i dunno why you guys complain about stock tires! The Bridgestones are actually a really good tire. The dunlops are a cheaper version.
I am extremely happy with the Bridgestone OEM 185 55 16!

 

195 would either be a bit bigger or a bit smaller than stock depending on the aspect ratio. It would have to have a 52 aspect ratio to meet the stock Sports 185/55 (195/55 would be "too" big, and 195/50 would be small, 107.25mm and 97.5mm, more than 4 mm in either direction).

Where as 205/50 is only slightly bigger than 185/55 (102.5mm vs 101.75mm, less than 1mm).

That being said, it is a wider tire so some performance gains should show up (along with a slight mpg loss). And a bit of an effect on the odo and speedo. So, if you know what to expect, it should be a problem beyond that.

 

Has anybody kept detailed MPG records from their OEM 185/55R16's, then changed to a 205/50R16 and kept similarly detailed records?

I keep track of every tank on my car, and will consider a 205/50R16 if the penalty in mileage is <1mpg average - otherwise, I really have not been unhappy at all with the OEM size. I'd like to hear from someone who actually tracks their mileage who has made the transition. I'm running snow tires on 14" wheels through spring, but will have to buy tires for my OEM 16's before I reinstall them in March.

 

I replaced my stock tires with the 205's back in May, and I have an Scalc spreadsheet of my fuel economy for the full year I could send you.

 

I had four 205/50/16 Sumitomo HTR A/S PO1 H installed last night on my 09 Fit Sport MT and have driven about 40 miles on them, both on the highway and on city streets. Handling is about the same as with the stock Bridgestones, but they are noticeably quieter, especially when driving on concrete on the highway. The ride is somewhat less harsh, but it’s not a night-and-day difference. I’ll post again once I've had a chance to see whether the gas mileage is affected.

 

You are brave. I hope something like this doesn't happen.

 

As long as the tire is designed to fit on the size wheel that is being used, there is no more chance of that happening on a slightly wider tire than the oem size.

~SB

 

I gotta go in and get some new tires for the wife today. her mileage is 27k and I'm just looking at the price for OEM and about to crap myself. Gonna go with 205/50/16s. I hate winter in Michigan.

 

You might find that wider tires slide easier. But use tirerack.com test and reviews sections to choose your tires.

 

they work perfectly fine but they don't seem to last particularly long. look at replacing my wife's after this summer for sure and we run snow tires in the winter.

 

(First post back on the forum after a LOOOOONG absence! Sorry, y'all. Missed ya... Apologies for flaking out on you, but life intervened and it wasn't all fun-n-games. )

Kept my stock Fit Sport wheels with the Bridgestones on them (soon to sell) as backups, but I switched to driving on the Honda Modulo (accessory, made by Enkei) gunmetal 16's with Goodyear Eagle F1 DS3's (during the crazy-cheap TireRack sale) and was rewarded with insane grip but the absolute worst driving comfort imaginable. This is comparing both stock wheels and tires with the DS3's with a pretty stiff setup on my HKS S-Compact coils (6K Front / 3.7K Rear springs). Barely made 10,000 miles on the Goodyear DS3's before I decided to dump 'em and restore my sanity. It's amazing how much ride comfort deteriorated and noise increased just from a simple tire change to the rock-hard sidewall DS3's!

Anyway, after doing extensive TireRack and multiple-forum (every car brand/model known to man) research, I settled on the Conti ExtremeContact DWS's as well! I could not be happier with the switch. They are indeed a much softer cornering tire than the DS3's and not nearly as 'sharp', but that's to be expected when going from 'Max Performance Summer' to 'Ultra-High Performance All-Season." I do not regret the losses in 'sharpness' one bit, as the car feels more like a luxury sports sedan now than a buzzy, vibrating, harsh econobox. I hope they never discontinue this size in the DWS's, because these tires have been absolutely brilliant so far, with ~500 miles on them to date.

To answer the posed questions:

-I've settled on 38psi front, 36psi rear COLD. Seems to be the best balance from my limited tweaking. This is with a full corner-balancing (on racing scales) of my HKS coilover suspension, so it should be pretty accurate. Tried 33/30 and 42/39 as well and liked neither as much.

-No idea, but I've estimated 1-2mpg just from going to 205's + the 1lb heavier tires. The DWS's seem to be fairly eco-conscious, low-rolling resistance for highway driving, though, despite having 'enough' grip when it's called for. I put that on the latest generation, high-tech compound it uses.

-HUGE improvement in both road noise and high-frequency vibration (read: the constant, 'background' vibration, not the big thumps like expansion joints, etc.). The car is much smoother than both the stock setup and the Goodyear Eagle F1 DS3's, both by a big margin.

Hope that helps. These look to be the best 'compromise tire' for our cars in 205/50/16, if you don't want your Fit to ride like ass and don't track your car.

Cheers,

Basil

 

looking at Kumho ASX. Seems like good tires.

 

Of these other sizes which would handle best in occasional snow? Still have the original 185 55 R16 and they seem to handle fine? We do not get enough snow in winter to warrant snow tires.

 

Honda does not recommend tires, they just use the ones that pass minimum testing at the lowest price from bidders. In the Fit Dunlop and Bridgestone were the winners.

 

Use Tirerack specs and reviews (testing lap times, too)for a good choice on the tires you 'want'. 205 is the section width as wide as you can really use but make sure you keep the same or nearly same diameter. For winter 175 is preferred section width to better 'plow' thru snow and provide better traction pressure and a slightly bigger diameter is better to roll on oncoming snow, just not more than a half inch bigger diameter.
This is only slightly applicable to Fits with lowered suspensions or wheel offsets.

 

The narrower the tire, the better it will handle in snow given that you compare the same tire in different widths. I always run the stock tires for one season and Snows every year after. I'm running 185 Snows on 15" integra Alloys. Night and day difference from the stock wheels to dedicated snows in winter driving.

~SB

 

the problem with the stock 185/55/16 size is that there are only 3 choices total on tirerack.com. 2 bridgestones and 1 dunlop, and they're all non-performance orientated. If you want smoething more sticky, you'll need to upgrade to 205 (keeping the diameter the same on 16'' wheels).

 

im running michelin xice 2s , 175 65 15 on my fit sport for the winter, on Honda steelies, handles perfect

i`m happy with the Bridgestone OEM tires 185 55 16 for the summer.

 

I just installed the Goodyear Fuel Maxes 205/50/16 with 65K warranty. I think it was 96 a tire

 

Same here with steelies... I am extremely happy with the winter performance of my 4 michelin X-ice2 with $70 manufacturer's rebate....

They sound very quiet to me, not much louder than the stock dunlop all seasons....riding on the michelin X-ice2 does not make me feel I am on winter tires at all.. smooth as silk...pretty quiet.. until the roads gets snowy and slushy, then I started to hear the sloshing sounds as the michelin x-ice2 cuts through the slush and wet snow when I drive the FIT through the wet snowy slushy roads