Truck is an XE, King Cab, V6, auto, 2wd. The door jam says the tires are 215/75R14.
The current tires are cheap department store brand all season passenger tires. They'll need replacing soon.
205/75R14 Front
215/75R14 Rear (bought truck this way)
215/75R14 is a crazy size, there isn't much available. My Owner's manual says 215/75R15 was on some trucks (4x4?) but if I go that size I'd be out 3.7% (Search Miata.net. Perhaps if I go a lower profile?
Questions:
Is it a good idea to go to a 15" rim? If so, which other Nissan Trucks rims will fit my rig?
LT or Passenger?
Are Winter tires like X-ice or Blizzak a good idea on a Truck?
Details:
I rarely tow or have heavy loads.
I live in a city that has all 4 seasons (winters are extreme).
Most of my driving is freeway / city
The backend fish tails a lot even with 4 sandbags
Worse case I case I'm prepared to buy a winter set for next year
I have 15" 98 Pathfinder wheels on my 97 2wd so I think they're fairly interchangable but you will have some rubbing issues at lock. However, going to 15" wheels is not going to solve your 'crazy size' problem. It will require 215/65R15 tires to keep your speedometer reasonably accurate (mine is off about 1 mph). That size is mostly available as a performance tire. I ended up going with Cooper All-season performance tire but winters are pretty mild in North Carolina. Having been to Alberta in February I know what you mean by extreme winters.
if you dont mind your speedo being off a little go with a 235/75R15 its a very common tire size and should fit with no troubles, its about a 29" tire. you might be off about 3 mph at 60.
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Dave
96 4WD XE Reg. Cab ka24e
Calmini 3" SL, Steering, Lock-rite rear, LSD front
I took 235/75R15s off my truck. My speedometer was off close to 5 mph. You will definately have tire rub issues with them unless you install a body lift kit. I'm getting a little even with the smaller tires. You'll also need to check the suspension height on the front. Most trucks that old have sagged a bit (or a lot) and need to be adjusted.
I got a set of Kumho tires in 215 75R14 from Tirerack.com on my 95 2WD V6
I was a bit worried about them because they are imports from a company I've never heard of before. However, they work just fine. The tread is pretty standard, they have a good wear life so far, and they have been just fine both with a full load in the truck bed, and with a heavily loaded U-haul behind the truck. Three years they've been on this truck with no problems. I'd buy them again.
Yes Alberta has the worst winters. Tuesday we had a -40 C windchill in the daytime! Did you guys know when it gets to -40 C the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit becomes the same, -40 F! Cool eh?
Anyways the truck still started during this weeks cold snap even without being plugged in.
Thanks guys for the tips. I've been playing around with the following sizes:
205/70R15 - 1.5% too fast (NOKIAN HAKKAPELIITTA 2 studded tires available!)
215/70R15 - 0.6% too slow
235/65R15 - 1.2% too slow (probably get rubbing as others have mentioned)
225/65R15 - 0.7% too fast
205/75R15 - 1.5% too slow
I have the same truck, but 4x4. I'm running 31x 10.5 r15's, which you don't want without a lift, but they're Trail Guide RT's. It sounds like we have the same driving conditions and I just drove my first snowstorm in this truck (14"). While all the steel shielding and the transfer case made a difference (weighs 5200 lb.s, much more than the 4x2), the tire really performs well in the snow and ice. Main roads were clear, so I unlocked the hubs and got around fine on snow-covered/slushy secondary roads in 2wd. I recommend Trail Guide, maybe a smaller tire. Whatever you do, you should be able to get your speedometer re-calibrated with your new tires at a performance shop.
i found these in a 27x8.5 14 at canadiantire for us canadians they're the next tires going on my 2wd pickup. a bit pricy at 150$ CND but what isn't now a days. BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO tire rack doesn't seem to carry the 27x8.5 R14 but bf goodrich makes them and canadiantire sells them on "special orders".
I just realized what size you said your originals were, must be the V6. My 97 I4 came with 215/70X14. That's why I recommended the 215/65X15 if you switch to 15" wheels. This calculator uses some 'standard' size for tires and all manufacturer's tires are different 'actual' sizes so the percentages you get are approximate.
BTW my son in Medicine Hat reported a -42 windchill last week. That's cold on any scale! And my son in Smithville wasn't to happy about the recent unpleasent weather in Missouri although he was north of the worst of it.
You'd be better off with the 5.5" width15" steel wheel if you are going with the larger wheel option. The 7" width SE mag originally came equipped with 31X10.5X15's.
Thanks for your advice guys. I went to a Pick-Your-Nose yard and found a Pathy with 5.5" width 15" steelies.
I did something dumb though, I mounted 215/75R15 studded Nordic (GoodYear - Canadian Tire brand). I was meaning to say 215/70R15! I didn't realize my mistake until a couple days later. The tire size on the door jam says: 215/75R14
Oh well, I hope the clearance should be okay on my 2wd truck and my speedo shouldn't be too much off.
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