Now that I know what to look at (thanks for showing me), he didn't go off the placard.  The card says Front 195/60R14 & rear 205/60R14.  The rims have been changed to 15, so I know the last number will be 15 instead of 14.  He recommended 195/55R15.  Now that I know the first number is the width and the last number is the rim.  what is the 2nd number?  Does that have any impact?  Should that still be 60?
I just want to be armed with the right info when I go & talk to him.
 
Cheers
 
 

na/sdub

Not at all! Your tyre guy probably went off what the tyre placard recommends for the model. My suggestion should be considered an up grade! You may need to purchase wider alloy wheels. If you prefer a standard appearance A good upgrade would be to fit 2nd to 3rd generation sw20 Mr2 wheels. You'll be able to fit larger tyres to these wheels. 

........ wait............... I think just worked out what the middle number is ..................... the thickness??
Same question tho, the card says 60 but they've put 55 on.  Does this make a difference?
 
 

The middle number is the tyre profile, which like you say is basically the height of the sidewall. 
 
The 15' wheels I have use 50 profile tyres. 
 
Your placard is for 14' wheels which use a 60 profile tyre. 
 
Its worked out so the overall rolling diameter doenst change 'too' much. If the overall diameter changed that affects your speedo.

Ok, he did say something about the speedo possibly being out.  So if you change from 14 to 15 it would be ok to change the 60 down to a 50??
So it's basically the width I need to talk to him about.  cool.
 

Dudeman

The middle number is the tyre profile, which like you say is basically the height of the sidewall. 

The 15' wheels I have use 50 profile tyres. 

Your placard is for 14' wheels which use a 60 profile tyre. 

Its worked out so the overall rolling diameter doenst change 'too' much. If the overall diameter changed that affects your speedo.

The second number in tyre sizes is the percentage of width the sidewall has.
I'll explain...
Say you have a 205/50 R16 tyre, the '50' means 50% of 205 or the tyre's overall width called 'Section Width'.
So; 205mm width, 50% sidewall = sidewall has an overall height of 102.5mm. This includes the bit that you can't see inside the wheel holding the tyre to the wheel.
Pretty much all tyres are measured this way with the exclusion of some 4WD, truck and heavy machinery tyres.
Here's a link to figure out 'Rolling Diameters' so your speedo reads correctly with your wheel and tyre choice... http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator
Have fun! :)
 

Welcome to the forum Shaz.
Some info you may find handy.
The OEM 15" Toyota wheel/tyre specs as fitted to post '92 models are:
Front - 15X6" (45 offset) that had 195/55 R15 tyres.
Rear - 15X7" (45 offset) that had 225/50 R15 tyres.
Note that the rear rim widths are wider to match the wider tyres.
If these were fitted to an earlier model car that originally had 14" wheels,  there would be no speedo error and no steering probs.

Thanks Dr J.  I think I now have too much information , lol.  but the calculator helped make sense of it.
 
Going to see tyre man tomorrow & tell him that he told me the wrong info, ask him nicely to take the wrong tyres back & replace them with the 205/55R15 for not much extra money.
 

Dr.J

The second number in tyre sizes is the percentage of width the sidewall has.
I'll explain...
Say you have a 205/50 R16 tyre, the '50' means 50% of 205 or the tyre's overall width called 'Section Width'.
So; 205mm width, 50% sidewall = sidewall has an overall height of 102.5mm. This includes the bit that you can't see inside the wheel holding the tyre to the wheel.
Pretty much all tyres are measured this way with the exclusion of some 4WD, truck and heavy machinery tyres.
Here's a link to figure out 'Rolling Diameters' so your speedo reads correctly with your wheel and tyre choice... http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator
Have fun! :)

Nice car!!
 
If you are talking about the front tyres go either stock 195/55/15 or 205/50/15 (similar overall diameter), I ran 205/50/15 on the front when I had 15s.  205/55/15 will be too tall, relatively speaking.
 
Cheers

Haven't been to the tyre guys, yet.  But I emailed the guy I bought the car from to ask if he could remember what he had on the back.  He is fairly sure he had 225/55R15.  He also said the he used to get the same thing everytime he went to get tyres.  They would try to talk him into changing them.
He had used 205's, but ended up with 225's the last couple of changes.
I'll keep you posted.

Also try
Gordeans mr2 tyre calculator it has presets for both mk2 and 3 and shows the difference in speedo when you put your current details in compared to stock so you can work out something that's 15-16 inch and still has same rolling diameter as stock
Like I said give me a ring at toyota if you need a chat or written proof,
Ask for Ethan in parts
Thanks shaz