Well, it's that time of the year......bought a 2002 Protege 5 this summer and the tires are all but disintegrated. I'm a firm believer in good winter tires (best purchase I ever made for my VW in the snowy Calgary winter) and I've been researching winter tires for the Protege. Having some troubles so far because the stock size used on the 5 (P195/50/R16) is VERY uncommon to find in winter tires. So, my choices are to pay outrageous prices for a 205/50/R16 winter tire (recommended by Mazda) or pay the extra $250 bucks on top of tires for the smaller 195/55/R15's....which runs me the same if not more. So, here's the questions.....has anybody ever used an easier to find size on their Protege, even though it's not recommended? For intance, a 205/55/R16 is easy to find, only an inch bigger in diameter and seems like it should work but Mazda is telling me it "could" pop. Anyone!?!?!?!? As well, the only good price on 16" winters I could find is on the Hankook Ice Bear W300's, but they are considered "performance" winter tires and don't seem aggressive enough for frequent trips to the ski hills. Input or suggestions?

 

Alot of guys with msp's and pro 5's have no problems running 205/55/16's.
Lucky bastards!

 

I bought 15" steelies and have Dunlop Graspics--195/55/15. No way I was going to pay for
the 195/50s, it's ridiculous and no selection. When I replaced my stockers with summer tires I went with 205/45/16, much easier to find as well.

 

I've been running 185-55-15 Nokian Hakka 1 on my pro5 for 2 Toronto winters now. Really pleased. There are few dealers, but the tires are awesome, plus there are newer models out now too. I don't see why you'd want to run your OEM rims in winter, just look at some of the other P5s out there....02 were notorious for having rim rust in just 1-2 winters in the rust belt.

As for 205, you'd actually want narrower tires in winter, so you "sink" and not float over the snow.

Based on your snow hill requirements, I think you need more of a snow tire than an ice tire, so stay away from the so-capped "performance" winter tires.