Tyres

[stuart2088]

Clio 1.5 Dci 100 due for replacement 185 55 15 tyres on front. Existing ones are Michelin xh1 energy. Done very well and lasted.

Dont know whether to replace with same to mach the rears which are the factory fitment michelins so same all round. Or whether to go for Goodyear Eagle F1 Gsd3 which are highly rated on here.

Also should i stick with the standard size tyres or try different bearing in mind id have to change the rears as well which have loads of lie left.

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Tom_16v]

Get 195/50s because they will be cheaper, and stick the new GSD3's (very good choice) on the back.

 

[White16valver]

As above really!

Move the rears onto the front and put the new tyres on the rear for safer handling (more grip at the back in the wet so you won't lift off oversteer - though some people on here will disagree!)

Definitely go for gsd3's and you could probably get away with 195/50's easily as it's not a 'performance' model like a valver or williams that might be noticeably different if you swap from 185/55's to 195/50's.

 

[stuart2088]

Thanks for the help BUT you advise changing to 195/50 and putting these on rear and swapping rears to front.

That will mean different size tyres front and rear ie. 185/55 15 on front and 195/50 15 on rear1111
Surely that cant be correct!!!!!

 

[White16valver]

The rolling radius will be negligible on that - a matter of millimetres!

According to http://www.dakota-truck.net/CGI-BIN/TireCalc.cgi, the difference between 185/55/15s and 195/50/15s is the 195s are 26.7mm smaller in circumference, equating to about a +1mph error on your speedo at 70mph.

So I think it's safe to say that you can mix them... lol

Plus, don't forget that lots of different cars run different size front and rear wheels and tyres - most rear-drive cars have larger rear wheels than fronts!

The general rule I use is that, if you're going up a size on the width or up an inch in wheel diameter, you go down a profile size. i.e. 185/55/15 can change to 195/50/15s, 195/45/16s, 205/40/17s without too much difference in the speedo.