Tires: Choice of tyres, potenza giii, tyre size

Question
Hi Barry,

I am in the process of having new tyres fitted to my car which has a standard tyre size of 165/65R13 77T.
I am in a dilemma choosing between Goodyear and Bridgestone. I have read that Bridgestone's deliver a sort of rough ride and also tend to be a little noisy at speeds over 100kmph, albeit they perform well in bad weather and bad road conditions. On the other hand, Goodyear's wear out way faster than 'stones.
I know that we're talking about two very credible brands, but I just want to be a 100% confident before making a decision. What would you advise.
Following are the Goodyear models that I'm looking into:
GT3, Ducaro GDi, Ducaro GA, Eagle Ventura, Eagle NCT 5 and the Eagle F1 GSD3.
Following are the Bridgestone models that I'm also looking into:
Potenza GIII(175/60R13 77H)
Potenza GIII(185/60R13 80H)
Turanza ER60(165/65R13 77H)

Also, could you briefly talk about upsizing and some advantages and disadvantages of opting for an upsize. Would you recommend it?
Clearly, I am very confused and would appreciate your insight on this subject.

Thank You.

Answer
Jascha,

I am unfamilar with these tires, so I can't advise you.  Besides I work for a major manufacturer of tires so you shouldn't trust what I would say anyway!

Upsizing usually refers to increasing the rim diameter, while at the same time using a wider, but lower aspect ratio tire.  Here you're keeping the rim diameter the same - normally referred to as Plus Zero, but you've also include a physically larger tire as well.

Differences between tire lines has more affect than changing the tire size within the same tire line.

That being said, lower aspect ratios (same load capacity) is directionally towards worse ride, worse wet traction, worse snow traction, worse fuel economy, but better handling.

Going larger in load capacity (but reducing the inflation pressure and keeping the same aspect ratio) improves ride, but has worse snow traction and wet traction.

Hope this helps