Wheel Size/Tire Profile

Hello Nissan. Did you choose the 16" wheel in combination with at 205/55R16 tire just for the 'sex appeal?' If so, it was a significant lapse of judgement. Please consider a 15" wheel with a 70 series tire as an alternative that protects the tire sidewalls and wheel rims on the Leaf from expensive damage from pot hole damaged streets. Not all travel surfaces are as well maintained as your test tracks at Oppama, Hokkaido, Tochigi and Motegi. If you persist in delivering a vehicle without a jack and spare tire, at least equip it with a wheel/tire combination with a reasonable chance of surviving the encounter with an unanticipated pothole.

The are many options to carry your own spare.

Probably so that it handles and brakes a little better and so that they don't look like the go-kart tires on the (particularly earlier) Prius...

baumgrenze said:

Hello Nissan. Did you choose the 16" wheel in combination with at 205/55R16 tire just for the 'sex appeal?'

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I'll wager you are not also driving a sports car with 30/35 series tires? 55s seem like carefree comfort to me.

At mile 7 on the odometer I hit a pothole I did not see and/or feel. With some negotiation Nissan replaced the tire. Once you've waited for a flatbed to get towed somewhere where they can replace the tire, you will appreciate the interest in a more sidewall failure resistant tire.

This search delivers 37 hits. Some of the hits lead to pretty long threads. I know my experience was not unique.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/search.php?keywords=pothole&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The first generation Acura NSX had 16" wheels back in 1990. Back then they had 'sex appeal', 22 years later; 16" wheels are typical sized wheels for standard cars, if anything they are conservative. Today's Prius, Corolla, Civic and Focus all come w/ 15", 16" & 17" wheels (based on selected options). It makes sense that if Nissan were to choose one wheel size that they settled for 16". The Leaf's suspension is compromised enough as it is w/ the way it wallows around, a taller sidewall would just make it worse.

The problem that most people have been experiencing w/ blown tires on the Leaf is the result of a poor quality tire being used as OEM.

Drivesolo said:

The problem that most people have been experiencing w/ blown tires on the Leaf is the result of a poor quality tire being used as OEM.

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That's what it sounds like from what I've read here. I parallel park my current vehicle a lot, sometimes scraping the sidewall a bit, and I'm worried that I'm going to pop a tire when I get my Leaf.

I almost wish for the reverse; a 205/50-17 tire on a 17"x7" wheel would be my preference to keep some of that unwanted slop under control.

The 205/55R16 tire/wheel size is the same as Nissan uses for the Sentra. I do not know of any 70 aspect ratio tires being used by Nissan or any other modern auto manufacturer. Tire manufacturers have also thinned out the gauge of their sidewalls quite a bit over the last twenty years or so, along with almost universally using a one-ply body instead of two. These factors reduce weight, rolling resistance, and cost, but make for sidewalls that tend to be less resistant to impacts.

My advice is to drive carefully.

A 55 profile is about as normal as it gets these days. Most flats from potholes are also due to under inflation (broken beads) common in quickly changing hot/cold road cracking environments. I grew up in Denver, been there done that. I for one would like to see Nissan expand its options on the LEAF. 15's with all-seasons would be nice but so would 18" light weight Nismo wheels. To each his own.

The EV tire tech trend seems to be going for narrow width and linear treads more than profile.

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automobile/themes/news/meldungen/pr_2012_02_14_conti_econtact_en.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

None of the tires shown would fit the LEAFs 24.88" tire diameter. The 20" (!) size would need to be a 35 series to keep close to the stock Dia. The 13" tire is 2.75" Dia too small. It's pretty strange there is no trace of a 16 or 17 inch tire.