These tires are the whole 10mm wider than the size indicates. The sidewall is ca. 5mm lower than the size indicates (and it is very stiff). The ride is comfortable but the road-holding is stiff and great. A dry/wet grip is great, too. These tires seem slightly better than Hankooks S1 evo 215/35R16 (as the closest size counterpart I had) in almost all areas while having a higher load index. The only drawback is slightly lower feedback in straight-line driving. Overall recommend!
205/40 R16 Tires
Everything we know about the 205/40 R16 tire size: 5 owner reviews covering 5,015 miles of driving, and EU label data for the tires you can actually buy in it.
- 5owner reviews
- 5,015 milescovered on them
- 21tires made in this size
205/40 R16 EU tire label data
EU label values are declared for each individual size, so the figures here are exact for 205/40 R16 rather than a range across a model. 9 tires carry label data in this size. The most common load index is 83 (up to 487 kg per tire). Speed ratings on offer: W (270 km/h), V (240 km/h).
70dB Quietest tires
The quietest 205/40 R16 tires are labelled at 70 dB external noise:
- Petlas Velox Sport PT741 Summer 8
- Starmaxx Ultra Sport ST760 Summer 7.2
- Nexen N Fera SU1 Summer 7.1
- Starmaxx Ultra Sport ST730 Summer 7.1
- Accelera PHI R Summer 3.7
- Syron Race 1 Summer
Label values come from the EU EPREL database and apply to the EU market versions of each tire. Wet grip and rolling resistance run from class A (best) to E; noise is the measured drive-by figure. A good label is a floor, not a verdict - the tests and owner ratings above tell you far more.
What does 205/40 R16 mean?
A 205/40 R16 tire is 205 mm wide, its sidewall is 40% of that width (82 mm) tall, and it fits a 16 inch wheel. That gives an overall diameter of roughly 570 mm.
| Section width | 205 mm |
|---|---|
| Sidewall height | 82 mm |
| Rim diameter | 16" (406 mm) |
| Overall diameter | ≈ 570 mm |
| Circumference | ≈ 1,792 mm |
| Revolutions per km | ≈ 558 |
| Revolutions per mile | ≈ 898 |
Also written as
205/40R16 205/40 ZR16 205-40-16 205 40 16
Figures are calculated from the nominal size. A loaded, rolling tire runs a few percent smaller, and true widths vary slightly between makes.
What cars use 205/40 R16 tires?
The cars most often running this size in our owner reviews. Each links to the best rated tires for that exact car.
What drivers say about their 205/40 R16 tires
The most recent owner reviews fitted in this size, in their own words.
The original tires were 185/55 so moving to 205/40 meant that the ride suffered but turn in was a lot better. The low profile means more torque steer though. Obviously a lot more grip in the dry.
Now in the wet. Originally I put these on the front and had the original 185/55 on the back so it still was ok, slid at the front but nice and progressive in the wet. Then I bought some Michelin PS3 for the front and moved these to the back. Now the Michelin although a summer tire have a really good wet compound, the Parada's do not, so I now have a very oversteery car which is good fun in a scary "when will it bite me" sort of way. I'm not talking a dab of oppo either, it is a couple of quick armfuls!
Which goes to show how you need to match tires. I will see how they go in the dry, the Parada's have a dry tread pattern but the PS3's are slightly softer in compound. If it is still oversteery will have to buy 2 more PS3's, it is ok in the wet going slowly but oversteer in a crappy old Yaris at speed is not something to wish for.
Now in the wet. Originally I put these on the front and had the original 185/55 on the back so it still was ok, slid at the front but nice and progressive in the wet. Then I bought some Michelin PS3 for the front and moved these to the back. Now the Michelin although a summer tire have a really good wet compound, the Parada's do not, so I now have a very oversteery car which is good fun in a scary "when will it bite me" sort of way. I'm not talking a dab of oppo either, it is a couple of quick armfuls!
Which goes to show how you need to match tires. I will see how they go in the dry, the Parada's have a dry tread pattern but the PS3's are slightly softer in compound. If it is still oversteery will have to buy 2 more PS3's, it is ok in the wet going slowly but oversteer in a crappy old Yaris at speed is not something to wish for.
Very good grip in dry handled very well on a couple track days but i dont know if id pay the 80 quid as they wear out so quickly done 9000 and need replacing
Great set of tires! Been through many brands, these being far the best! Falkens were rubbish, needed changing every 6 months, not good grip at all!!!
Goodyear Eagle f1's were decent, but tracking wa out and tires had to be replaced!
Toyo Proxes were the best on my MK3 16v GTI, until i got my hands on these! which are amazing for the price! Try them out, you wont be disappointed!
Goodyear Eagle f1's were decent, but tracking wa out and tires had to be replaced!
Toyo Proxes were the best on my MK3 16v GTI, until i got my hands on these! which are amazing for the price! Try them out, you wont be disappointed!
