Tyre sizes can I change ?

poose

Events Co-Ordinator
Club Moderator
Jun 19, 2012
2,725
2,869
Haydock
Need a set of 215/50/r16 v rated tyres for my Cougar cheap as chips near Bolton. Can I fit any other size without changing handling to much as the original size seems hard to find.
 
205's or 225's are common replacements for the 'hard to come' by 215's.
If you keep the same profile it will alter the speedo reading but not to that much extent.
 
Basically you can fit whatever the rim will take but the circumference should stay close to the original (some maths involved here).
215/50 gives 107.5 mm of depth
205/55 gives 112.75mm of depth
225/50 gives 112.5 mm of depth
225/45 gives 101.25 mm of depth

So charliecd001's suggestion of 225/50 is a good one as it's the nearest but the 205/55's are nearly identical, both giving slightly bigger circumference than the original tyres. So check the prices and go with the cheapest.
 
Best to go for the larger 225/50/16. Not good to reduce the amount of rubber on the road with 205's.

EDIT: Also you need to be careful with mixing sizes. Ideally you want the same size on all 4 corners. If you can't do that, as a minimum each axle should have the same size.
Mixing sizes can fool the TC/ABS because the different circumferences will fool the system into thinking you're losing traction.
 
when i bought my new cat, it had 205 55 16 , goodyear eagles on it, didnt find any difference in handling, (compared to 225 45 17 on old cat)and had some cacky weather on way up. i think if the tyre size is to be reduced, you need to ensure you have quality rubber on ,