hello

I am upgrading the my stock 15 inch wheel on my 01 Xterra to the 16 inch wheel option found on the 02-04.

My stock wheel is 265/70 15. I know the overall diameter is 29.6 inches.

The Sears tire person told me you have to stick with the same diameter as the cars ABS was programmed for this diameter and weight.

The only option I could calculate to keep this diameter is 265/65 16. . . which doesn't seem to exist?

What are my tire options and if it affects the overall diameter slightly does it harm ABS?

thanks

Increased tire height can cause rubbing or worse depdending on how far you go. I hae never heard anyone on here mention that ABS was a consideration. My 01 X-SE had 255/65/16 as stock. I changed recently to 255/70/16. Where is most of your driving? Mine is all on-road for now.

The factory 16" was a 265/70-16.

Your speedo will be off by a small %, but your ABS will be unaffected.

My 2001 stock size was/is 255/65 R16 as jcl said.

i went from stock 16" with 31's to a 15" rim and 32's and i havent noticed anything with breaking except i had to trim alot of plastic. at least since your increasing the rim size you dont have to worry about calliper clearance

the only thing that will be affected will be your MPH and the ODO... and you can get a scanguage to fix that.. LOL

hello


HI!

:D

I am upgrading the my stock 15 inch wheel on my 01 Xterra to the 16 inch wheel option found on the 02-04.

My stock wheel is 265/70 15. I know the overall diameter is 29.6 inches.

The Sears tire person told me you have to stick with the same diameter as the cars ABS was programmed for this diameter and weight.

Sears people are idiots...parroting the same BS they were told about the ABS using the tire diameter to be able to stop you...which, had its origins back when ABS first came on the scene, and, how it worked was MISINTERPRETED, albeit, swiftly repeated ad nauseum through out the industry.

All the ABS does is know if your wheel is turning or not, so it can keep it turning, rather that you skidding (Wheel not turning).

There's a ring and sensor, if the ring is moving past the sensor, the ABS knows you are not skidding.

If you start to skid, the ABS lets off on the brake.

If you slam on the brake pedal, it squeezes the brakes as hard as it can w/o stopping the wheel from turning (Makes it turn as slowly as possible).

People have gone from stock 29" tires to 35" tires, and NO ONE has had the ABS not work fine.


The only option I could calculate to keep this diameter is 265/65 16. . . which doesn't seem to exist?

It exists, but is not a good size to get, so drop it from consideration.

What are my tire options and if it affects the overall diameter slightly does it harm ABS?

You have enormous tire options now. A new world is dawning before you.

:D

thanks

PS - It won't harm your ABS, it won't make the ABS not stop you.

You will not typically be able to get decent sized tires at Sears (Or most big box stores, as they are very ridged in their "factory sizes only" mantra.)

Your "Upgrade to 16" rims" over the 15" rims you have is questionable (Not wrong, just opens a question...)

The question - Are you willing to pay more for tires so that you can have more metal in the hole in the rubber?

You see, the tires for 15" rims are typically cheaper than for 16" rims.

I HAVE 16" rims, and I like them....but, if I started with 15" rims, I'd just keep them.

If you just want 16" rims, no problem...just letting you know that the tires for them are more $.

You DO get more size options with a 16" rim overall for an X....which is a plus.

The next important question is - What do you want the tires to be able to DO for you?

Where do you live? What's most important to you, off roading, wet pavement, snow, ice, long wear, mud, resistance to punctures or tears, crisp handling, short braking, lateral acceleration, resistance to hydroplanning?

You can just say all of that btw, you have to say what's MOST important, maybe RANK a few of interest, etc.

Then, if we know what matters to YOU, we can recommend some good options.

:wink-big:

thanks again TJTJ for the great explanation.. LOL

thanks everyone. . .

so it seems the two best options are 255/65-16 or 265/70-16. Which according to the handy tire size calculator on miata.net is 29.1 or 30.6 inches. Now that I know there is room for either and won't affect my ABS, how do I decide which to get? Does it matter?

Thanks to TJ for all the info on the ABS. You are right this isn't much of an upgrade, but I got my hands on some 16 inch wheels cheap and I have always wanted to do something a little nicer than my 15's. I don't mind the little extra for 16 inch wheels.

As far as picking wheels, I have been reading the posts. I live in North Jersey and am always on pavement. I like the look of all terrain tires, and I like the extra tread when it snows, which is only occasionally. So I really don't need all terrain, and they seem to cost more. Does anyone recommend a slightly more aggressive highway tire?

i would take the larger tire size since it will fill the wheel wells a little better. i bought mud terrains and have no regrets. haveing a more aggressive tire is deffinately a bonus. and it will look much better if you get all terrains

i have a set of Yokohama geolander ht/s which is right under there a/t tire and i love them... they have great tread wear and i am around 40k on the tires and there is still alot of meat left...

thanks everyone!
I went with a Goodyear Wrangler SRA, highway all season. They were about 170 each but Sears had buy 3 get one free. Still it hurt a little, I wasn't expecting it to be so much.

I went with 255/70/16, which kept just about the same overall diameter as my previous 265/70/15.

The difference is awesome on the highway, I had toyo all terrains before. I didn't want to give up the a/t look, but it was worth it since I am never off road anyway. And the guy said he has the Wranglers on his Durango and they are good in the snow which was my only other concern, even though it barely snows.

The 16 inch xterra wheels I got look much better than the 15 inch plain ones I had on there. I 'll try to take some pics.

Only other thing I am wondering, is why is there a hole in the front wheel centercaps? I thought maybe they fell off of the wheels I bought but I see that is how they are sold on ebay. My hub on the front wheels is kind of cooroded and looks bad?

Can I buy more centercaps without the whole and put them on the front?

Why do some not have the whole? Is is for 4 wheel drive?

thanks

Yes the ones with holes are for 4WD vehicles with lockout hubs.

Yes you can just buy the centercaps and slap them on...

Yes you can just buy the centercaps and slap them on...

Will original center hub covers usually fit aftermarket rims? My current covers (one is missing) don't have any logo on them so I was thinking they might be aftermarket? Or did some of the 2001 SE's come with blank center caps? I don't have a pic handy but the ones on m y X are alloy with 4 wide rounded spoke sections (X). My interest ..? I was to replace the missing one ... or replace two of them and keep #3 for a spare.

They will not fit aftermarket rims on any occasion that I am aware of.

That Sears guy DID know his stuff though and he did give you some professional advice.

The reason he said that is because of the ABS speed sensor. When you have a larger tire and you are driving as normal. The speed sensor sees that it is going the speed that is on your speedometer which is only accurate for the stock OEM tire size. However, when you slam on your brakes (the only time ABS is actuated) iw till see that you are not stopping as fast because of the larger diameter of tire, get it?

So, some tires may set off the ABS light on some vehicles, but never have I ever seen it on an Xterra. So therefore, I would not worry about it. I pulled all of my ABS sensors anyway.

the op got the stock 16" wheels, you should be able to get some center caps off ebay for cheap and slap em right on

thanks again everyone, but whenever i ask a question a new question arises

what is a lockout hub? Is that the kind you have to get out and twist for four wheel drive?

Do some Xterras have that? Mine is just the handle in the center console.

And just out of curiosity, if you have to twist for four wheel drive, is it usually rear wheel drive then the front has to be turned on? I thought my truck is front wheel drive and I am activating the rear for 4wd?

xterras come with auto locking hubs meaning you dont have to twist or get out. and the truck is rear wheel drive and fronts engage in 4wheel drive