my ride

my 2000 maxima gle currently has 215/55/16 wheels. if I change to 185/70R15 wheels would they be wide enough to handle safely or do I need wider tires for good handling? thanks in advance for all replies and info.

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

How would you expect to stop a 3,300 lb car with doughnuts?

Get a set of 02-03 SE rims and run 235/50/17.

J P D

Did you do your math? Looks like your speedo would be way off with your new size, 205/65/15 would be more appropriate.

TallTom

Three things:

1. car will handle worse with skinnier tire and taller side wall
2. speedometer will be off calibration
3. you may not even be able to install a 15" wheel since it could possibly interfere with the brake caliber.

Overall, this is a bad idea all around.

pastaben

Why do you want to make this kind of a change?

User1

Probably freebies. I wouldn't run them.

my ride

15 inch tires are MUCH less expensive than 16 or 17 inch tires ( at least around here, your area may have a different situation ) and I have access to relatively inexpensive 15 inch rims ( used, but in great shape ) and had asked earlier on here about using 15 inch rims on my 2000 and was told that the 3rd and 4th gen used the same 11 inch front rotor so a 15 inch rim should be usable. would a 215/60r15 be a better way to go? it only .1 inch difference in height and the same width?

pastaben

The 2000 Gxe oe tire size was 205/65-15.

my ride

thanks, did not know the oe tire size and will keep that in mind.

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

They're cheap, b/c skinny minnies. Go on ebay and you can get sets of quality tires in 225/50/17 for about 60 each. 16" should be a little cheaper if they're still made. Smaller than 17" isn't common anymore. When they have the coupon codes, I get a high performance set for 240.

Looky what I found in your current size https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-New-Leman...4AAOSw4updaWuc
They're a bridgestone brand and I have already bought the UHP version and this one.

Used tire shops mount tires cheap (should be 10-15 each).

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

As a generic statement, this is true. But when comparing the 2 tire sizes being discussed here, the 185/70 tire has a sidewall height of 129.5 mm. The 205/65 tire has a side wall height of 133.25 mm.

Another point no one has mentioned yet is the load carrying ability of the tires. Smaller tires can carry less load. I looked at Kelly tires and their 185/70 tire is load index 88, meaning 1235 pounds. The 205/65 is load index 95 for 1521 pounds.

My take is that the narrowness of the tire is the worst part. The skinny tire will have a smaller footprint, translating to more pounds/square inch. They will break traction earlier than the proper size due to increased force per square inch, as well as wear out faster.

Definitely a bad idea to do.

my ride

thanks again for everyone's time and attention to detail that had escaped my mind. also thanks for the ebay link, didn't know they were that low in price.
i am curious why a wider tire is recommended when i was trying to REDUCE rolling friction, that seems like it would increase friction?

User1

Run whatever you want bro. They'll work.

pastaben

My Ride, I missed where you mentioned you were concerned about rolling resistance earlier.
However, going from wider to narrower, or vice versa, you need to be concerned about something called scrub radius. Look it up. I only understand it conceptually. Can't go into details. Minor changes may be okay, going from 215 to 185, imo seems a more significant change, may have greater moat on suspension geometry.

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

Reducing resistance is pointless. Traction is more important than a margin of error increase in fuel economy. With a small tire there's no way in hell you can emergency stop unless they're drag radials (compounded problem with the cheapo 520 treadwear tires). Rain will just make it even more apparent.

my ride

thanks for everyone taking time to enlighten me about things I didn't know came into this situation. I also want to apologize for being kind of a jerk yesterday, I had stuff going on here that kind of came into here and should have never showed up here. also, thanks for mentioning "scrub radius". I had never heard of it and learned a tiny bit of an obviously complex subject. so now, maybe do something a a little less dangerous. thanks again for all the info.