[Bigfoot]

I have a 2015 NV200 s I purchased new. Currently have 57,000 miles on it. Original tires sucked, wore out prematurely. I just had installed 205/65/15 tires. They are Sentry (cheapos) from Discount Tire. They have a load index of 95. Out the door price for the 4 mounted, balanced, tires including new TP sensors was $322. This was basically a $320 experiment. These tires fit (stock steel wheels) and do not rub anywhere. Ride is much better and the van doesn't look as weird as it did with the 185/60's. My van feels a lot more sure footed and stable. Tire circumference is 7.38% more than the stock 185/60/15 and I haven't lost any load capacity. About the only downside I could see would be braking capacity but unloaded I can't tell a difference. Might possibly get less fuel economy though I don't expect it to be too bad. New tire and old tire weigh almost the same, so no change in unsprung weight either. I'll post an update down the road as I get some miles on the tires.

 

[ChevyNV200]

205/65R15 are the complete wrong tires for the NV200 van.

Whoever sold and installed those tires for you has ZERO technical tire and automotive skills.


As time has passed, there are now some excellent quality tires available for the NV200.
In the correct LT185/60R15C size, load and pressure rating.

Although these tires are labelled the same size as the original JK 185/60R15 tires, they are much wider and slightly taller in diameter.

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/fitmentresult/tires/size/185-60-15?q=:price-asc:loadRange:C5&page=0


In all cases, always avoid the cheap Chinese tires.

 

[Bigfoot]

First, nobody sold me on these tires. I picked them out after a lot of research. I've been driving for 47 years, had a business for 21 years with a small fleet of vehicles, trailers, and equipment, managed a similar fleet and field operations for 8 years prior to that, and grew up wrenching everything I owned. So there's my ZERO technical tire and automotive skills. It's sad how people make assumptions rather than just ask a friendly question.


Your claim that 205/65/15 tires are the complete wrong tire for the NV200 are merely your opinion and probably should have been stated as such along with the reasoning regarding your opinion. Application and location do play a large role in tire selection.


As I listed in my original post, this is an experiment. No I didn't choose the 205/60/15 Russian made Nokians you suggest. I chose a Chinese brand manufactured in Thailand and for good reason. This is an EXPERIMENT ! They have a 40,000 mile warranty, and I could put 2 complete sets on to 1 set of a name brand tire, although this is not my intention. Someone else may have to opt for a cheap set so I'll have information available down the road for those people.


I'm not operating a maxed out GVWR unevenly loaded NV200 in Canada. I'm in Florida, run 500-700lb loads with 80/20% cruising/city driving so, big difference in both application and location. One thing for sure, I will never again run any kind of 185/60/15 tires on my NV200.


The 205/65/15 tires have a sidewall that is nearly an inch taller, hence a meatier sidewall and nearly an inch more ground clearance.They are about 3/4" wider (same as your Nokians) - no issues there. They are about 1 3/4" taller. So simple math takes care of the speedo/odom differences. The 7.38% greater tire circumference does changes the final drive ratio and probably wouldn't be a good choice for those running a max load on a daily basis. There seems to be no computer issues regarding tire size change either.



My findings so far: I really like the new tires after about 1,400 miles of driving. There is a slight reduction in acceleration based on my application but not enough to make it scary trying to merge in traffic or whatnot. My mpg has gone from 25+ to 26+ mpg. This is a 3 full tank average using math, not the vehicle computations. Braking is fine and even these cheap 4 ply tires (2-siewall plies) not not feel mushy in cornering. Driving in the Florida rains feels a little safer. The ride is great and feels like a completely different (better) vehicle.



Am I recommending that everyone replace their NV200 tires with the 205/65/15 size. Absolutely not!! The jury is still out. I am hoping these will work out for light to mid load carriers as there are a lot of brand options in this size with load ranges from 92 to 102 and many snow tires as well. Again, this is an experiment and I posted to let others know what I'm doing. There is also another reason I'll get into in an update down the road which I will do regardless of the semi-condescending posts of others.

 

[pknopp]

I bought mine with brand new tires so I imagine I'm good for a bit but no way will I be replacing them with 185's. I doubt I keep the steel wheels either.

 

[RogerC]

Tires

Thanks for a very thorough explanation. I found your argument for the larger tires very compelling. Mine are brand new 185s, so it will be a while before I have to make a decision. I'll bookmark this thread for future reference, and hope you'll keep it updated.

I'm curious as to why Nissan chose 15" wheels rather than 16". There must have been some technical reason to justify the takeaway from the looks of the van.

 

[Bigfoot]

Hello Roger, just posted an update re my 205/65/15 tires I had installed. Loaded a few pics as well.

 

[amckimmey]

Any updates?

 

[russelln]

My adventure with new tires on my NV200, after burning through a new set of American Cargo 185/60/R-15 for $500 bucks, (30,000 miles) and then I let the dealer replace the 2 front ones about 6 months ago for $260 installed, which was fair, but started looking for something else, I came across this forum and saw that a lot of people had moved up to larger tires with no clearance problems, that was the big fear I had. I also settled on the 205/65/R-15 size also. I found a set made by Thunderer, model Ranger R402 205/65R-15 class D 8 ply, can be aired up to 69 lbs. I bought 2....well that was a mistake...the little black van hates having 2 different size tires on it, first the ABS light comes on, then a little later the emergency brake light, then the TPMS starts flashing, and finally the speedometer quits working..all in about 2 hours...well ****....it rode so much better, so I figured the van wants all tires the same size after a little research and learning some neat tricks about how to trouble shoot this van, so I got two more and wala! one time around the parking lot all the lights magically go off and the speedometer starts working again...the van now rides like a real van, looks like a real van, feels like a big van, just with one inch of lift from the tires, amazing...I believe these will work, why did they not use them in first place? My cost for these guys was $439, so we will see what happens..

some cool links to help figure out things

how to read engine codes and reset engine check light on NV200 and most Nissans..no special tools needed...

https://www.nissanhelp.com/diy/common/nissan_engine_codes_read_2.php

how to reset TPMS system and register sensors with no special tools...on Nissans..

 

[russelln]

What Dark Helmet looks like...with it's new shoes...