I've had BFG Profilers on just about everything me and my wife have owned in the last 8 years. From a 340bhp Calibra Turbo, to two Mercedes Cosworths, to a 328i Coupe, to a 1.4 6n Polo! I've logged the Cal-T as the car for this review, as I did about 100,000 miles in it with BFG tires. The 328i saw 70K with BFGs. Other cars much less.
My current car, Alpina B3, has Michelin Pilot Sport 2 - these are matched to the car, and must be fitted - so comparisons are drawn against them. I've also compared them against Yokohama AO24R as fitted to my 200sx Touring.
Compared with the two premium sports tires listed above the BFGs are very good indeed - they grip well, they have decent breakaway characteristics, reasonably solid sidewalls, seem to dissipate heat well, and are good in the wet. Aquaplaning characteristics are especially worthy of a mention - I've never had a BFG Profiler shod car aquaplane.
They also last forever.
I had a set on my Calibra Turbo, with about 20K already on them. Running at 250bhp+ at the time, they survived 70 laps of Goodwood with only minor peeling, and gave another 4K after that.
Don't laugh at the Calibra on a track bit - it was actually a good test bed for stuff like this. The dim-witted chassis belies a massive amount of mechanical grip and at somewhere open like Gooders, you can lean on the 4wd to a shocking extent. In the dry, it was lapping at similar times to a Grp N Cossie. In the wet I was about 10 seconds faster.
In the Mercedes Cosworth the dry grip was such that they would roll onto the sidewall before actually losing grip.
Compared with the MPS2 on the Alpina, which are very noisy, and last about 20K miles a set, and the Yokos, which are hopeless in the wet, and last about 6K miles on a 200sx, the BFGs are amazing value for money.
Finally, my Brother runs a tire outlet, and without fail, he will fit BFG Profilers to his cars (and he's got a lot of cars!). He's also put them on mates cars - 450bhp Sierra Cosworth included. I've yet to find any of my mates complain about BFGs - no matter what they've been fitted to.
Approximate wear rates;
Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4x4 @ 340bhp over 100,000miles = 30K per set (inc track work)
BMW 328i Coupe Auto @ stock over 70,000 miles = 25K per rears, 50K+ on the front
VW Polo 1.4 8v 6n @ stock over 24,000 miles = no visible wear!
Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 @ stock over 10,000 miles = no visible wear!
I highly recommend these tires.
Do I get a prize now then?
My current car, Alpina B3, has Michelin Pilot Sport 2 - these are matched to the car, and must be fitted - so comparisons are drawn against them. I've also compared them against Yokohama AO24R as fitted to my 200sx Touring.
Compared with the two premium sports tires listed above the BFGs are very good indeed - they grip well, they have decent breakaway characteristics, reasonably solid sidewalls, seem to dissipate heat well, and are good in the wet. Aquaplaning characteristics are especially worthy of a mention - I've never had a BFG Profiler shod car aquaplane.
They also last forever.
I had a set on my Calibra Turbo, with about 20K already on them. Running at 250bhp+ at the time, they survived 70 laps of Goodwood with only minor peeling, and gave another 4K after that.
Don't laugh at the Calibra on a track bit - it was actually a good test bed for stuff like this. The dim-witted chassis belies a massive amount of mechanical grip and at somewhere open like Gooders, you can lean on the 4wd to a shocking extent. In the dry, it was lapping at similar times to a Grp N Cossie. In the wet I was about 10 seconds faster.
In the Mercedes Cosworth the dry grip was such that they would roll onto the sidewall before actually losing grip.
Compared with the MPS2 on the Alpina, which are very noisy, and last about 20K miles a set, and the Yokos, which are hopeless in the wet, and last about 6K miles on a 200sx, the BFGs are amazing value for money.
Finally, my Brother runs a tire outlet, and without fail, he will fit BFG Profilers to his cars (and he's got a lot of cars!). He's also put them on mates cars - 450bhp Sierra Cosworth included. I've yet to find any of my mates complain about BFGs - no matter what they've been fitted to.
Approximate wear rates;
Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4x4 @ 340bhp over 100,000miles = 30K per set (inc track work)
BMW 328i Coupe Auto @ stock over 70,000 miles = 25K per rears, 50K+ on the front
VW Polo 1.4 8v 6n @ stock over 24,000 miles = no visible wear!
Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 @ stock over 10,000 miles = no visible wear!
I highly recommend these tires.
Do I get a prize now then?
Drive on 205/40 R16 tires?
Review your tires and help the next driver choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Where this data comes from
Owner ratings are submitted through the review form on this site, naming the tire, the size and the distance covered, and are checked by hand before publication. Test results come from independent published tire tests indexed by size, and label values from the EU EPREL database.
About the TR Score
The Tire Reviews Score rates each tire out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tire Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tires independently since 2007.