QuestionQUESTION: I have a 1998 Sebring JX Convertible. It came stock with 205/65/15's. I recently purchased 4 new tires and they installed 205/70/15's because that was all they had in stock. They said the clearance was fine and the 5mm size difference would be OK. Do you see any issues with this? What are the Pros and Cons here?
My old tires were so bad that anything would have been an improvement. So, they gave me two days to test drive it and make sure. I also noticed the all the 70's across the board are less expensive than the 65's. Can you please give me some advice?
Thanks!
Jeff
ANSWER: Jeff,
The differences between tires is going to have more effect that the change in tire size. I don't see issues just due to the size.
But I am very surprised that they did not have the 65 series tires as that was an incredibly popular size. And while the 70 series used to be poplar, it should be less so today. I wonder what they told you was the real reason, or did they sell you a set of tires they could make a good profit on?
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for responding so quickly Barry. The 70's were actually less expensive than the 65's. I purchased four Cooper Guardsman at $42 each. That is what made me 'raise an eyebrow' in the first place. Can you tell me exactly what are the Pros and Cons of using the 70's instead of the 65's? And, how can this affect my driving performance?
Thanks for you help.
Jeff
AnswerJeff,
Since you didn't tell me what you took off, I can't tell you what is going to change. And in anticipation of your next question - No, I can't tell you what a change from XXXX to a Cooper Guardsmen (never heard of them!) is going to affect your driving performance. After all, there are literally thousands of different makes and models of tires, and that makes it impossible to know this.
As I said before, the differences between tires is going to have more effect that the change in tire size. I don't see issues just due to the size.
