JAZZ TYRE SIZE

[guest4462]

Had two Jazz cars, played around with different tyre pressures, and tyre sizes, both back and front.
Ended up with 205/50X15 ( same rolling radius as 185/55) all round. Wow what a differance in road
holding though, having more rubber on the road!!!
Thought about changing up to 16" wheels, but then the side wall profile gets very low, and you end
up with a hard ride, also they don't like potholes.

[guest4218]

I have a 185/55/16 wheels on my Si Jazz and the ride is pretty good you notice disconfort when you are full loaded and for potholes just avoid them

[guest3250]

Mine has the 16" wheels - I changed up to 195 55 16 yes bigger - but the speedo
is about 4.5% over reading at 70 and that only changes it by 1.8 % so still only doing about 68 when reading 70mph
But the whole ride is nicer and it sees to just roll along nicely - also handling is great  - no negatives at all
Not to mention a much wider choice of rubber!
Never going back 195/55/16 for me on this car unreservedly

[ricksmith]

Hi geoff
The 195 tyres you are currently running. I presume you have informed your insurance company? ?
 Was there any feedback from them?? Increased premium etc et
Rick

[apjazz]

I would change wheel/tyre size from what was supplied with the car at your peril, for many technical reasons and as Rick Smith indicates - check with your insurance company first!
A lot of people look at the simple things like diameter and just the fact the wheel fits but it is a fairly complicated business - ask Honda customer services for their advice. I did, do not change!
Basically why would you want to?

[peteo48]

I would change wheel/tyre size from what was supplied with the car at your peril, for many technical reasons and as Rick Smith indicates - check with your insurance company first!
A lot of people look at the simple things like diameter and just the fact the wheel fits but it is a fairly complicated business - ask Honda customer services for their advice. I did, do not change!
Basically why would you want to?

I suspect you are right but why Honda designed the car to run on a rare tyre size is beyond me. You get a poor choice, sometimes laughably so, and you pay a massive premium.

[guest3250]

@Ricksmith - yes I checked with the Insurance before purchasing and they actually siad
they felt it was a good idea and maybe safer!
When I change insurance I will just make mention of it.
Their slightly simplistic view was bigger /wider is always better!!
Not always the case - but in this instance it is totally fine - I did have a fright when I was forking right a few months back and someone pulled out - I had no time to stop sop had to accelerate and turn away and then swing back extra sharply - the car responded beautifully without any fuss whatsoever - very safe handling

[guest4563]

i'm running 195/50/15s on mine.. prefer the thinner sidewalls so there's more feedback

[culzean]

all other things being equal (depth of tread etc) wider tyres will aquaplane more easily than standard ones because water has further to travel to get out from under the tyre / and the area of the tyre is greater so it takes less water depth to make it lose contact. - standard tyres also pretty good on snow (without having to use winter tyres).  A lot of engineering goes into the specification of tyres to suit a particular car - including MPG calcs.  Basically the narrower the tyre and the higher the pressure the less the rolling resistance and more MPG.  The Jazz is not a sports car and doesn't need 'more rubber on the road' - I never got stuck in winter in my Jazz with standard tyres,  have noticed a big difference in the Civic though with wider tyres - nowhere near as good in snow,

[peteo48]

A few years back - 2010? - we were living in the Peak District and we had a bad winter. Our little close was virtually unpassable until a group of us chipped away at the ice.

The one car that got in and out with no trouble was an "N" Reg VW Polo with little skinny tyres and a low powered engine. Other cars, including my Golf, were virtually undriveable until the thaw.

[culzean]

I would change wheel/tyre size from what was supplied with the car at your peril, for many technical reasons and as Rick Smith indicates - check with your insurance company first!
A lot of people look at the simple things like diameter and just the fact the wheel fits but it is a fairly complicated business - ask Honda customer services for their advice. I did, do not change!
Basically why would you want to?

I suspect you are right but why Honda designed the car to run on a rare tyre size is beyond me. You get a poor choice, sometimes laughably so, and you pay a massive premium.

if you are worried about 'rare tyre size' don't buy a Qashqai - my mates got one and he shopped around for tyres (he is tight with money) and the 'cheapest' he could get them was £120 each (not a well known brand) - for Michelin or any of the well known brands they were nearer £200 each.