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any difference from stock 235 and 265?


Strato_54
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I have a 97 SE with the stock chrome 235s and 235/70/15 BFG KO but i want to go bigger at some point. Still new to the car and mechanic scene as i grew up a welder not a mechanic. but either way are there any differences between a stock pathfinder that came with 265 and one that came with 235 other then the over all wheel width. and if anyone would like to help and teach me on what im looking at when buying wheels. i already know tires and how to read those but the wheel aspect part is a little fuzzy. My current goal is to put some 265s on with my stock ride height which i believe should yield a 29" max size but i do have plans to lift it in the future. 

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10 minutes ago, PathyDude17 said:

There are 3 numbers on a tire size. 265 could describe any number of different tires, though I’m assuming you meant one of the two sizes in 15” rims.  heres a good resource:

https://tiresize.com/chart/
 

and wheel specs as they relate to R50’s: 

 

oh i completely forgot this video. thanks a lot man

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The 97 SE models should have been equipped with 265/70R15 tires on 6-spoke aluminum alloy wheels. If you have chrome wheels and 235s you may not have an SE. You may have an XE. Check a couple of things:

what is the tire size on the door jamb?

look on the vin placard on the firewall near the windshield wiper motor and check for an axle code HG46 or HG43.
 

HG46 is 4.636:1 final drive ratio and HG43 is 4.363:1 ratio. 

 

97 Pathfinders equipped from the factory with 235 series tires (usually XE and LE) have 4.363 gears

 

They also have a steering rack with a little more throw than models equipped with 265 series tires (usually SE). 

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3 hours ago, XPLORx4 said:

The 97 SE models should have been equipped with 265/70R15 tires on 6-spoke aluminum alloy wheels. If you have chrome wheels and 235s you may not have an SE. You may have an XE. Check a couple of things:

what is the tire size on the door jamb?

look on the vin placard on the firewall near the windshield wiper motor and check for an axle code HG46 or HG43.
 

HG46 is 4.636:1 final drive ratio and HG43 is 4.363:1 ratio. 

 

97 Pathfinders equipped from the factory with 235 series tires (usually XE and LE) have 4.363 gears

 

They also have a steering rack with a little more throw than models equipped with 265 series tires (usually SE). 

it does indeed have the 6 spoke with 235s unless theyre different wheels these are the stock. i have the nissan pink slip and all the real paper work since my mom was the OG 1st owner. i do not have the car here at home but the paper work says SE 

 

EDIT: heres a really bad side angle view from last april when we got it out of storage and to my shop showing what its riding on now. very old picture compared to what ive done to it as of lately with my hitch and bumper install on the rear because #weldingskills  https://imgur.com/a/pHGvTx9

 

EDIT EDIT: i just found the picture of my side wall so i wouldnt forget and theyre actualy 235/75 not 70 my bad. 

Edited by Strato_54
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Hmmm that sure looks like an XE to me but if you have the original window sticker that says SE, I guess you have a rare unicorn. SE models typically had alloy wheels and black fender flares and chrome bumpers. Any way, check the door placard and the vin plate on the firewall. You should be able to easily fit 265/75R15 or 31x10.5R15 on those wheels. If the gearing is 4.36, you’ll notice an immediate reduction in acceleration performance. The speedometer could also read too slow afterwards. Ideally you should probably replace the wheels with 16x8 or 17x8 wheels and upsize to a tire size in the 31” diameter range until you lift it. 

Edited by XPLORx4
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8 hours ago, XPLORx4 said:

Hmmm that sure looks like an XE to me but if you have the original window sticker that says SE, I guess you have a rare unicorn. SE models typically had alloy wheels and black fender flares and chrome bumpers. Any way, check the door placard and the vin plate on the firewall. You should be able to easily fit 265/75R15 or 31x10.5R15 on those wheels. If the gearing is 4.36, you’ll notice an immediate reduction in acceleration performance. The speedometer could also read too slow afterwards. Ideally you should probably replace the wheels with 16x8 or 17x8 wheels and upsize to a tire size in the 31” diameter range until you lift it. 

going up to my shop later tonight so ill check that placard and and see what it says. the lift gates doesnt have the SE or XE badge anywhere theres no telling what it is on the outside and the slip is printed like from a computer SE and the vin and all which is the original paper work. so if i have a unicorn then thats pretty cool to know lol

 

edit: and if i can just swap rubber and keep these for a while then that is sick and ill probably just do that for a bit and then go all out when i get the kit just go for wheels and all

Edited by Strato_54
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I know with the WD21, Nissan got weird with the SE and XE. There were a lot of SEs with chrome steel wheels wearing the 235 75 15 tires, open diff, rear drums, and lacking the skid plates. While more rare, saw XEs with the off road package. I found a lot depended on planned location and dealers wants. It seemed the intermountain west was about the only region that a SE could reliably be equipped with the off road package with all the bells and whistles like the larger tires, skid plates and 4 wheel disc brakes. I think the R50 was probably similar at least for the first few years. 

