# Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/16 on 15" Avus Wheels



## Lorenzo (Oct 14, 1999)

*Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels*

What noticeable differences can I expect if I change my stock tires from 195/65/15 to 205/60/15. Will my 15" Avus wheels accommodate 205/60/15?
Also, am I better off going with Ultra High Performance All-Season tires (i.e., Yokohama AVS db or Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Symetrical) or just High Performance tires (i.e. Sumitomo HTR 200)? I have a set of Nokian Hakkas for the winter.
Any advice or suggestions?

[Modified by Lorenzo, 7:22 AM 4-22-2002]


[Modified by Lorenzo, 7:23 AM 4-22-2002]


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## UVAJetta (Mar 14, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Lorenzo)*

Being that you live in MI, get Winter tires. I had the Yoko db's. They are complete crap in the snow. I am not kidding. 
I went to the 205's when I had the stock wheels as all-season. Now that I went to 17's I bought 195 for the stock wheels. The 195 are better for the snow b/c they are skinnier. The 205's are better for the performance since the tread is wider, and the sidewall is shorter. This will give a slightly better performance, but the upgrade in type of tire is more noticeable.
Good luck


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## Bimmer (Dec 15, 1999)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (UVAJetta)*

Hey Peter, he's already got Hak's.








Lorenzo, unless you want some a/s backup before changing to snows, you could just get summers. Nevermind, note that there aren't too many choices in the 60 series 15".
I see you've found the SP5000 and AVS dB as basically your only picks; the HP category will not perform as well generally and there are no UHP's, the Intermediate's being n/a. You could try the 195/65 Conti as you won't lose much with that size, you have a 6 or 6.5" rim anyway and narrower might be better in that case.
195/60-15 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compa...formance=UHP&performance=HP&performance=UHPAS 
205/60-15 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compa...formance=UHP&performance=HP&performance=UHPAS


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## Lorenzo (Oct 14, 1999)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Bimmer)*

Thanks for the input. Again, I'm not concerned about snow traction since I will be using my Nokians in the winter. I just want tires that will perform and handle better than the stock Continental ContiTouring tires I have now. I know I'm limited on the level of performance, given that I want to stick to my 15" Avus wheels.
Should I rely on the "survey results" posted on the Tire Rack?


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## Bimmer (Dec 15, 1999)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Lorenzo)*

I look but don't take it as the last word. That said, also check out the BS RE950, for some reason it's only an HP a/s but is getting rave reviews all over and seems to be an excellent tire. May be a little soft in handling.


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## UVAJetta (Mar 14, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Bimmer)*

Sorry did not read that closely. 
In that case the Yokos aren't a bad option. They handled well, even at some track like events. They are quiet, that is not a lie. I am pretty happy with the bridgestones that I have for my winter tires (I live in DC). I forget what they are at the moment. RE950's I believe.


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## Lorenzo (Oct 14, 1999)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (UVAJetta)*

Thanks for the helpful advice. I've narrowed it down to 2 choices, both of which are high performance all-season tires in 205/60-15:
Michelin Pilot XGT H4
Bridgestone Potenza RE950
Which would you choose (if you had to stick to stock 15" Avus wheels)


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## sg207ptg (Jul 6, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Lorenzo)*

What car will you mount these wheels on?
My vote is for RE950.
I have just replaced my Passat's 195 OEMs with BS RE950 215/60/15. So glad I made the switch, the difference is like day and night. No sidewall flex, the wheels now look much better too.
According to this website (http://www.secret-secret.com/turbo/DIY/tirecalc/turbotire.html), 215 is a better fit than 205.
If you want, I can post the pics of the new tires on wheel for you tomorrow.


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## je. (Aug 6, 2002)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (sg207ptg)*

I have the same decision to make. A friend of mine has the 950s on his Del Sol and does NOT stop saying great things about them. He got them at the Bridgestone Racing Academy for half price and is really really happy. However he does 'caution' that they are horrible, horrible in snow. That's the second time ive heard that from someone with NEW re950s. Im looking for SPSport A2 (partly becuase they're cheap), wondering the same sizing question.
I am curious how much better the 205 will be (they're $521, 195 are $506, all taxes, mounting, balancing, free rotations and rebalancing) in dry weather. My old car had 205/60/15 and they were just fine. Incidentally, the profile is what's shorter, the sidewall is the same height. Rolling radius for both tires is the same.


