Topic: Winter Tire Size Question ...

[dazed]

Hey folks,

I’m currently driving a 2002 Celica GTS with 205/50R16 tires. I went to Canadian Tire to pick up some Nordic IceTracks on steelies, and of course they didn’t have them in my flavour. No problem I thought, we’ll just go down to the 15’s listed in the driver’s manual (205/55R15). They didn’t have them either (gee, that’s not like Canadian Tire  ). The troll behind the counter didn't offer any options whatsoever ...

I’ve been told that I can use 195/60 R15, but not by a "reliable source". Can I safely use the 195/60 R15, or is there a better choice? Will this affect the operation of the ABS (different circumference and all that)?

I don’t need any super-tech tires - I’ve been driving around Ontario up until now without incident on worn-out all season tires so any winter tire is going to be a huge improvement. Sorry if my questions are rudimentary, but tires aren’t really my passion  …

TIA,
-BR

[canadianexpress]

By using 195-60-15 you are still keeping the same diamter and it should be better for snow since the width of the tire is slightly smaller.

[morty]

195/60/15 is the way to go. Same as OE OD and the common solution.

[dazed]

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated.
-BR

[Windex]

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

is a good site to check tire size differences.  Your suggestion is marginally (.1") different than the stock size, so you should be fine, as long as the 15" rims don't hit the calipers (not likely if the size is given in your manual....)