hi everybody this is my first post here. I've been poking around the forums a bit and thought i'd ask my first question. I'm getting my wife's 2001 xterra SE 2wd (she went lexus). it's currently running stock 255/65r16 michelin ltx m/s that need to be replaced (truck now has 94k).
My question is, for a daily driver with no offroad driving (sf bay area highways might count as light offroading), should i stay stock size?

i like the look of 265/70r16 (i think that would fit stock 2wd correct?), but worry about mpg, handeling tradeoff. is 255/70r16 going to give me a little plusher ride? will the extra sidewall make much of s difference. it would be nice to fill up the wheel well a bit you know? would a 31" highway tread tire look stupid?

i think for the type of driving i do, i'd probably stick with a highway tire (ltx m/s2 this time), but am intrigued by the look of an a/t tire in the larger 265/70 size (ive got 285/75r16 destination a/t's on my f150, but at 13mpg its a poor DD, nice tire though).

any advice or comments would be great! thanks in advance!

Welcome! The larger 265/70 should fit with no problem. I can't really comment on the MPG's though. That may be one that you'll have to wait and see on. MPG's have so many variables that factor into it. I can't imagin the larger tire would drasticly degrade your MPG's. The taller side wall will definately improve your ride. I don't think you will notice a diffrence in the handling, it is an Xterra and not a vette...lol As long as you aren't doing 50 around a hair pin turn you will be fine... :)

Yeah go bigger. Xterras are meant for it :D

thanks for the input. Yeah i figured a little extra sidewall would be nice for the ride. is there a diy fix for correcting the speedo? not that it would be off by much (5.4% with the 265/70r16)

anbody have any pics of the sizes i mentioned or a similar setup?
thanks again!

hey Bay Xterra, Im from the Bay too lols.
enweis i have a 2k SE, currently running cooper discover 265/70/r15 these are the X wheels. it runs very smooth and i love the thicker walls. But im still thinking if i wanna go bigger and wider. maybe wheel spacers should do the trick.
goodluck on the tire hunt lemme know if you need a helping hand on your X

I'm running 31's on my 2wd x. Treadwright Warden A/T's.
Stock 265/70R15s
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k259/admrl20/Marshmellow/xterra.jpg

And the 31's
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k259/admrl20/Marshmellow/SANY0079.jpg

GPD605, nice X, hows the Warden for street road? good for a lil offroad too??
not too loud on street?

you think a 32 would fit stock height or should i just stay with 31?

thanks :D

The wardens are good, gotta lil hum to them but nothing bad. I had to do a lil trimming on my 31s but re-treads are a little taller than they say because of the new rubber they put on. I've only done sum small off-roading and they did fine but most who have them say their good. I'd stay with 31's but bigger is always better. My 31's gave my x a good stance, made it sit a tad taller and I love it. Its up to you on if you wana spend the xtra $$ on 32s instead of 31s. you guna be doing much off-roading or what?

The wardens are good, gotta lil hum to them but nothing bad. I had to do a lil trimming on my 31s but re-treads are a little taller than they say because of the new rubber they put on. I've only done sum small off-roading and they did fine but most who have them say their good. I'd stay with 31's but bigger is always better. My 31's gave my x a good stance, made it sit a tad taller and I love it. Its up to you on if you wana spend the xtra $$ on 32s instead of 31s. you guna be doing much off-roading or what?

thanks, not that much off roading, coz if i do i have to prep and mod BL, PML, trimming on plastic etc.
My main goal is actually fill the gap, i hate that fender gap. plus i wanna make it a tad taller and wider. thinking if i do 275 or 285/70 or up plus 1.5 spacers it will give that meaner look.
other than that maybe a change in wheel spec, 16x8 0 offsets lol

enweis thanks for the info, i might just ask around who has a 31 and fit that first see how it looks

Yea, my 31s fill the gap pretty good, I thought about spacers to get a little wider but don't have the cash to see what itd look like

Spacers on our rigs actually have the opposite effect as on mosy cars. And if you're wanting to go wider you will have frame rubbing issues without loft i believe

I run Michelin LTX A/T2s. They are very good on the road, and still pretty capable offroad, although I'm looking at getting some MTs for that.

Spacers on our rigs actually have the opposite effect as on mosy cars. And if you're wanting to go wider you will have frame rubbing issues without loft i believe

Except when you run 12.5 wide tires on stock backspacing..
You rub on T bar anchors and that shield on the pass side..

I'd like to get 1/4 or 1/2 to bring it out a little bit.. I think 1/4 will work fine..

So yes there is a point where being super tucked doesn't help..

^^ the rubbing i'm tlking about it nothing to right home about.. I rarely hit it, maybe i just know my limits with the wheel but its like full lock..

255/65r16
265/70r16

255/65 = about 6.5" of sidewall. About 29" diameter... 91.1" circumference
265/70 = about 7.3" of sidewall. About 30.6" diameter... 96.1" circumference

So each rotation you'll travel about 5" more with the larger tire. If you don't get a tire with a crazy mean tread and travel mostly level roads I don't see it really eating up too much more gas myself. It may improve slightly even if it's mostly highway cruising you do (without getting stuck in the CA traffic that is!) because of the effective gearing you're doing.

