# Smaller rims on 2002 3.5 SE?



## Rain-Xx (Jul 29, 2002)

Heya chaps. Odd seeing me in this sections, eh?

A friend of mine has an '02 3.5 SE Altima and he wants winter tires and steel rims to protect his 17" alloys and summer tires.

I know if your brakes are too large you can not fit smaller rims, so, to the point: *What is the smallest size rim that will fit on the SE Altima?*

16s? 15s?


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## Coco (Apr 30, 2002)

I'm not sure anyone has ever asked this question. I did a little research and found that people are selling 13s for the Altima. Click here. I really doubt they'll fit though. The smallest I would go is 16 or _maybe_ 15.


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## Rain-Xx (Jul 29, 2002)

Hmmm... thanks for that... fascinating. I wouldn't have evern thought of suggesting 13s or 14s to him. He just wants a set of steelies with winter tires. And apparently they get rather expensive the larger the tire. 

I just got the same size rims/tires for my winter setup... easy to do when you're running 13s stock. 

I'll wait for more responses, but I think in the end he'll go for 16s.


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## Hal Just Hal (Oct 21, 2002)

I fit 10's on my alti


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## blitzboi (Apr 13, 2004)

Just based on my visual inspections of the gap between the front calipers and the inside of my stock 17-inch rims, I'd suspect the smallest you could put on is a 16".. maybe a 15".

But more to the point a smaller winter tire will do a better job anyway since the smaller treadwidth allows it to sink through the snow for better contact with the road surface. This, as opposed to riding along on top of the snow (sort of like hydroplaning I guess).


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## wickedsr20 (Aug 8, 2002)

I'm pretty sure anything smaller than a 16" steelie will not clear the front brakes.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

blitzboi said:


> But more to the point a smaller winter tire will do a better job anyway since the smaller treadwidth allows it to sink through the snow for better contact with the road surface. This, as opposed to riding along on top of the snow (sort of like hydroplaning I guess).


thats very debatable. im a 4 wheeler when im not a nissan enthusiast... but anyways, couldnt your friend just clear coat his wheels or something to that effect? smaller wheels would affect his speedo although i dont see that as a real problem except for recording mileage...


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## blitzboi (Apr 13, 2004)

AsleepAltima said:


> thats very debatable. im a 4 wheeler when im not a nissan enthusiast... but anyways, couldnt your friend just clear coat his wheels or something to that effect? smaller wheels would affect his speedo although i dont see that as a real problem except for recording mileage...


Most factory alloys are already clearcoated at the factory, so doing it again wouldn't really help... they'll still get pitted and damaged from salt in the winter. I would highly recommend not using alloys in the winter if you can help it at all.

And, uhh, you're apparently not aware that when you put on smaller wheels you compensate with tires that have a bigger sidewall. Thus the overall diameter of the tire doesn't change and there would be no problems with the speedo being incorrect. Just a little friendly FYI.. :fluffy:


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## wickedsr20 (Aug 8, 2002)

Just checked with the Tire Rack and a 16" steelie will fit just fine. They have such a package available with snow tires. 15" steelies won't clear the front brakes, so for a steelie, 16" looks like the smallest (and tires are cheaper) you should go unless you buy an appropriate aftermarket rim with the proper clearance.


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