195 50 15?

[19peace84]

Hi all first post, just bought a m100 turbo has what im guessing is standard tyre size 205 50 15?, has any body changed to 195 50 15? Any pro or cons of so?

Cheers

[dapinky]

Hi and welcome.

I saw your post asking this on Facebook (or, at least, I'm assuming it was you, as it isn't a frequent question!).

Firstly, I have never used anything other than 205 width tyres on the Elan (in 15,16 & 17 inch diameter wheels).... mainly because you can't fit anything any wider without rubbing the inner wheelarch, and I can see no advantage in going narrower when the idea is to maximise tyre area touching the ground (within reason!).

I can see that there may be a thought process that the tyre choice in the "right" size is getting less, but whilst there is still a reasonable choice (in the UK anyway), it is a bit of a moot point to me.

What is your reason for the question? Is it because you can get a set cheap, or the brand you like in that size? or some other reason? That may help people to give an opinion (for example, a "good" grippy tyre in a narrower size may offer more traction than a 'less grippy' one that is 10mm wider).

[19peace84]

Hiya pal thanks for reply, that was me on face book yeah.

The reason im asking i can get Michelin Pilot sport 3s in the 195, I run Michelin on all cars I own or have owned. Seem very limited selection in the 205s and im in the trade.

But I also know that lotus know how to set cars up and didn't want to mess with it if wasn't advised another reason I asked.

Cheers

[dapinky]

That reason makes perfect sense to me, but there are other tyres which are as good as the Michelin P3 (in my opinion - which is worth nowt!).

Over the past few years I have seen my favourite tyres all but dissapear in the UK in the 205/50r15 size.... and even the 16" are getting rare. Fortunately for me, I no longer do the sort of driving that I used to do, so really don't need the softest compound now - and although the Yokohamas I love have long gone, there are still good offerings from them in other road-use ranges....... at the moment!

The other make which gets good reviews for Elans is the Avons, but again, not in 15"

Obviously, the 195 will give a very slight speedo discrepancy compared to 205 - but not enough to worry about.

Maybe someone will pop up who has actually used them - but I'm afraid I don't know of anyone.

[Tuga2112]

Dave.
the 195 wont affect the speedo

changing the 50 would.

[Jamie N]

Back when I had these JDM wheels on my blue SE they had 195 50 15's on them, no issues at all even on a Knockhill session. If the car is just for normal road use I wouldn't be concerned.

[dapinky]

Dave.
the 195 wont affect the speedo

changing the 50 would.

Joao - as the "50" is a percentage of the width, it will do! The 195/50r15 will have a tyre sidewall of 97.5mm, whilst a 205 will be 102.5mm..... so the diameter will be 10mm greater on the wider tyre, and the circumference will be functionally greater, thus affecting the rolling circumference by about 20-30mm (ignoring things like tread wear, how much of the tyre is inside the wheel diameter etc).

It works out at an extra 15 revolutions of the wheel to cover a mile - so not a huge difference, but still there! (approx 1mph lower reading on the speedo at 60mph).

If you go for 195/55r15, it is pretty much the same difference, but in the other direction, so speedo will be more accurate, but far more flex in the side wall.

[Tuga2112]

Joao - as the "50" is a percentage of the width, it will do!

i stand corrected, my (erroneos) recollection was the profile was an absolute measurement.