[justme]

I bought a 2001 Limited a little over a year ago. I don't like it for many reasons - none of them because it's a PT (my mother loves hers), but because of the problems that were hidden from me and have since surfaced.

Anyway, I have never liked the tires because the ride was rough, and because control was a little more difficult than what I am used to. I have low-profile tires with chrome rims. They look nice but are terrible in the winter, and I live on a very steep hill. I have never had problems driving in the winter with any of my past cars, but there were times last winter when I did not drive the PT and relied on friends for rides, so here I am now asking/begging for advice.

This is what is on the car -
Goodrich 205/50 ZR17 89W

When I went to a Chrysler dealership to get an estimate, I was told the above tires & rims are original to the car and that Chrysler has no specs on going down in size because everyone wants to go up. He said there is an issue with clearance that won't show up until they are on the car, and since they don't keep that in stock, they didn't want to be stuck with it if it did not fit.

The other day I was reading the sticker on the car door (for other info for another issue), when lo and behold, it says right there on the sticker the tires that came with the car! And they are NOT the ones that are on it now. It also lists another recommended size.

Here is what came on the car according to the sticker:
P205/55 R16 BSW
Rims 16x6
34 PSI

Recommended tire sizes:
P195/65 R15
Standard weight
P205/55 R16
Standard weight

This is new territory for me, so I have little idea as to what most of these number/letters mean. I went to Sam's Club website, just to get a general idea on tire prices, and they also asked for the service description. I know it is 89W on the tires I have now, but I don't want those tires. I don't know how to find the service description on the recommended sizes.

So here are my questions (finally)-
My concern is safety, reliability, MPG, and price - not style/looks.

What size? What tires? What rims?

How does size, and types of tires affect safety, reliability, and MPG?

How do I find the service description for the recommended sizes?

What does BSW mean?


Thank you!