Question on tire sizes regarding 215 vs 205

Status
Not open for further replies.
Blue_Goose

Blue_Goose

Joined
Jul 13, 2005
Messages
2,163
Location
New Hampsha
As some of you have seen on the threads here that I'm not too happy with my Comfortreds....well I may have found out why.....I just was showing a friend my tires and noticed that these tires suck up a lot of stones in the treads...as I was picking them out of my front left tire I noticed that the load rating was 91H.....Hmmmm I thought that was odd because I thought most 205/55 16's were 89H...upon closer exam I see that I have 3 205/55 16's on the car and 1 215/55 16
shocked.gif


What the FOOOZBALL?
mad.gif
Those lunkheads at Townfair Tire installed the wrong size tire on my car(1 not even all 3) They even had the car back when I complained about the unbalanced feeling in the tires and the faint whoomp whooomp noise...think they even looked at that?


Now before I go hoopy on them let me ask this......could that one bigger size tire in the front be the cause of the less than satisfactory ride and 2) I noticed that the manufac date for these tires is in 2004...is that an issue? Do tires have a shelf life?? Should I ask for 2005 tires? Ack
dunno.gif


Can someone more knowledgable than I chime in?

Do I have a good case to be upset?

Goose
patriot.gif
(former ucandoit)
 
OMG!!! That is ridiculous. That can (will) have a negative effect on handling, and I would consider it a major safety issue - the rolling diameter is different.

You're supposed to have two identical tires as far as size and construction on the same axis. You'll find that in every car owner's manual.

I would go back to the tire place and have a word with the manager. And he'd better be very accomodating and compensating.

The 2004 mfr date isn't really an issue, IMO, unless they were stored incorrectly thoughout that year. You'd think a tire place would know how to store tires, alas, if they can't even match up the sizes, I'd be worried...

BTW, my 205/55/16 tires have 91 load index. I think most of them do.
 
Yeah..it is going to be replaced tomorrow. I should ask them to re write the whole deal....that way I could get an extra 40 bucks of with a GY rebate...


You try to save a few bucks by going with the lowest bidder and this is what happens..actually the price matched Sam's but come on...Town Fair isnt a little company in the Northeast!


Could my ride with the Comfys be jittery because of this one off size tire?


Goose
patriot.gif
 
get um to give you new tyres all around. running 2 year old "new tyres" is just plain silly. if you buy new tyres, they better be new.

i personally wouldnt take a new tyre thats older than 2-3 months. just the same as buying a new battery.
 
I'd like to have that done but I have a feeling they won't go that far....I've talked to a few people and like Pete said the 2004 date shouldn't be an issue with today's tires and what they are made of.

If replacing this tire doesn't clear up some of the jitters I've been feeling I'm going to have them all replaced anyways with Michelin Hydro Edges or Exalto A/S's


Goose
patriot.gif
 
I have to largely disagree with the above comments. The first number in your tire size, in your case the 205 or 215, is the WIDTH of the tire from sidewall to sidewall in millimeters. The second number in the tire size, in your case 55 with respect to all FOUR tires, determines the height of the tire (or if you wish, the diameter of the tire from tread face to tread face), in conjunction with the diameter of the wheel that the tire is mounted on. So, all four of your tires are the same height/diameter, because all four are 55's on 16 inch wheels. As to the width, the 215 is approximately 4/10" wider than the 205. In my opinion, this is not going to affect handling or anything else. That said, I'd still make the seller replace the 215 with a 205 or replace the 3 205's with 3 215's. Which you go for will depend on what your owner's manual says is the stock tire size and whether you prefer the 205 or the wider 215. Four-tenths of an inch is not going to matter; either the 205 or the 215 should fit your vehicle with no problems. The only possible problem would be that the wider 215 might (tho I doubt it) rub on the wheel well or on a suspension, frame, or other part that is on the vehicle on the inside of the tire. If the 205 is worn significantly more, or less, than the 215's, I'd insist on all four tires being replaced. See this tire size chart and explanation:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=7
 
er, the 55 in that tire size is "55%" not "55mm". E.g. the sidewall from the ground to the rim is 55% as tall as the tread is wide.

So 55% of 215 is a taller tire than 55% of 205.

This should get fixed.
 
jmacmaster, not to sound disrespectful, but you obviously have not understood the information in the link you provided.

The "55" is the sidewall height, but it is expressed as a percentage of the width, so:
code:
205 * 55% = 112.75 mm

215 * 55% = 118.25 mm

=====================

Difference: 5.50 mm
Click to expand...
As a result, a 215/55/16 tire is 11mm ((5.5mm x 2 sidewalls) taller than a 205/55/16 tire. This is what's most likely causing his issues. Not the width.
 
quote:
So, all four of your tires are the same height/diameter, because all four are 55's on 16 inch wheels.
Click to expand...
Nope. The nominal diameter of the 215's is 1.7% greater than that of the 205's. The sidewall height is a percentage of the width of the tire, so a 55 series is taller with a wider tire. In the case of the Comfortreds, the published diameter is 1.6% larger for the 215's.

http://www.goodyeartires.com/goodye...eadwidth=&aspectratio=&rimdiameter=&sidewall=

I don't know if this is the only contributor to your poor experience with these tires (I can't recall seeing your other posts), but it probably does have a noticeable effect and could be the whole problem. I think you have a reason to be upset, but people make mistakes so as long as they fix the problem I'd let it go. If the other three have like-new tread life I see no problem in receiving one new tire from the tire shop. But if there's noticeable wear, I'd want a new pair.

Edit: Looks like some others came in to make me sound redundant while I was writing my post!
smile.gif
 
Thanks guys...appreciate the words and comments....shop did replace the tire with the correct one and also refunded me the 40 dollars I spent to have the tires Road force balanced at another tire shop(after 2 balances and couldnt figure out why still a bumpy ride...doh!)


BUT see my other post with a new question....jeeeezzz never ends


Goose
patriot.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
Two-year-old "New" Tires
Replies
19
Views
2K
lokijoker
stangguy
changing tire size
Replies
4
Views
771
Rand
E
Tire Matching
Replies
10
Views
2K
Fahrvergnügen
E
1st snow with Falken Rubitrek tires
Replies
5
Views
4K
nthach
M
Flat tire help - urgent but not emergency anymore
2
Replies
31
Views
1K
M1Accord
Back
Top