Nissan Armada Tire and Wheels

hypnotist

After purchasing a new 2008 Armada LE 4X4, I found that the owners manual prohibits the use of tire chains! Nissan wants us to purchase 18" wheels and tires if we are to use chains. That's expensive and I'm very disappointed. Has anyone out there used tire chains with 20" inch wheels and P275/60R20 tires sucessfully?

Thanks in advance.

paisan

I'd suggest snow tires before chains. The Armada would do fine with just snows or good AT tires. I'll trade yah my 18" rims w/Bridgestone AT Revos on em if you'd like

-mike

hypnotist

Paisan,

I appreciate your offer, but I just had my wheels chromed and love the look.

I live in Southern California and will only need chains a few times in the life of the vehicle. Buying other tires would seem like a waste of money.

California requires chains, even for 4X4's equipped with snow tires, so I'm stuck (no pun intended).

paisan

Ah ha, well I hate chrome anyway. And the shipping from NY to So Cal would be crazy

Hmm, well I guess you'll just have to chance it w/o chains then. My guess is 20" rims on any SUV would not officially allow chains either. The other option is to put em on and not worry about it.

-mike

harop

California requires chains, even for 4X4's equipped with snow tires, so I'm stuck (no pun intended).

It's OK, California requires to have the chains but does not require to put them on. So just carry the cheapest chains to show in your trunk when needed. If they require to put them on, then just turn around and go back, 'cause it's really bad weather if they require chains on 4x4.
My 2006 LE 4x4 handled all snow and mud in the califonia mountains with no problems last year.

finnatic

Hi Steve:
I'd like to find out what aftermarket tire experiences people have had with their Armadas. Given the heavy curb weight relative to most other vehicles, tire reviews from experiences on lighter vehicles aren't much help. It would be helpful to know if people are towing or carrying heavy loads, since many bought this behemoth for that purpose. Mine is a 2004 SE. I'm considering Yokohama Geolander A/ TS, which is very well reviewed by everyone but an Armada owner; Cooper discoverer ATR; Michelin Cross Terrain: Goodyear Wrangler; and BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Touring versus their All terrain.

I looked at the Armada Maintenance and Repair forum but did not see anything current or pertaining to tire selection. (Also, It said the last post was 7/21/08 but there were few recent ones. Would this be a good new topic considering many of us are now having to replace tires? Also do you know how best to evaluate the tire specs to figure out which will support the heavy weight of the Armada and the added weight of any extra load from towing or hauling?

paisan

I replaced my stockers at 20k miles with Bridgestone REVOs in stock size. Tires have been excellent for the 30k miles I've had em on and they probably have another 20k miles left on em. I have towed my 11,500lb boat in downpours with them and they held the road well. I've also used em in snow storms and as an all-season tire. While not the cheapest they have been good to me.

Hope this helps.

-mike

dehall

I had an e-mail about tires, I deleted it. Look at your tires and fine the word DOT the last figures are in this format: You will find something that looks like this: (DOT 893F) (TCFX) (257) or the last two numbers will be (2507), the 257 means the 25 week of the 97 year that tire was made. The 2507 that means the 25th week of year 2007 the tire was made. Sears has sold tires with the number 246 on them as managers's special. The 24 is the number week and the 6 is the year so that tire was made the 24 week of 1996. The sales person said that the tires were new never used. The new is suspect since the tire is 11 years old, the never used is true, however, thare is no self life for tires but one has to know what they are buying. Check your tires before you purchase them. Ask to see the tires that are going on your car. Look for the DOT and view the last 3 or 4 numbers, the first two is the week and the last one or two is the year. Single digits is 1900 something, the 00 number is 2000 year, I dont know what is the numbers for 1940,1950,1960,1970 or 1980 tires, smile! Check your current tires today.

momof4now

We put Cooper tires on ours and they really helped with the ride (much smoother now) the trick we were told by our tire store is to have them rotated every 3000 miles along with the oil change. They said because of the suspension on these trucks they have found that to be an answer to the quick wear on tires. I think we have had them rotated 3-4 times already and they still look brand new.

paisan

I should rotate mine more often. I think I rotated them 1x in 30k miles, my fronts are slightly more worn than the rears.

-mike

dehall

My armada tires wore out and I didn't find any tires called Armarda tires. Where do you get them? I have michlin tires on my Armarda now and they are working very well. When I purchased the vehicle it didnt have any tires with Armarda on them, so I should not be in this forum. Disregard my message because since the Armada is only 4 years old the problem of aged tires is not a problem.

tt30

How many miles did you have on your tires before replacement? I have 46000 miles on Armada 04 and I was told they need to be replaced. My choice for replacement are Good Year Silent Armor tires that have 50,000 miles warranty.

momof4now

Update, the cooper tires are now very worn and need replaced. I think they have around 20K miles on them. We had them rotated last week and now there is a terrible shake in the steering wheel when your driving! So we are on the hunt again for some good tires that can hold up to the Armada!

tt30

Are you telling us that the Copper tires are so bad you have to replace them just after 20K?

:surprise:

mtmtnwmn

Can I put tire chains on a 07 tundra 4x4? Do they have to go on the back?

zoomzoomn

I have nearly 30K miles on my '08 and (thankfully) have almost worn out the OE tires. The Contis aren't the worst tire I've ever had, but I just do not love the way they feel or the rebalancing they need every 3-5K miles. I ran 3 sets of Bridgestone Dueler H/L's on my last full sized SUV. The last two sets were the Alenza version. I liked them ALOT. That's what I'm buying for the Armada in a month or so.

tbensch

Armada Owners:

I am considering purchasing an '07 Armada with 2WD and am wondering how this vehicle will fare in snow. I am concerned that given the weight of the vehicle and the fact that it is rear-wheel drive that it will problematic in snow and icy conditions. I live in the mid-west so I'll be dealing with a fair amount of winter weather and a few hills, but certainly not any mountainous or rough conditions.

I would also like to know which tires other have found work the best in winter conditions.

Any advice you can give me on this would be greatly appreciated.

dmcain1

I am second guessing the dealership who put on a new set of tires for me 3 weeks ago. Three of the valve stems look like the picture with the gasket outside and 1 with no gasket. Any thoughts? I have had nothing but trouble with this dealership and don't trust them. I have one tire that has lost 7 lbs of pressure in 3 weeks. It was checked with no leak found in the tread.

http://bit.ly/QPhPhC

capriracer

Thoughts? Take to a tire dealership and have them look.

stever