205/55R16 or 205/50R17 ? dont know which is better. PLEASE HELP :(

[JeremyB]

I have minimal knowledge about cars. So now that summer is near im changing my winter to summer tires.

I have my 205/50R17 tire rim and tires on stock, but I'm thinking of changing it 205/55R16 size.

QUESTION:
is it better to down size or should i stay to 17?i dont know the differences and what will be the beneficial of changing it.

PLEASE HELP GUYS

Thank You in Advance.

[credential23]

are you buying new rims? or youre just gonna swap the tires?
In my opinion having 17" rims in the summer is better but it depends on what rims ur buying.
205/50/17 and 205/55/16 have the same diameter so It wont make any changes to ur speedo reading.

[JeremyB]

are you buying new rims? or youre just gonna swap the tires?
In my opinion having 17" rims in the summer is better but it depends on what rims ur buying.
205/50/17 and 205/55/16 have the same diameter so It wont make any changes to ur speedo reading.

well im planning to buy a new rims, 16 inch, and tires. i have my old 205/50R17 still.

What do you mean by "it depends on the rims" ? it is all the same and just put the tires on it?

[cwp_sedan]

Why would you go from 17s to 16s? Stick with 17s, they look better and will be a bit firmer and better handling.


Why are you thinking about getting 16s?

[JeremyB]

Why would you go from 17s to 16s? Stick with 17s, they look better and will be a bit firmer and better handling.


Why are you thinking about getting 16s?

i dont know. i just thought that its looks better cus the rim looks smaller? well if its better if i stay for 17s, ill shound switch.
Thank You for your advice

[studum]

The car will roll with either. Choose what you want, it's your car. Unless you're a hardcore rally driver with lightweight racing wheels that barely clear your brakes almost everyone here will ask why you're going down in size. If anything when people buy new rims and tires they go +1 (unless it's for winters).

[SonicBoy]

As you move up in the size of the rim, the sidewall or profile of the tire will go down which results in a firmer ride and quicker response resulting in better handling. During the summer, most favour the better performance.

During the winter, you generally go the other way with the smaller rim and taller sidewall profile. You get a softer ride and generally lower price for the winter tires due to the lower price. Some say it helps with all the potholes and less chance of curbing with all those buried obstacles.

Just to clarify about the 2nd post, you need both new rims and tires when changing the size of the rims.

[2012mazda3hatch]

Stick with 17's for your summer set up, it looks much better, your ride won't be that much harsher with the 50 compared to the 55

[Stewie]

18s!

[morganc]

18s!

Ditto that!