So I'm not much of a car buff. Short history my first car was a Corolla, I crashed it. I got a protege5, because I liked combo of milage, handleing and space for the outdoor stuff I do. However, one problem has consistantly been the odd sized tires. Particularly for snow (I remember reading up on this when I got it people had steel for winter etc etc). Now call me weird if you want, but I like having everything OEM.

To get to the point. My question do the 16 or 17" rims for the Mazda 3 work on a protege5 (and I mean no subtle problems) AND solve the oh you need new tires come back in a few weeks. Nope no snow tires that size type problems.

Also while I'm in tire land, it seems to me that my rims must leak or something, or is that just something that often happens with alloy rims, because they loose air much faster than my steelies on my corolla ever did. Any tire wisdom is much apprecated.

 

As far was what I have read and seen the wheels fit. I do not know what tire size they are, though.
As for keeping OEM, maybe looking for the 195/50 is pushing it a little too far? There is not a large selection in that size. If you like handling I say go with 205/45 or 40, if you prefer a softer ride go with 195/55 or 60.
There is a very recent thread similar to this, you may want to check it out.