Snow tire fitment, quick question

[Greg Smith]

The difference between the 205/55-16 and the 215/55-16; at least with the Nokian, Gislaved and Semperit snows that I sell is that the sidewall of the 205 has a single ply and generally the 215  will have a 2 ply sidewall; theu making it feel a bit stiffer.

You save a few bucks and get a little better winter function with the narrow tires.

Just my .02

Greg Galinsky
G & G Service

Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote: Load rating doesn't necessarily make the sidewalls stiff enough to avoid damage from potholes, though.

I'm running XL-rated snows (225/45R17 97V Nokian WR) on the R and the sidewalls are noticeably softer than the OEM 235/45R17 97Y rated Pirelli P Zero Rosso. 

I haven't had any issues with bent wheels due to tire choice- my cars run in the Northeast all the time and although I try to avoid potholes, I do hit them from time to time and there are spots where I drive where the pavement is so broken that it is impossible to avoid. 

Actually, I think I have more issues with bent wheels with ultra stiff sidewalls- the sidewalls don't yield, so the wheels take more impact. Falken RT-615 don't help in this regard.

Taka