 

For what it is worth, the 31" and 265 75 tires originally were mounted on 7" wide wheels while the 235 75 tires were most often mounted on 6" wide wheels. The LE was odd in that they were often the small tire mounted on a 7” aluminum wheel. 

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25 minutes ago, Mr_Reverse said:

I know with the WD21, Nissan got weird with the SE and XE. There were a lot of SEs with chrome steel wheels wearing the 235 75 15 tires, open diff, rear drums, and lacking the skid plates. While more rare, saw XEs with the off road package. I found a lot depended on planned location and dealers wants. It seemed the intermountain west was about the only region that a SE could reliably be equipped with the off road package with all the bells and whistles like the larger tires, skid plates and 4 wheel disc brakes. I think the R50 was probably similar at least for the first few years. 

 

For what it is worth, the 31" and 265 75 tires originally were mounted on 7" wide wheels while the 235 75 tires were most often mounted on 6" wide wheels. The LE was odd in that they were often the small tire mounted on a 7” aluminum wheel. 

that is kind of odd. and makes sense that they would do the same out here since its western canada and the nissan we always went to and where this came from had weird options like our armada from the same dealer is a very weird mix of stuff but either way its what ever. but yeah as for looking like an xe but labeled se its beyond me and all i care about are getting 265/75 with 0 issue on what i have. it is possible that my dad when he put these tires on got these put on for what ever reason as he thought wranglers were a good choice but he ate through 3 pairs like nothing so. out of my control but none the less if i can keep using these wheels that saves me money right there for a while until i can comfortably buy other stuff with out also buying a new wallet.

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UPDATE: Door sticker says 235s the placard says HG43 so it literally leads to an XE but it still was labeled as an SE from factory. and not hand written like full on computer print sheet. so i guess its an xe wanna be se who woulda thought 

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Don't know with the R50, but with the WD21, the gearing in the axles was based on the transmission rather than the tire size. The manual trans trucks had the 4.3 and the auto trans had the 4.6 in the 4x4 versions at least. My 93 SE rear diff center section was swapped with my friends 95 XE because they were both geared the same. I wanted his open diff and he was happy with my LSD. Only problem we ran into was we litterally did the swap during the night before we went on a week of wheeling in Moab. No problem with mine, I have the rear disc and the lockright dropped right in with no issues. However, my friends XE was rear drum and we neglected to transfer the thrust block into the diff from my truck. Result was damaged axle seals that leaked gear oil into the drums, so his truck spent most of the week sitting in the camp. We got home, installed the block, replaced seals and brakes(again, thought it was just a fluke and did it in camp while in Moab and had the seals start leaking again while on the trails) and problems solved. His XE was originally equipped with 235's and mine was 31's. We put 31's on his stock 15x6 steel wheels and they fit fine. Did run the pressures at 26 psi to get a proper contact patch, but that was the spec anyway. He replaced the 95 with a 99 LE, and we put a set of 31x10.50 on the stock wheels. Other than some light rub at full lock, no problems there. His R50 is bone stock other than the tires, so 265 75 16's should fit the stock wheels just fine since they are very close to the same size as 31x10.50's. 

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1 hour ago, Mr_Reverse said:

