[ugsrich]

Well, you asked for opinions (and we all know what an opinion is akin to). I have a ’95 by the way so we share the same vehicle body style. That piece of information is irrelevant however as my opinion has less to do with the vehicle characteristics and more to do with the manufacturer’s specifications.

Given that brief background my opinion is that one should make every reasonable attempt to maintain their vehicle as prescribed by the manufacturer. The vehicle was nominally designed to be operated at those specifications. Naturally, given the fact that multi-ton vehicles, carrying large quantities of highly-volatile gasoline in their fuel tanks are engineered to be operated by morons at speeds in excess of 60mph (that’s a mile-a-minute to you and me) it is safe to say there is a HUGE safety factor built into vehicles systems. Not withstanding the safety factor that folks much smarter than me engineer into the vehicle I prefer a vehicle setup that keeps me in the nominal range. I believe this is important to ensure vehicle component longevity (tires in this case). I believe this is important in the case of vehicle handling and stability. And, I believe this is important in the case of operational efficiency.

Two of the three points mentioned drive specifically to the choice you are faced with; saving money on an alternate tire size. Given the criteria stated above various tire sizes will wear differently based their ability to dissipate heat. A smaller tire will rotate at a higher angular velocity to cover a given distance at a given speed. This means more heat build up (greater wear) and potentially shortened longevity (you may need to buy new tires sooner costing you $$$). The matter of wear will apply equally to your driving habits and is extended to include cornering, braking, etc. In terms of operational efficiency the vehicle’s fuel consumption is functionally proportional to engine speed (as well as other matters). Here again, a change in tire size will modify the velocity at which the engine must turn in order to maintain a given vehicle speed. Smaller tires will need to rotate faster and thus the engine RPM is higher and thus one consumes more fuel. On the matter of stability, most of us are not running NASCAR, there are simply too many other unpredictable factors, not the least of which might be the maintenance of proper tire pressure (when did you last check yours?), that to make rationale argument about stability is most likely not pertinent in most cases.

That’s my view and explanation. My opinion in short: Size does matter; operate the vehicle at its nominal design specification.

Let us know what you decide. Your decision will be the best one for you!