best tire size for quiet ride and mileage

[tadaima]

Currently i have a 2000 camry with 205/65/15. Was thinking of going to something crazy like 185/65/15, since the tire is thinner it should get better mileage right?

However a taller sidewall has lower road noise.

Any opinions or experience

[95camguy]

you could go with a taller sidewall for smoother ride, but im not sure about road noise. you should probably stick with a good touring tire if you are concerned about road noise. use the customer review section at tirerack.com and read the reviews. each tire is rated and there is a category that is called "noise comfort". this should help you get started.

also i would not suggest changing tire size really because it will throw off your speedometer. also going with a tire that is really thin like you are thinking may help gas mileage but you will probably be compromising saftey which isnt a good idea. my sister used to have an 87 corolla with like 155 series tires on it. those damn things should be illegal. the car handled dangerously, breaking distance was also increased. if you get a good quality tire than you shouldnt have to change tire size to satisfy your disire for a quiet, smooth tire.

[SiennaSC98]

Originally Posted by tadaima

Currently i have a 2000 camry with 205/65/15. Was thinking of going to something crazy like 185/65/15, since the tire is thinner it should get better mileage right?

However a taller sidewall has lower road noise.

Any opinions or experience

With smaller tire, your mileage will suffer.
Speedometer reading with the smaller tire is 4.0% too fast.
When your speedo reads 60mph, you are actually travelling 57.6mph.

Tires Revs/min comparison:
205/65/15 - 791
185/65/15 - 824

[tadaima]

Thanks, yea i know that mileage will suffer with smaller diameter tires, however you will gain low end torque? But I will try to keep the diameter the same but have the width thinner if I can.

[CrawlingEye]

no tire size will increase power of the car.
the unsprung weight of a tire can make your car faster, but that's another story all together.

[Knailgun]

smaller tires won't help the mileage...just throw the speedo off. Larger tires may make the ride have a small amount of cushion, but will look like ass

[tadaima]

True smaller diameter tires wont increase power, but will adjust the tranmission ratio to utlized torque quicker.

Well my car is pretty plain looking already, so bigger tires couldnt make it worse, unless it starts scrapping. However I always feel that the 5sfe is stressed already up hill with larger diameter tires, so i figure smaller diameter tires would do the engine some favor.

Maybe I will put 16" steels with 205/55/16, road noise will probably be worse though with the lower profile tire, but I would gain a bit of usable torque through transmission ratior adjustment.

[terrastrife]

touring tyres .

[kenny1773]

Originally Posted by tadaima

Currently i have a 2000 camry with 205/65/15. Was thinking of going to something crazy like 185/65/15, since the tire is thinner it should get better mileage right?

However a taller sidewall has lower road noise.

Any opinions or experience

I'll give an opinon, but there are no actual facts behind it

I would assume a 'thinner' tire would have less rolling resistance and therefore yeild a better MPG. This assumes the same brand and model tire (see more below)

If you have a factory size of 205/65/15 then a 195/70/15 make more sense than the 185 size you listed. This should also give a softer ride with less handling performace due to the higher sidewall.

What you really need to find is a tire with a tread pattern and rubber compound that has a very low rolling resistance. Even though you get 'thinner' tires, if the rolling resistance is higher it won't help you (i.e. you switch brands/models).

The problem is, there is no way that I know of to find the rolling resistance of each type (brand model) of tire.

Tire noise also seems to be related to tread design and rubber compound, again another thing that is very hard to find data on. It is really just a try it out and see type of thing.

Another thing to think about is that if you make the tire too 'thin' the pressure per square inch of the surface area of the tire that contacts the road will go too high (now you will have less surface area of tire supporting the weight of the car) and negate the benefit of the 'thinner' tire.

[CamryPunk]

Regardless of what everyone tells you, it's mainly the tire material.

Michelin has the softest rubber out there, BUT don't expect to get the most miles out of it.