Don't know with the R50, but with the WD21, the gearing in the axles was based on the transmission rather than the tire size. The manual trans trucks had the 4.3 and the auto trans had the 4.6 in the 4x4 versions at least. My 93 SE rear diff center section was swapped with my friends 95 XE because they were both geared the same. I wanted his open diff and he was happy with my LSD. Only problem we ran into was we litterally did the swap during the night before we went on a week of wheeling in Moab. No problem with mine, I have the rear disc and the lockright dropped right in with no issues. However, my friends XE was rear drum and we neglected to transfer the thrust block into the diff from my truck. Result was damaged axle seals that leaked gear oil into the drums, so his truck spent most of the week sitting in the camp. We got home, installed the block, replaced seals and brakes(again, thought it was just a fluke and did it in camp while in Moab and had the seals start leaking again while on the trails) and problems solved. His XE was originally equipped with 235's and mine was 31's. We put 31's on his stock 15x6 steel wheels and they fit fine. Did run the pressures at 26 psi to get a proper contact patch, but that was the spec anyway. He replaced the 95 with a 99 LE, and we put a set of 31x10.50 on the stock wheels. Other than some light rub at full lock, no problems there. His R50 is bone stock other than the tires, so 265 75 16's should fit the stock wheels just fine since they are very close to the same size as 31x10.50's. 

alright very good to know. and from what it looks like the gearing is based the same from transmissions. thats what ive been reading at least. and the 99 le probably isnt much different from my now what appears XE. honestly theyres nothing labeling the truck xe only thing i can find is se so next time i go to the dealer ill see what they say because i need a new rad and timing belt (still) so ill get them to look at my vin and if it comes back xe then dealer mistake filling paper but if it comes back se then i do indeed have a unicorn

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The early R50 models were specced kind weird. The diff ratios weren’t based on the transmission but instead on the equipped tire size. For the 97 model year, at least in the US, the XE and LE were equipped with 235/70R15 tires, with the steel 15x6 chrome wheels on the XE, and spoked 15x6.5” alloy wheels on the LE. Both had 4.363 diff gearing. Because of the smaller tire size, they had a different steering rack with more throw that gave them a tighter turning radius. The SE models had 265/70R15 tires, with slightly lower diff gearing (4.636:1) to account for the taller tires. They also had a steering rack with less throw, resulting in a wider turning radius.

 

If you want to install bigger tires, you will have no problems fitting 30x9.50R15 on the chrome wheels. You might even squeeze 31x10.50 on those wheels but you might have slight rubbing on the right inner wheel well, especially when turning fully right, because of the combination of wheel width, wheel offset, tighter turning radius, and larger tire size. I know you’re probably on a tight budget, but if you so plan to continue modding this R50, I would advise running some inexpensive 30” tires for the next year or so while you save up for new 16x8 wheels and tires. Unless you do a lot of fender liner trimming, you won’t be able to fit 265/75R16 tires without a 2” lift.

 

I have owned my 97 LE since 1998, and I went through all of these same issues, but I had to do so without the benefit of the internet. I spent a lot of money on trial and error getting my rig to its current configuration.

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1 hour ago, XPLORx4 said:

The early R50 models were specced kind weird. The diff ratios weren’t based on the transmission but instead on the equipped tire size. For the 97 model year, at least in the US, the XE and LE were equipped with 235/70R15 tires, with the steel 15x6 chrome wheels on the XE, and spoked 15x6.5” alloy wheels on the LE. Both had 4.363 diff gearing. Because of the smaller tire size, they had a different steering rack with more throw that gave them a tighter turning radius. The SE models had 265/70R15 tires, with slightly lower diff gearing (4.636:1) to account for the taller tires. They also had a steering rack with less throw, resulting in a wider turning radius.

 

If you want to install bigger tires, you will have no problems fitting 30x9.50R15 on the chrome wheels. You might even squeeze 31x10.50 on those wheels but you might have slight rubbing on the right inner wheel well, especially when turning fully right, because of the combination of wheel width, wheel offset, tighter turning radius, and larger tire size. I know you’re probably on a tight budget, but if you so plan to continue modding this R50, I would advise running some inexpensive 30” tires for the next year or so while you save up for new 16x8 wheels and tires. Unless you do a lot of fender liner trimming, you won’t be able to fit 265/75R16 tires without a 2” lift.

 

I have owned my 97 LE since 1998, and I went through all of these same issues, but I had to do so without the benefit of the internet. I spent a lot of money on trial and error getting my rig to its current configuration.

I’ve learned to not full turn with over sized tires since my dads F-250 has over sized tires and if you go full turn in that it rips out his abs sensor and other stuff with it. So the rubbing is not a problem since I don’t lock it unless I have to even if they don’t rub. And this is all very nice info. And right budget as if tires and wheels would hit hard but not hard enough to where I lose a few limbs but it would definitely be nice to run what I got until I can go all out. But I might just end up getting some 16x8. What are some better known brands to look out for and places that ship to or from Canada. Us shipping is not preferred but possible

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