Adriatic99ls

I am currently running on Michelin XGT V4s 195/55-15. I want to stay with the stock rims on my 99ls. Can the stock rims run 16s? I don't want to buy new wheels yet just tires.

I am looking at Falken Ziex 512 205/50-15 or the Michelin Pilot XGT V4s.

Any feedback on those and others I may consider. Thanks.

tyipengr

I replaced my stock Michelin XGT V4 195/55/15 with 205/50/15 Dunlop SP Sport 5000s. The tread looks kinda funky but other than that I would have to say I am happy with the tire. The treadwear is pretty damned good for a Z-rated tire imho. I got them at 28,000 miles, thats when the stockers went pretty much bald, and I am currently at 73,000 miles. The Dunlops look like they have another 10,000 miles before they have to go, I'm for sure on my last rotation.

They probably would last longer but I got a flat at 62,000 miles and that kinda wore down part of that tire and the wear on that one is going faster than the others. I probably drove on that tire for half a day (on the highway) before I noticed it was flat and it still didn't shred.

This tire lets the car handle much better than the stockers but that's not saying much. I don't understand why Honda chose a tire with horrible traction (dude, wet traction was absoultely horrible) and crap assed tread-life.

Oh, and I pretty much have counted out Michelins because the stock were so bad and I've only had bad experience with them. They also cost significantly more than much better tires out there. For example, on tirerack.com, those Pilots you are thinking about are $131 each and they have a 300 A A rating. 'A' traction doesn't cut it for me.

This time around I might go for the Bridgestone Potenza RE750s in the same size. They have the same 340 AA A ratings as the Dunlops I had but they are cheaper and the tread looks pretty cool. They looks kick ass on my buddy's GTI but he has 17-inch rims so I don't know how well it will go for me.

Tobra

do you need all season tires?, Where do you live? I thinkthe yokohama AVS intermediate is the best performance tire for the money in the 205-50-15 size, but it is a summer tire

rslsgsr

soooooo by getting 205/55/15 tires will look better than 195/55/15?

MrFatbooty

Answer these questions and we can give a good recommendation:

Are you going to be driving these tires in the snow?

Do you want the absolute ultimate grip or do you want to sacrifice a little traction for longer life and less noise/ride harshness?

How much do you want to spend?
Unfortunately the AVSi has been discontinued. The AVS ES100 replaced it.
I dunno about look better but the tread is a little wider than stock and the sidewall is a little thinner than stock.

Adriatic99ls

Not going for the look. Just want a wider stock size tire.



1. Only drive in the snow the day after or couple days after a snow storm. I snow board a lot.

2. Sacrifice slight traction for longer tread life. Mainly an all season tire that last a little longer than normal performance tires and can still handle the twisties when I encounter some.

3. Approx. ~$400-500 (including tax, install, everything).

I live in SoCal. I am thinking about the Falken Ziex 512 205/55-15. My buddy said he can get them for me @ ~$65-75/each. It is a fairly new tire according to www.1010tires.com. Are the tires as good as the reviews sound. Thanks for the feedback guys!

randomtask77

Wouldn't 205/50/15 be closer to your stock tire size, in overall diameter anyways. Plus that size is cheaper (I think it's about 60/tire).

Spec R

400-500 bucks is a pretty good budget.

205-50-15 should be a good size if u want a little wider than stock. You dont want a 205-55-15 or a 195-65-15 because those will make your rim/tire look like a balloon, as well as decrease response among other things.

For your budget/needs, the Yokohama AVS ES100's will be a good choice.

Since you care about driving in the snow and actual tire wear, I wont recommend my favorite tire (potenza s-03), or the Kumho Ecsta MX.

Adriatic99ls

My stocks are Michelin XGT V4s at 195/55-15. The only change is 205 so that I can have a wider tire.

randomtask77

You have to understand that when you have a wider tire that the 55 means 55% of 205, which equates to a bigger sidewall. Not only would this throw off your speedo due to the bigger overall diameter of the tire, but this would not give you the responsive handling you'd get from a smaller sidewall tire.

I have the Ziex 512's in 205/50/15's and I love them. They're my daily driven tires. They aren't racing or drag tires or anything, but for the money, they perform better than your average passenger tire.