Are higher profile tires OK?

[Dino]

It's time for new tires on my 2005 Vibe. Has anyone put 205-60-R16's or 215-60-R16's on your Vibe? If so how well did they fit in the well? Any space issues? Any noticeable change in the ride? I live in Louisiana where the roads are terrible. I am hoping that with a little extra sidewall and increasing the diameter of the tire, there will be less chance of tire damage from the cracks, uneven pavement, and holes in the roads. In addition, I am hoping for a softer, quite, more civilized ride. I have no need to take a 30 mph curve at 60 mph. Also, due to the slight change in the footprint, I hope to get better handling on wet roads. The old tires have always been terrible on wet roads. The tire weight for the Avid H4S is the same for both the original size 205-55-16, and the 215-60-16. I am aware that this is an increase of 5% in circumference and the speedometer indication may be off by that amount, but I don't see that as a problem since I can simply drive 5% slower.

[Raven]

The ride quality will not improve much. You will notice a decrease in power. According to all tire sites, you should not increase the diameter more than 3%. I live in Quebec with some of the roughest roads in North America, so I know what you are talking about. I'd stick to the stock tire size.Your stock tires were Continental or Goodyear RSA which are both known to be terrible in the rain. Get a good set of tires and the bumps will feel smoother.

[BlueCrush]

I had 215/60/16's earlier this year when I still had my oem alloys and they were pretty rough. If you go to a profile of 60 the sidewalls are built to be stiffer and your ride quality will actually go down. The 205/55/16's I have now are smoother. I would go no higher than a 55 profile. My next set will be 215/55/16.

[djb383]

We have 225/50/16 Goodyear TripleTreds, which are virtually identical to stock diameter. Excellent wet/dry traction, comfortable ride and quiet. 18K miles now and look new. Like Sunny says, a taller tire places more load on the engine/drive train.

[Dino]

Blue Crush, from your reply I take it there was no problem with clearance, or rubbing? Could you tell any difference in ride? What brand and make of tire are the 215/60/16's that you went with? From everything I have read on the Internet, they say the shorter sidewalls are always stiffer than the taller one's in a given tire line. Thanks.

[coldmm803]

i had 215/55/16's on for a lil while as i wanted something wider than the stock ones. this size does make the side wall a lil bigger, i didnt notice any difference in the ride. as you seemed aware this will affect the speedo a slight bit but its actually for the better, based on gps it seems that the vibe speeds read 2ish mph fast (when the speedo says 70 its actually 68). going to the 215/55's it read 70 when i was really doing 70...BUT the mileage was off (i dont remember by how much at the moment but i have a thread about my tires and it should say in there, tires listed in sig). i tried to see if my dealer could adjust for the new tire size and they said no and said i had to change back to the original tire size or they would void my warranty and that it is illegal for the mileage to be off.anyways, i've had no issues with my michelins in ANY weather and dont compare to the stock conti.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by Dino »Blue Crush, from your reply I take it there was no problem with clearance, or rubbing? Could you tell any difference in ride? What brand and make of tire are the 215/60/16's that you went with? From everything I have read on the Internet, they say the shorter sidewalls are always stiffer than the taller one's in a given tire line. Thanks.No problems with rubbing at all, and I'm lowered 1". The ride was much rougher than the stock tires. The tires I had bought for only $90 for the set of 4 on my local Craigslist were Firestone Affinity LH22. Not my first choice at the time, but the price was right. The ones I had were stiffer than stock.

[cmhj2000]

Am running 205/60-16 on an 05 base. No issues with clearance.

[Dino]

Thanks for the info everyone.

[vibebob]

I had the stock 205 55 R16's and upgraded to 215 50 R 17's and love it. I have noticed a slight decrease in road noise, they ride great.