Posted by gregg on June 21, 1998 at 16:32:53:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Mazda MX-6 LS tire recommendations posted by Josh Martin on June 17, 1998 at 16:05:06:
We run 205-55-15s on our 91 Celica GTS also (OEM size 215-50VR-15, but that size was also somewhat hard to find @ the right price), and have been pretty pleased with the tire Josh mentions, the Nitto 450...pretty decent compromise tire at decent cost. Have also heard very good things about the Dunlop 8000--about as consistent in their 8 (?) year existence as any tire I've heard comments on, and am recommending them to a friend upgrading his new 540i's tires, albeit in a different price league...but in this case you probably DO get what you pay for. Oddly, Ford chose to put 225-50-16s (yes, sixteens) on its otherwise mechanically-identical Probe GT. That is a tire up one notch in overall height (diameter), but I don't know if they compensated for that with a different ring & pinion ratio, odometer calibrations, etc., to acknowledge the disparity between the Probe and the MX-6 applications. Obviously, getting into the 205-55-16 (narrower stablemate to the 225-50-16) and 225-50-16 types gives you a lot more options (also, albeit requiring different wheels...maybe the Probes fit?!), if one can resolve any odometer, r&p/axle ratio/gearing differences which might exist--and the possibly resulting ABS related functioning. However, given possible glitches in these areas and the added expense of aftermarket wheels to go 16, I'd stick with the 205-55-15s but in a decent performance tire--you get significant more tread width by getting away from the OEM types even in the same size (We tried the Dunlop DM2 for instance on our Celica--for a short 20,000 mile stint--but they stuck like glue and looked AS hunky as teh OEM 215-50s that came on the Celica)...Dunlop is supposed to have one of the better (i.e., wider) tread widths going for any given size...as long as it's in their "performance" line up. Good luck.