I have an opportunity to get new 195/55 R15 tires for my 05 neon for a very good price. (a well known brand, V speed rated, for $35 each) Has anyone used this size tire instead of the stock 185/60 R15 tires? Will they fit the car with no problems?

Mechster1

 

I had 195/60/15s for my michlin hydroedges before I upgraded to 16s I love wider tires . They fit just nice on my 04sxt should be just fine .

 

width is different. i would say no. sorry

EDIT: get a second opinion

 

yes they should fit... i have 205/55 R15's on mine right now and they fit PERFECT!

 

Personally I would never sacrifice trie width... but I am me.

Short version:

Yes they will fit

Longer Version:

Yes they will fit but I would not recommend going downgrading the tire width. It might not seem like a big difference, but trust me when I say you want to stick with the size you should have (180/60 r-15's). Tire height is not as big of a difference. You can go over or under by a slim margin, but width will effect how it will grip and handle on the roads much more so than you might think.[8D]

 

The 195's will be WIDER then then 185's so he's actually getting more rubber on the road. The 55% side wall will help keep the tire the same over all heigth as with the 60% so he'll not mess up his spedo or rpms. I'd think they'd work but then if I went to a 195 I'd rather have a 50% tire. At that price I'd say "go for it.".

P.S.
Here, bookmark this site, it'll help you make up your mind.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Thanks for all of yourreponses.

The tire size comparison calculator helped. I was looking for something like that on google but didn't have any luck.

It's good to know that others have put taller and wider tires on the stock rims with no problems.

Mechster

 

Taller tires WILL kill your gear ratio and wider tires WILL eat up more HP/Torque since they're heavier and take more power to get turning. My Dodge Ram had 245/70/17's on it from the factory and it was pretty decent with the stock 3.55 gears. I went to 285/60/17's rear and 275/60/17's front(same heigth, just WAY wider) and it ate a lot of HP. After I switched to 4.10's I got a lot of the pep back but those heavier tires ate a lot of it. Also, I had to install heavy duty shocks to take care of the extra upsprung weight of the new tire. When you change one thing generally other things need to be changed too.

 

I have that exact size tire on my Neon as they did not have 185/60/15 for my car when I ordered my wheels. They suggested the 195/55/15 I said if it will mess up my spedometer, I don't want them. They said if it does, it will be minimal. I noticed a huge difference with the wider tire with handling. It rolls good and I did not lose any mileage on gas.We still get 36-38mpg in our Neon. The tire/wheel combo looks slightly shorter than the stock ones and I was suggested to lower our Neon to get rid of the space, but I still use our stock tires in the winter.

Below is a link to Meguiars Online of a polish job I did if you want to see it.
2005 Dodge Neon SXT Orange Blast

Good price, I paid quitea bit more for mine.

Aaron

 

Well I have been running 195/60/15s for over a yr now and had no problems I only went to that size casue I wanted michelin hydroedges which were pretty awesome but not as awesome as my new tires they are 205/50/16s and are the michelin pilot sports and I love wider tires looks and handles nicely.