Hi folks,
I am considering changing the stock Michelin tires on my 99 V70
to a Dunlop SP5000.
My question is since the height profile on the Michelins is a 60, and
the height profile on the Dunlops' is a 55, will I run into problems?
I realize the height profile determines the relationship of weight
distribution in the width of the tire. Will the lower profile tire decrease
my gas mileage? Will my speedometer register the correct speed.
Thanks for your help with these questions

Larry

This site has a nice tire size calculator that can tell you the speedo
error.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

The speedo error won't be much. A dealer can set it to the tire size, if you wish. But, I doubt speedos are more then 5% accurate anyway so you should be
OK.

Tire width is really the bigger issue since you can get some rubbing.
A 205/55 16 inch fits fine in a V70 so you could use that to determine if
your target size will fit.

The profile is simply the ratio of sidewall height to width.

The change in profile will have little to no impact on mileage. I changed from a 195-60 to a 205-55 and I calculated the speedo error at 1.4%- not much. Please make sure you are not going too wide as they could rub.