What's the best size snow tire vs. my factory 17"?

[Vibe o rater]

I currently have factory 215/50-17's on my Vibe (non-GT), should I stay with 17's or go to 16's or 15's? 195/65-15's would save me a bundle of cash, about 1/2 the price of 17's. Any difference in performance in the snow between the 3 sizes?I've also heard going to a different size rim would interfere with ABS operation. Anyone have any experience/knowledge on this?

[Robert G]

I'm no expert, but my take on it is this: The lower the profile of the snow tire, the worse it is in the snow. You want larger profile, narrower tires, so I suggest you go with the 16". As to the other question, as long as the wheel and tire height (and thus circumference) together isn't different from the wheel and tire height of the stock tires, I don't believe it should affect the ABS. So, you should get the snow tires from a place that can make sure that you are getting the correct size tires to go with the wheels and the Vibe. I got my snow tires from Tirerack and am really pleased with their service.Another advantage of 16" wheels is this. I have 17" tires for one of my cars. The first winter, I hit a pothole and it took out the front and rear tires and wheels. It might have been better if I had 16" wheels.

[MadBill]

Re diameters, as long as front and rear are the same size, and within 2 -3 percent of stock, there will be no ABS issues. Here's a site which will calculate diameters/errors for any tire size change:http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[AKLGT]

i will find what tire size i am running, but it's not that. the factory 17's have a different diameter than the stock 16's. when we compared the tire sizes for the stock 16's there was a pretty big difference.

[AKLGT]

did he get the factory 17's? or did he get the 16's and then put the 17's on? the 17's were an option for BOTH base and GT models.

[AKLGT]

ok found it! here's what i said in winter tire recommendation thread:Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »depends on what rims you are going from... 16" or 17"?i have 17" OEM rims and tires and went with 15" steelies and 205/65/15 studded Hancook snow tires. the 60 was not close enough in diameter.also see this similar thread: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=6398

[Vibe o rater]

trdvibe, this is what you said earlier in your link.........................."the 195/65/15 didn't even come close to fitting! they may work w/ 16's but not the 17's." Now I'm confused??? Are you saying the 195/65-15's do not fit a Vibe that has stock 17"? Looks like everyone was recommending the 195/65-15's as the way to go whether you have stock 17's or 16's.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alaska and Hawaii Regional Moderator

[Vibe o rater]

what?????????? Any idiot knows that 15" tires won't fit on a 17" rim. That's what we have been talking about, getting new rims and snow tires to replace the stock 17". The question is do I get the 15's or 16's? Will both fit properly? Is one better in traction due to the profile of the tires?, etc.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Vibe o rater »trdvibe, this is what you said earlier in your link.........................."the 195/65/15 didn't even come close to fitting! they may work w/ 16's but not the 17's." Now I'm confused??? Are you saying the 195/65-15's do not fit a Vibe that has stock 17"? Looks like everyone was recommending the 195/65-15's as the way to go whether you have stock 17's or 16's.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alaska and Hawaii Regional Moderator yes, the 195/65-15's DID NOT fit or come close to the diameter size of the stock 17's. they will work ONLY if you have the stock 16's.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »NO NO NO.... I am idiot remember.... yes, rob, you are.

[Vibe o rater]

Maybe, I'm the idiot (by the way, no offense to anyone, I was just joking!). If you check the tire size comparison, the diameter of 215/50-17 are 25.5in. and the 195/65-15 are 25.0" That's a 2% difference. Is that too much??? I had read somewhere that as long as you stayed within 2-3% you were fine. Am I missing something?

[ragingfish]

I was under the impression you should stay under 1%, but I can't swear to that...at least in terms of functionality of vehicle control systems (mainly, ABS).In terms of your speedo, if you were to downgrade to 195/65/15, your speedo would read 60 when you were actually going 58.9....not a huge deal...

[MadBill]

This site recommends a maximum of 3% difference:http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp Here's a question: Does anyone know if GM/Toyota actually even changes speedo calibration, speed limiter, etc. in a vehicle to match the 17" tires? (The 17 is only 0.6", or 2.3% larger, less than 2 MPH, and I believe Federal regs call for speedos to be +/- 5%.) I suspect they don't change a thing, which would mean smaller diameter snow tires on a car built with 17s could actually reduce the speedo error, assuming all vehicles are calibrated for the higher volume 16" tire. I've seen plenty of new cars speedos that were consistently out by more than 5%, e.g. two examples of the last generation of Monte Carlo with the 3.4 L. 4 cam engine and my friends' pair of Accords...

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Thanks babe... I will keep on trying... lol. no prob. i know you will.and to answer or comment on madbill's post, i don't think that GM changes the speedo because it seems that mine is off about 2-3 mph and they put the 17's on mine.