How do you think 195/55 R16 would be different from 185/60 R16 in terms of economy, comfort, roadholding and cabin noise? Very little difference in sidewall height just 10mm wider tread.
Hi Expatman, pasting a reply from another thread
In my opinion you shouldn't mount 195/55 for a couple of reasons:
1) the rim is 6" wide, and 195 it's at the far end of its tolerance. You risk to have the tyre slipping out of the rim.
2) in some countries (like here in Italy) there aren't any other sizes that are allowed outside of 185/60R16. I know for sure because we bought a standard Jazz and my father-in-law bought the Crosstar so obviously i've seen both vehicle registration certificates. Each of one contains only the OEM size.
Just to be more complete: my Jazz EX vehicle registration certificate doesn't even contain the 15" option as you can see from the attached picture.
Threads getting a bit confused but to be complete this is posted in both threads now!
Obviously you must comply with the laws where you live. However in the UK we can fit whatever tyres we like (within reason) providing you inform your insurance company.
One item where you are incorrect is on acceptable tyre widths for 6J rims. In fact a 6J x 16 rim is specified to accept tyres widths from 175 to 205, with the ideal tyre widths being 185 or 195. So fitting 195 width tyres is perfectly safe on 6J rims on the Crosstar. If you fit 195/55 R16 tyres then the difference in circumference etc is just 1.2% meaning that at a true speedo reading of 70 MPH you are actually doing 69.16 MPH - well within the accuracy of any car speedometer. The sidewall height is marginally less by 3.57mm and the tread width is greater by 10mm. The effect on drive for those difference is likely to be a small increase in road noise - but the actual tyre fitted is likely to have a much greater impact on noise. Perhaps a slightly firmer ride, but again the type of tyre fitted is likely to have a greater impact, and slightly higher fuel consumption (wider tread tyre) - again the spec of tyre is likely to have an impact here. Honda tend to fit eco tyres with harder compounds to reduce fuel consumption - which is great - but in colder or more inclement weather their performance levels will be reduced. In the UK where winter temperatures are frequently below 7 degrees C tyres with different compounds are being more widely used as specific Winter tyres or, increasingly commonly, All Season tyres such as Michelin CrossClimates, Goodyear All Seasons etc. The Falken AS210 (available in 185/60 R16) is an all weather tyre and is quite adequate but is not a top performer - higher noise, higher fuel consumption and lower grip levels in most cases than the leading tyres in its class. Have a look at AutoExpress All Season tyre tests.
So in the UK we have a choice which you don’t. It’s a pity Honda don’t spec alternative approved tyre sizes like their European competitors, so it’s up to us to investigate suitable alternatives and publish our findings on Forums like this!
