Hi, Does anyone tried larger winter tires (215/55/R16 instead of 205) on a Mazda 5?
I am afraid that it might not have clearance on the inside fender.
Thanks for your comments.

 

A few questions:

• Are you buying new wheels (I'm under the impression that all Mazda5s come with 17" wheels)?
• The 215/55 R16 tires you're asking about have a smaller diameter than the factory tires; as such, your speedometer will register a higher speed than you're actually travelling and your odometer will rack up more miles than you actually drove. Are you okay with that?
• While a wider tire will fit within the fender, for winter tire use narrower is better; not wider. If you buy the wider tires are you aware you'll be giving up some traction compared to 205 or even 195 section width tires?

Edit:
Oops! My bad; it seems I was reading the wrong line from the chart yesterday when I posted the above. What I should have posted for the second bullet item is this:

• The 215/55 R16 tires you're asking about have a LARGER diameter than the factory tires; as such, your speedometer will register a LOWER speed than you're actually travelling and your odometer will rack up FEWER miles than you actually drove. Are you okay with that?

 

Thanks Shipo,
my 5 GT came with 17" 205/50/R17 but since GS models have the 205/55/R16 tires, speedometer is not that off.
I know that for winter tires narrower is better but Ive been given brand new Bridgestone Blizzak. Just want to make sure about clearance before buying new wheels to mount them on.
So anyone tried 215 on Mazda 5?"

 

Keep in mind that the 205/55 R16 tires have a virtually identical outer diameter when compared to the 205/50 R17s. The 215s, in spite of the smaller wheel actually have a larger diameter (contrary to post from yesterday, see the edit).

As for running 215s, they will easily fit, after all, they're not even a half of an inch wider than the factory tires; lots of folks have run even wider tires with no issues.

 

I ran 215/50-17's (up from the OE 205/50-17's) on my 3 for a while w/no issues, just a slight loss of low end torque... hardly noticable.

 

Hi Shipo,
Thanks for your help. Here is a link to calculate speed difference between to two tire sizes.
It would indicate 1kph faster for each actual 100kph.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/speedocalibcalc.html.

Thank you all for your help.
Ill be buying new rims today.

 

how does a wider tire = less torque? Is it an issue of more traction causing the engine to work marginally harder to get going? Just curious is all

 

It has nothing to do with the tire being wider per-se, however, given that the aspect ratio is still 50, the extra width also translates to a larger diameter. The larger diameter in turn effectively reduces torque in the same way as starting out from a stand-still in second gear does (although not the same extent).

 

I was just going to say that, but Dale beat me to the punch. I thin' he's on here more than I am these days, and that's a LOT!!

The larger diameter of the tire, a calculated difference of 5mm in height x 1 sidewall, and to a lesser extent the extra unsprung weight of a heavier tire has the affect of lowering the final drive ratio.
So, and this is just an example, if the final drive ratio is 3.73:1 and calculated for 205/50's, the added sidewall might "effectively" reduce the usefulness of the actual final drive gears and make them "feel" like you only have a 3.60:1 ratio instead of a 3.73.
'Understand, BC?

 

Here try this

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

I see bizbug beat me to it.