn't sound like much, but on smaller wheels (14 & 15 inch) I think that would be more noticeable and throw off the profile of the car. With that in mind, I have decided to try and hunt down some 215/55/15 tires. That puts me at 118.25 mm sidewall height. A little off, but in the right direction (yes, I know the speedo would be inaccurate). However, I don't know that this size exists since I've had no luck in finding anything yet.

So, with that out of the way, take a look at TireRack for good deals. Keep in mind, though, you'll still have to pay a local shop to mount and balance them.

HTH

The one more suitable for your car is the one the owner's manual tells you to use (195/65). The 195/60 will have a smaller diameter (same width = 195mm).

Don't limit yourself to WalMart, for god's sake. 195/65 should not be difficult to find. Find an NTB (National Tire & Battery), they know what they're talking about and will probably be willing to match a price that you get from TireRack (plus mounting/balancing), or Sears.

You could also fit a 185/70/R14 (which would be narrower), but if you're only replacing 2 tires you probably want them to be the same size as the others....

My 96 GL has the same size as your's I had a bit of difficulty finding brands that made that size. I would suggest doing a search on tire rack adn then looking at local shops to compare and actually look at the tire. I foudn that there weren't really that many in this size out there. I decided on getting yokohama H4s which have worked pretty well but are starting to wear out at about 30k. I know that goodyear and michelen both make tires in this size and I beleive that the michelin x1's were stock. The x1's were pretty nice but were about 10 to 20 dollars more than the yoko's. ANyway I would look online at a couple of different sites to see what is out there. I have heard that tire rack is a pretty good business and if you can find a shop that deals with them locally you will probably get you're best deal. OTherwise look around you'll learn a lot about the tires adn you're car as a result.

I got tired of paying premium prices for Michelin 195/65/R14, and changed at the advice of my Costco tire salesperson to Michelin 205/60/R14s. These tires are the same circumference but wider. Car REALLY handles GREAT with them. Consider this size as well.

Good Luck
Jab

[B][/B]
Anyone thinking of changing their tire size should pay attention to the front coil spring cover recall on Contours and Mystiques. I have the stock tire for my car and the tire barely clears the spring shield. I don't know what effect this would have on changing the tire size. I'd hate to see someone do this and find the damn tire rubs one of the fasteners on the spring shield

My 'tour has a set of douglas on it, and I never could figure out where they came from. Thanks for the info.

I have enjoyed them as a tire... they aren't a great performance tire, don't get me wrong, but they are better than I expected from a private label.

Scott