Author Topic: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic  (Read 3625 times)

Offline supertaz

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Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« on: June 02, 2008, 08:21:00 am »
Hi,

My Civic Sedan 2006 has 195/65R15 four seasons tires on it.

As I'm preparing for next winter ( ::)) I'd like to know if I can replace them by winter tire with a narrower size (better traction....as I understand) ?

If so, what would be the choices ?

Thanks

Offline UmroAyyar

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2008, 09:48:02 am »
a) Do you plan to have two sets of tires? e.g. 1 set for summer and 2nd set for winter use?

b) Do you plan to use one set of tires like Nokian WR for all weather traction, they're slotted somewhere in the middle between All-seasons and Winter tires.


Option (a) would better suit the kind of weather you experience in Quebec.

I use Option (b) because winters are a bit mild in Toronto and I don't have storage space.
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Offline Zombie

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2008, 12:15:32 pm »
a) Do you plan to have two sets of tires? e.g. 1 set for summer and 2nd set for winter use?

b) Do you plan to use one set of tires like Nokian WR for all weather traction, they're slotted somewhere in the middle between All-seasons and Winter tires.


Option (a) would better suit the kind of weather you experience in Quebec.

I use Option (b) because winters are a bit mild in Toronto and I don't have storage space.

I think as of next year all Quebec drivers are required to use winter tires in the winter.
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Offline UmroAyyar

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2008, 12:32:29 pm »
Thats true. Better option is dedicated winter tires.

Nokian WR is classified as Performance Winter Tire.

Offline supertaz

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #4 on: June 02, 2008, 01:19:32 pm »

I think as of next year all Quebec drivers are required to use winter tires in the winter.

You're 100% right...it is a law ! You can imagine the mess it will be to order winter tire...I'm sure their will be shortage...


Offline JBrill

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2008, 01:51:07 pm »
195 is already the minimum width recommended by Honda for your tires.  You also have a 205/60R15 performance option recommended by Honda (probably standard on the Si models).

You can always go narrower with a 185/70R15 but then you will be registering 0.9% too slow (i.e. 100kph on the speedometer would actually be 105kph on a radar gun...)

The debate of narrower vs wider depends on typical driving conditions.  In the winter, if the streets are often unplowed and you need to cut through it, narrower is best to apply more weight on a smaller surface area.  However, if the streets are plowed quickly to pavement and roads are heavily salted, more surface area for grip should win out.

In your case, I'd stick with 195/65R15 for the winter and get a nice pair of 205/60R15's (or 205/55R16) for the summer  ;)  Of course, before going off sizes, take into consideration wheel well clearances and whether or not you will need new rims to accommodate the size.
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Offline johngenx

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2008, 07:04:03 pm »
Stay with the 195/65-15 size!!  It's a very popular size, so there are tons of tire choices.
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Offline supertaz

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Re: Tire equivalent for my Honda Civic
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2008, 07:35:55 am »
Clear answer guys.....I'll stay with that size !!

Thanks