195 45 15v 195 50 15

[mightymanx]

hi people bit of a tyre question am thinking of buying some second hand wheels and tyres they are fitted with 195 50 15 tyres the tyres are khumo
i have had this profile before but i had crappy budget tyres so wil lthe khumos be better grip?
so my question is what is the hadleing diffrence between 195 45 and 195 50 15s?
all help gratefull received thanx

[rat1]

if i remember correct when i looked in to this for wheels for my one (i went with 13in in the end) the 195 45 15 was the closes match to the oe 13in ones,giving you a more accurate speedo reading plus the lower profile in theory will have less roll =better grip :)

[Woznaldo]

I've no doubt that 13s will provide the best handling and 195/45/15s will better than the 50 profile but, you can't get 45 profile semi-slicks (R888, A048 etc). That's why I've stuck with the 50 profile, even on road tyres, as I want to set the car up on 50s to make sure I don't get any rubbing (another consideration).

You can get the R888 in 185/60/13 profile which is close to the 195/55/13 originals.

In summary, there are more options for track tyres in 195/50/15 than the other sizes and they're probably cheaper than the others in any form?

[REGGY5GT]

imo the 45's will handle better as theres less sidewall to flex but to a sacrafice of comfort plus you loose slight acceleration with the 50's being a larger radius to turn, ive had 50's on with 15's and ive found it scrapes inner arch on full lock but that may just be my wheel offset.

[rat1]

i went with the R888 185/60/13 in the end.unbelievable tyre :)

[mightymanx]

yer i have 13s on at the mo but my tyres suck what size tyre would be the best and what make?

[Tony Walker]

Sidewall height isnt necessarily better lower, it depends on your suspension setup. You dont see F1 cars with low profile tyres. The quality and compound of the tyre effects it more.

[Woznaldo]

Sidewall height isnt necessarily better lower, it depends on your suspension setup. You dont see F1 cars with low profile tyres. The quality and compound of the tyre effects it more.

You're right but sidewall stiffness is a factor and can vary massively from model to model, even from the same manufacturer in the same size.

[Tony Walker]

Yeah, sidewalls vary alot.