[Modified by je., 10:31 AM 10-9-2002]


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## sg207ptg (Jul 6, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (je.)*

Here are the pics of RE950 215/60/15 on Passat 15" Adelaides


















[Modified by sg207ptg, 10:27 AM 10-10-2002]


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## EskimoDubbin (Aug 10, 2001)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Lorenzo)*

Lorenzo,
Let me start off by saying I live in Seattle and we receive a decent amount of rain, becuase of this I was looking for a tire that would preform well in the wet along with to have fun with in the dry. I did searching all over and I finally decided on the Bridgestone RE950's. I bought them on Monday and I haven't regretted it once so far. I went with the 205/60/15 instead of the OEM 195/65/15 for a little wider for grip and lower sidewall as not to bend. So far with these tires I haven't lost grip once when I didn't try and sometime not when I DID try. It's mainly been dry weather so far will a little rain but nothing that I would say to qualify the rain readiness of these tires. I noticed that tirerack has a good price for these $74/tire if I remember correctly, I unfortunately didn't want to deal with online purchase yet so I went to a local place. I'm not saying don't go with your other choices, just make sure you keep in mind how happy another Dubber has been with the RE950's. Peace.


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## Eric O (Aug 10, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (je.)*

I had 15" steelies on my car originally - ran Yoko AVS dB in 205/60/15. Gigantic improvement over the stock rubber (Goodyear Eagle LS 195/65/15).
Great dry and wet traction - a lot of fun on the twisties. No snow experience, so I can't comment there. Reasonably quiet, some tread whirring noise while cornering - a unique sound, but not obtrusive or bothersome. Very "bark" resistant - you can push hard without drawing attention to yourself.


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## pyce (Nov 7, 2001)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Eric O)*

Well, somebody here said there are no Ultra High Performanc etires available in 205-60-15 .... but, Tirerack just imported the Yokohama AVS ES 100 in that size and that tire is rated UHP! ....And actually I got a set and put 2.ooo miles so far on them, so I could start saying that for 73$ per tire it's maybe the best you can do. The are very quiet and very sticky, and side wall is so stiff, u feel u have upgraded wheels too! ..... bolt those on the 15" Avus and go out and have fun! The only thing I can;t talk is how long are they going to last....... but again, for that money, I guess u can;t find better tire for the stock wheel size!


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## sg207ptg (Jul 6, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Lorenzo)*

BTW, you can find the differences between different sizes here 
http://www.secret-secret.com/turbo/DIY/tirecalc/turbotire.html


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## je. (Aug 6, 2002)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (Lorenzo)*

I think the origianl question was, _"If I use the Dunlop SP SPort A2







, will using a 205/60/15 be noticeably better than keeping 195/65/15, or should I just not bother?"_ A lot of tangents were explored, but no answer?


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## sg207ptg (Jul 6, 2000)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (je.)*

According to the "tire calculator" above, the answer is probably no. 205 is not a good fit if you just try to plus-size.


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## je. (Aug 6, 2002)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (sg207ptg)*

I saw that, thank you. I also know that this is a popular upgrade, and that most tire sites will list this tire's loaded radius the same as 195/65. The car I had before this one had 2 optional tires: 195/65/15 and 205/60/15, and there will never be a difference in the gauges or transmissions because the optional tires have different sizes.
Again, given the same model of tire, is this little upgrade significant enough to actually consider doing?


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## pyce (Nov 7, 2001)

*Re: Pros & Cons? 195/65/15 vs. 205/60/15 on 15" Avus Wheels (je.)*

actually, it screws the speedo little bit...... I did tis experiment with a friend with 195-65 and me having 205-60 ...... he set the cruise at 70 mph, and I had to go around 71.5 in terms to keep with him........ Now, I would say also that my car "feels" faster in pickup, specially on 5-th gear with the new tire size, and mathematically it's true too, but some people may not feel it........ The only person to tell you if there's advantage and what kind of advantage is it, is osmeone who did the upgrade in size, without changing tire brand and model ......


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