Wide tyres

[maxxfi]

I recently bought a car, a jolie Renault Clio 1998.
The interesting part is that while on AKE registration paper the car is supposed
to have 165/70R13 or 165/65R14 tyres, this one is mounting some 195/50R15 (i.e. 3cm wider).

Digging a bit on the subject I found that actually there is a Finnish law (779/1998)
that it allows among other modifications also to mount a bit wider tyres than those officially prescribed
without a need to get an official authorization.

My questions:
1) Did I understand right?
2) If it is so, considering the average status of summer roads in Finland, in your opinion is it worth to have
such wider tyres, or it is better to return to the official sizes?

Reason to ask is these tyres are close to their end of life, so anyway I have to change them soon.

[umit]

I don't have much experience in this, but if you have 6,0" or 6,5" wide rims for those 195mm tires, they wouldn't be suitable for 165mm wide tires. Thus you need to change the rims as well, meaning more costs. According to the rim-tire compatibility table I checked, 165 and 195mm tires can only be fit to 5,5" wide rims, but it is not recommended...

[sinikala]

I recently bought a car, a jolie Renault Clio 1998.
The interesting part is that while on AKE registration paper the car is supposed
to have 165/70R13 or 165/65R14 tyres, this one is mounting some 195/50R15 (i.e. 3cm wider).

Digging a bit on the subject I found that actually there is a Finnish law (779/1998)
that it allows among other modifications also to mount a bit wider tyres than those officially prescribed
without a need to get an official authorization.

My questions:
1) Did I understand right?
2) If it is so, considering the average status of summer roads in Finland, in your opinion is it worth to have
such wider tyres, or it is better to return to the official sizes?

Reason to ask is these tyres are close to their end of life, so anyway I have to change them soon.

The code 165/70R13 for example is explained here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

Are they original wheels? Issues with non standard rims / tyres can also be that they can rub on the inside of the front wheel arches when turning as there is not enough clearance for them in the car design.

Wide, low profile tyres typically give better grip, but a bumpier ride (no give), so it depends what you want ... slightly better performance, or slightly better comfort.
Rplacing lo-profile tyres can also be expensive. With a car that age, I would check the cost of replacing a set of the existing tyres vs. the purchase of a set of smaller standard rims and tyres and go with the cheaper option.

Obviously, also ask the opinion of the place where you will buy tyres.

[maxxfi]

Sinikala, you spotted exactly the 'comma 22' aspect of the choice:
- either I keep same size of tyres, and get wide tyres (that are a bit more expensive than normal ones)
- or I return to the 'official' size, but I would need to buy also rims.

I would prefer a bit more comfort (by the way, these 195 are also somewhat noisy) so I'd possibly go for the latter.

Anyway, should I go for the non-official sizes, should I expect any legal inconvenience , provided that technically they are
ok for the car?

[Kai]

Your current size tyres may be a problem, a friend recently failed his mot for the same reason. Apparently they are not to bothered about the width being out of specification (as long as they do not foul anywhere)but if the outside circumference of the tyre is different to standard this affects the gearing of your car and as a result your speedometer reading. Your current tyres circumference is bigger than standard meaning your speedo is showing a slightly lower speed than it should. But I don´t know how strict they are and if there is a set tolerance for how much your tyres can deviate from standard, it may be worth just asking at your local mot centre if that size of tyre is acceptable before you make a decision.

[Pursuivant]

And you might want to consider if the wheels are on there so that they actually make the car better handling or if they're mainly "poser" wheels. You might want to check at a tire garage or even the dealer if they have some opinion. Also depends if you're going to be spinning around town or driving longer distances etc. etc.

[maxxfi]

Thanks Kai for the suggestion.
I think with the previous car owners it has not been an issue because these are summer tyres
and the car has its MOT in wintertime, when it has regular sized wheels