195's vs. 205's, worth the extra cash?

[Ben C]

As per the above really.
My new wheels arrived this week. Mondeo 'cossie style' 5 spokes 16x7J with et35. Bought them as 2nd hand but they've just been refurbished and don't look to have been on a car since. Score! Problem is they've come with 205/55/16's on them which I assume will not only make it look like a moon buggy but also knock the speedo out a fair bit.
Means I'll be getting a set of new tyres but was wandering which would be better, 195/45/16 or 205/45/16? I'm assuming the wider tyre would give a little more grip but at about 15 quid difference each, is it worth it? Having just bought the wheels I'm on a bit of a budget at the min so it is a factor.

Also, just out of curiosity, has anyone tried a 215/40/16? I'm guessing it might start catching arches?

 

[Cherie]

The rolling circumference with 205/40/16 is less than -1% difference to standard
205/45/16 is nearly 3% different (which is the recommended maximum variation for changing wheel size)
215/40/16, although they're only .5% different, you might have some rubbing issues, especially if the car is lowered.

I wouldn't recommend 195's as they're too narrow for the width of the wheel, unless you want them stretched, which many tyre fitters won't do. 195 is the standard for 6" wide wheels after all.

 

[Ben C]

Thanks for that. Just had a quick look and spotted that as you mention, the 215/40's are the closest in size to the originals. Also, surprisingly, they're slightly cheaper than I thought they would be. Typical prices I'm finding for Toyo T1-R's are;
195/45/16 - £60 each
205/45/16 - £75 each
215/40/16 - £70 each

Reason I was thinking of the 195's is I have seen these suggested as a good tyre size for 16's, though I guess that may be for narrower rims. I'm certainly not looking for tyre stretch, I drive a Ford not a VeeDub after all!

I'm a bit tempted by the 215's now. I appreciate they could rub on a lowered car but I'm running standard height at the mo and I'll probably be on another set of tyres by the time I can afford coilovers.

Has anyone else tried them?

 

[yippeekiay]

Although not available in T1-R's as far as I remember....have you not thought of 205/40/16???

This was what I was looking at along with the 195/45/16 when I bought mine a few months back. I ended up going with the 195's purely on price but the former are only 1% o/all circumference under standard anyway.

 

[bendunn]

I had 195 45 16 on the 7j cossies you can hardly notice the stretch it's about 10mm if anything I prefered them to the 205s

 

[yippeekiay]

I think mine may actually be 7s too. Not sure but as above, the tyres fit fine with no stretch.