Of course this early in the morning on a Holiday weekend my math may be way off if you know what I mean lol

so it is safe to say that:
1. 32" tires on Stock height will not rub? these are on stock wheels 15x7
2. If 32 rubs the inside, will spacers help?
3. If changing wheels to wider ones 15x8 or 16x8 do you recommend spacers or not anymore since the wheels make it wider now.

I came from FR cars such as 240sx, Toyota MR2, Toyota Trueno
and most of these cars the offset, tire size, etc is waaaaay diff from the X.

heres the Goal, stock height, no gaps (just a tad bit maybe :D), wider tires. should i stay stock wheels or upgrade wheels
so bare with me with all these noob wheel questions lol.
thanks again

Spacers hurt more than they help...On the X.. 32s will be fine on your X.. might need to trim a little bit of plastic on the front tires.. the part by the front door and tire

IC Ic, thanks for the reply. :D




ima do some drifting on the X now, burn the tires, so i have an excuse to get 32's LOL :))

Since this thread is already up and instead of me starting another one here's the question for all.

I have a 2002 X and I have factory stock 15" X7" steel wheels that look like this: http://www.autoguide.net/apf/nissan-wheels_rims/xterra-2004-oem_steel_wheel_rims-stl62368u20.html

The tires that I want are from Canadian tire measured at 31X10.50R15LT (Good year Wrangler Territory) :http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/1/TiresRims/LightTruckTires/PRD~0052335P/Goodyear%252BWrangler%252BTerritory/CROSSSELL~0422990%20Inox%2BChinese%2BTurner.jsp?lo cale=en

If so would I need any trimming on stock height? or would it rub by any chance?

What does C load rating mean? and does it affect my set up that I want?

Thanks for the help Club X

They wont rub some stock first gens come with 31s (30.6 in)

Since they won't rub that's awesome news.

What does C load rating mean on a tire? and does it affect my stock setup that I want?

Sorry you're going to have to use Google like the rest of us...

From Work Truck Online (http://www.worktruckonline.com/Article/Story/2007/07/How-to-Determine-Tire-Load-Ratings.aspx)

The max load and maximum inflation numbers found on the tire sidewall indicate the maximum load that can safely be carried and the maximum allowable tire pressure. The construction of the tire (belts, bead, carcass, liner) dictates the tire’s ability to withstand pressure. The stronger the reinforcements, the greater pressure the tire can hold.



Most alphanumeric tires feature a load range of B, which indicates that they are restricted to the load that can be carried at a maximum inflation pressure of 32 psi.

C, D, or E tires are capable of greater loads. Most load range C, D, and E tires are intended for light-truck applications.

http://www.fleet-central.com/resources/WT2007_07_34_2.jpg

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code#Explanation_of_tire_codes)


Load range
The Load Range Letter on light truck tires indicates their ply rating.[7]
Load Range Ply Rating
A 2
B 4
C 6
D 8
E 10
F 12
G 14
H 16
J 18
L 20
M 22
N 24

I'd ignore the load rating LETTER, like C, or D, etc...as it means pretty much nothing anymore.


IE: One tire with a load range of C might be STRONGER than another one with a load range of D, despite the implication that a D should be able to support more weight.


The number of plies is not longer meaningful anymore too, and the "Ply Ratings" that say 10 ply, or 8 ply, etc...refer to exactly NOTHING anymore....

...as we no longer use that many plies in modern tire design.

So if its listed as a "10 Ply Tire", it might be 2-ply, or 5, or any other number....but it might be rated to support what an old fashioned bias ply tire from the 1960's might have needed 10 plies to support, etc.



What IS useful is the Max PSI, and the MAX LOAD capacity.

These can be compared, or even listed, in terms of the MAXIMUM POUNDS or Kilograms of weight the tire can support if inflated to its MAXIMUM sidewall PSI.


Now a days, the C, D, E letter ratings are more likely to tell you how many PSI is the MAX for that tire, with the higher letters having higher PSI than lower letters...most of the time.

:D


As for the tire sizes....just to clarify:

00-01 X's have more intrusive front wheel well plastic, so you have to trim for 31's.

The 02-04's have less plastic in the wells, but you still trim for 32's...but not for 31's.

Either way, the plastic trimming is a few minutes of easy work...I snipped the needed plastic off each side in maybe 30 seconds/side.


To see where to trim, mount the tires, and turn the wheel to full lock....the rears of the tires swing in an arc that clips the plastic where the lower mud flaps attach....you simply snip off the part that it swings through, super obvious when you do it.


The METAL parts for the 00-04 X's are the same, its just the plastic that they changed when they went to goofy round headlights. :P





The rear wells are huge, and you can throw anything in them....only the front wells are limiting.



The 275/70/16 is another tire size to consider btw...its like a large 31/small 32.


If using 15" rims, the 31x10.5/15 is about like a 265 mm section width tire, and a 32x11.5/15 is like a 285 mm section width tire, in width.


NONE of the above sizes haves clearance issues to worry about. If you have rub on full lock turns for example, there are turn stop bolts you can adjust to fix that, etc. (CMD, take note :D )





:wink-big:

here is a guide that should answer all tire size and wheel size answers http://www.nissanoffroad.net/articles/tire_fitment_guide/tire.asp