All-season tire performance?

What would you think of this combo;
Goodyear - Eagle F1 GS-D3 195/50VR15 82V @ $129.95 CDN
http://www.tiretrends.com/catalog2.php3?tireID=412

or

Hankook - Ventus R-S2 195/50ZR15W 82W @ $106.95 CND
http://www.tiretrends.com/catalog2.php3?tireID=520

with wheels
OZ Racing - Ultraleggera Gold 15 x 7 4x100 37mm (Gold) @ $239.95 CDN
http://www.tiretrends.com/wheel_catalog ... eelID=6285

or
Konig - Helium Bronze 15 x 6.5 4x100 40mm (Bronze) @ $129.95 CND
http://www.tiretrends.com/wheel_catalog ... heelID=125

Is 15" too much ???

Tire choice was based on Car and Driver mega test
see here:
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/te ... _gs_ds.pdf
You can see that Toyo T1-R was surpassed.
What do you think of this, your imput is highly regarded.
Please give me pro's and con's regarding all this.
Thanks.

The Toyo T1R and Yokahama ES100 tires are the only excellent ultra high performance summer tires available in 14" sizes and in diameters that keep the speedomer within 2%.
There are a number of ultra high performance tires that are slightly better then those two in dry and/or wet grip but that would require moving to a larger diameter tire (195/60R14 Falken Azenis) or moving up to 15" rims like you suggested.

Upgrading to 15" rims and top of the line ultra high performance summer tires:

Pros:
Better tires are available in 15" sizes because it's a more common size used for civics etc...
Lots more rims are available in 15" some of then are lightweight
With better tires and lower profile shape the handling and grip with improve and provide a more responsive ride

Cons:
The 15" rims will have a larger moment of enertia compared to the 14"rims even if they weigh the same, reducing the Insight's acceleration slightly. Added cost of buying more rims.
The comfort will decrease because the sidewalls of the 15" tires are shorter.
14" Race-compound tires will always be better then any street tire for the ultimate grip in dry or wet conditions.

Be careful with the offset of the rims test fit before buying. I recommend 15"x6.5" rims instead of 15"x7" rims because the tires and rims are less likely to rub and the rims are typically lighter.
The Insight is very light weight 1880lb so it will not benefit as much compared to upgrading a 2500 lb civic from 14" rims to 15" rims.

Another option is to use 185/60R14 Yokohama A032R Race Compound tires on the street in the summer if you want better grip without buying 15" rims :badgrin:

There is no significant reason not to upgrade to 15" rims and get even better 195/50R15 tires. Let us know what you decide and how it goes.

The Eagle F1 is a better tire in the rain and the Hankook R-S2 is better in dry conditions. The Eagle F1 would be quiter then the very noisy Hankook R-S2. I drove a WRX with R-S2 tires today at a Car Control School and those tire do NOT squeel at the limit, they make a scrapping sound before slidding like an R-compound tire. They don't give a audioble warning before skidding, but that limit is so high i should never be experienced on public roads unless it's an emergency avoidance situation.
The owner of the WRX noticed almost a 10% drop in fuel economy when we swithed from his OEM Bridgestone RE92 to the Hankook R-S2 a few weeks ago :shock:

If you going for it, buy the lightest 15" rims you can afford.
The OEM insight rims are only 11lbs each.

All season tire performance

Guillermo
I have just ordered a set of Konig Helium 15" x 6.5" rims with
Toyo T1-R 195/45 tires. The stock rims and tires have a diameter
of 22.44" the new set will have a diameter of 21.9" for a difference of -2.41%.
I was torn between ordering the 195/45 and the same tire in 195/50
which has a diameter of 22.67" for a difference of +1.02%
My feeling was as we are only dealing with limited horsepower the
smaller diameter might be better also the T1-R's will likely only last
two summers so I can always go to the 50's next time.

Jerry