New tyres - slightly different size

[gjm]

My car is fitted, as standard, with 16" rims and 205/55-16 tyres.

Time for some new ones... Ain't it funny how that coincides as often as not with the MoT?

As the roads in these parts leave a little to be desired, I was considering the possibility of fitting a set of 205/60-16 tyres instead. The reason for this was the extra cushioning provided by a slightly taller sidewall. There's no cost saving I can see in terms of purchase price, and the savings in fuel consumption are likely to be very small, if any.

The difference in circumference is +3.24%, so when the speedo shows 70mph I would actually be travelling at 72.3mph. That is possibly a more accurate figure anyway.

Can anyone think of any serious issues I may encounter?

[freefallrob]

Would insurance have to be notified, not standard tyres etc etc? Check you have enough clearance on the front and back for the extra diameter, on the front at full lock. Your probably okay, but check anyway!

[JBCobra]

No problems at all.
"Turn in" sharpness will be slightly reduced, however you will gain with "the extra cushioning"
May help save a rim on a Pothole too.

My car is fitted, as standard, with 16" rims and 205/55-16 tyres.

Time for some new ones... Ain't it funny how that coincides as often as not with the MoT?

As the roads in these parts leave a little to be desired, I was considering the possibility of fitting a set of 205/60-16 tyres instead. The reason for this was the extra cushioning provided by a slightly taller sidewall. There's no cost saving I can see in terms of purchase price, and the savings in fuel consumption are likely to be very small, if any.

The difference in circumference is +3.24%, so when the speedo shows 70mph I would actually be travelling at 72.3mph. That is possibly a more accurate figure anyway.

Can anyone think of any serious issues I may encounter?

[themadlatvian]

You do need to check that the fitting of non-standard tyres on your vehicle would not cause an MOT failure. The deeper tyres will fit your wheels just fine, but the change might cause you more problems than you expect - for example, speedometers are generally set optimistically by the car manufacturers because doing the opposite would result in countless lawsuits due to inadvertent speeding. Your bigger tyres would change that, as you rightly point out, but you would have to be very careful not to exceed speed limits - around here I know people who have got points for doing 32 in a 30.

[Professor Chaos]

If you're willing to change rims as well (and if 15" rims are available for your vehicle), changing to a 195/60R15 will bring you close to the original tire diameter, while still giving a "taller" sidewall.

[gjm]

I think that 'different' tyres can raise an advisory but not an MoT failure. I think having a tyre with an incorrect speed rating falls into this category.

Turn in may be slightly reduced, but on a Audi Quattro 1.9TDi estate that's not much of a concern!

Insurance is the biggest issue. A police accident investigator will check a car for roadworthiness and that it is fit for purpose - insurance assessors check for originality.

[gjm]

If you're willing to change rims as well (and if 15" rims are available for your vehicle), changing to a 195/60R15 will bring you close to the original tire diameter, while still giving a "taller" sidewall.

While these were fitted on other Audi A4s, they aren't original fitment on my car and would probably raise the same insurance issues.

[JBCobra]

In the USA you can put whatever tires you want on anything as long as there is 1/32" of tread depth.
Changing to a slightly different tire size is expected.
Checking with your insurance about tire size is Lunacy

[gjm]

Over here 1.6mm is the minimum. That's about 1/16".

[themadlatvian]

No -Graham is quite right - all British insurers do ask about whether everything on a car is standard or not, including wheels, and I would think that 'wheels' would include the tyres as well - sorry, forgot about that!

[JBCobra]

I will bet you a drink that your insurer would not care about a minor tire size change. Especially since the wheels are still factory wheels.

[JBCobra]

........because it rains a lot more in the UK, surely.

Over here 1.6mm is the minimum. That's about 1/16".

[JBCobra]

Come to think of it, I have larger than stock tires on all of my cars

[rcook]

I will bet you a drink that your insurer would not care about a minor tire size change. Especially since the wheels are still factory wheels.

Insurers over here can be very picky to avoid paying out money. Best not to give them any excuse.

[earlofsodbury]

I will bet you a drink that your insurer would not care about a minor tire size change. Especially since the wheels are still factory wheels.

Insurers here will do ANYTHING to get out of paying out - repair costs to most cars are now so high that even quite minor damage can result in various categories of insurance write-offs, and of course due to higher taxes, cars and all repairs thereto are also more expensive than in the 'states. Add to that very high population density and road-user density, and accidents are more frequent per-capita than in the 'States, so insurers are getting pretty desperate to avoid payouts.