Tire size on '90 325ic

[Larry Schwarcz <lrs@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, it's time for me to buy some new front tires for my '90 325ic.  
But, I've now been told by two different BMW places that I should 
stick to the OEM size (195/65R14).  I now have 205/60R14s on the 
rear since Yokahama didn't have the AVS Int in my size (yes, I really 
like those AVS Intermediates!).

Any thoughts on running a size that's not the OEM size?  I have a 
program that shows differences between tires sizes that says:

   Specification  Sidewall  Radius  Circumference  Revs/Mile  Difference
   195/65-14         127mm   305mm         1914mm        841        0.0%
   205/60-14         123mm   301mm         1890mm        852       -1.2%

This shows that there wouldn't be much speedo error (-1.2%) and the
new tire is 8mm (0.31") shorter and 10mm wider (0.39").

So, it seems to me that the differences are very small in terms of
how the car would handle.  But, are BMWs more sensitive to tire size
differences than other makes?

      Thanks!
         Larry Schwarcz
         lrs@domain.elided

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