What size tires go on SE rims? I'm confused here...
 

Which size tires are supposed to go on 1998 SE rims?

P205/55R16

-OR-

P205/65R15

I have a GXE, but the dealership told me it was an SE (it's a long story). They basically said it was an SE because it has rims and a spoiler and a sunroof. Now they are telling me it has the SE rims, and they LOOK like they are, but I don't know if they are or not. Were there different size rims available???

The tires on my rims right now are Firestone P205/55R16 size tires. Isn't that a smaller size? Firestone's site says that the SE Maxima takes the P205/65R15 tire, while the GXE and the GLE take the P205/55R16, which is the tire size I currently have. I'm confused :rolling_e

Can both tire sizes be put on the same SE rims?

Any insight?

if you have the 16" SE wheels the OEM tire size is 215/55/16.

Firestone is on crack.


The 97-99 SE Rims use 215/55/16 tires STOCK.

so if i have size 205 instead of 215 does that mean i dont have 16" rims?

How could you not know if you have 16" rims. It says right on your tire, ie; 215/55 R16

ok, so the 205 and the 215 have nothing to do with that... it's the R16. And mine says R16. I didn't realize that's what that meant. Thanks.

tire sizes are defined as follows:

Width / height / diameter

the 205 or the 1st # just means the tire is slightly thinner than it should really be.. the middle # is the height of the sidewall.. the last # tells you what size rim u have...

Thanks! That's exactly the information I was looking for. :)

This is just to help swcello. The above info is kind of correct. The first and the second numbers are more like ratio's than exact sizes, although they are measurements. A 215/55 R16 and a 205/65 R16 have almost the exact same sidewall height. The tire will just be wider. Saying that the second # directly determines the sidewall height is incorrect. If the first number and second number increase and decrease respectively, the side wall will remain almost exactly the same. The second # is more a ratio of the first if that makes any sense.

Tire Size Calculations
 

FYI...the calculation for tire sizes goes something like this...

width/height/wheel
e.g. 205/65-15 (tire sidewall reads 205/65R15)

width = 205mm = 205/25.4 = 8.07 inches (round to 8")
height = 8" * .65 = 5.2 inches

total diameter = (height * 2) + wheel = (5.2*2)+15 = 25.4 inches

Calculating the total diameter is required to determine whether or not a new wheel/tire configuration will effect the speedometer/odometer accuracy. I've read that +/- 2% variance (approximate) is acceptable.