Permitted wheel size for Niva. What wheels can be installed on a Niva? Remember and choose

There are many “nivovods” in our country. And more and more often on various forums questions arise related to “shoes” for this wonderful machine.

“VAZ-2121”, “Niva” - they called the domestic SUV as many names as possible. And all these names are official. Marketing is what it is. Nevertheless, this car remains the most popular and best-selling of all that were produced. Moreover, many samples are exported.

You can see the Niva far beyond the borders of not only Russia, but also the CIS. Cars of this model were exported to Japan, Europe, Latin American countries, and even in Australia you can find some. In Canada you can often find modifications imported in the years 90-2000.

What is the reason for such a wild popularity of cars? It does not differ in design or comfort. So what's the secret?

And there is no secret here. The car turned out to be so good in terms of reliability and cross-country ability that in these indicators it left behind even Land Rovers, which have always been considered almost the standard.

Types of mud tires for the Niva car

Cheap and cheerful. This is about the Ya-569 “Bear” tires. “Mishka” will cost you less than 4,000 rubles. Tires are good because they are suitable for our winters. They feel confident in the snow. But in icy conditions it can let you down. Therefore, under such conditions it is better to choose something else.
Off-road mid-level, this is Cordiant off Road. For 4 rubles you get tires on which you can drive off-road and not be nervous on the asphalt. The car will need a small "Lift". This will be beneficial, as you will get +3 cm to the ground clearance.

Not perfect, but very good - Hankook Dynapro MT RT03. It will cost about 500 rubles more than the previous one. You need a 5 cm lift. And you will get a very decent result on dirt and asphalt.
More aggressive Kumho Road Venture mt kl71 tires are noticeably more expensive - 5.8 thousand rubles. Protectors allow you to feel confident even where the surface is not even a joke. A light lift or trimming the wheel arches will allow you to enjoy this beauty.
BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 – from rags to riches for 7 thousand rubles. Almost the standard of the genre among everything that can be put on the Niva. The treads clean well, and it is so difficult to kill a tire on the road that your car is more likely to break down. In general, if you want to get tires that can even get you to Africa, and you don’t spare money for your loved one, buy it with confidence.
Last on our list is the Federal Couragia m/t mud tire. This is the dirtiest of all existing ones. Only extreme is cooler. It's inexpensive. But it is not suitable for asphalt at all - it wears off quickly.

R15 tires with dimension 215/75

These tires fit into the Niva without any modifications at all, but only if the right disc is selected. The tires need to be 27-28 inches, and the offset should be 35-58 mm. But sometimes it is possible that the wheels will touch the fender liners, especially if:

the car is heavily loaded;
The car drives over strong bumps that the suspension reaches the extreme points of its travel.

But what advantages do you get when you put R15 215/75 tires on the Niva:

cross-country ability becomes better;
fuel consumption decreases;
there is no need to do lifting.

With this dimension, you can choose tires from this list:

Michelin Latitude X-ice North;
Dunlop Grandtrek AT3;
Cordiant Off Road;
Yokohama Geolandar;
Nokian Hakkapeliitta SUV 7;
Kumho Road Venture.

Dunlop Grandtrek AT3 and Yokohama Geolandar are all-season tires that fit perfectly into the wheel arches of the Niva, and they also go well with the Niva suspension. Kumho and Cordiant are off-road brands that are great for dirt and more serious off-road riding.

Extreme tires

Simex Extreme/Jungle Trekker are excellent tires. But there is no way to do without modification. And you won’t get off with just an elevator. Here we cut the arches and change the pairs. In general, a whole list of changes, after which you will be able to experience all the delights of driving on such tires. The cost may scare those who are used to mud shoes for 4 kopecks. Such “shoes” cost 12 thousand. Essential for most growers. But loving a car requires financial sacrifice.
If it’s expensive, then there is a Russian version that costs a little less than 5,000 - Forward Safari 500. Good for off-road use. Useless on asphalt. The downside is that it doesn’t go particularly well on the track. But you can do without an elevator by simply trimming the arches. Easy to clean. In general, the tread is very pleasing in the most difficult conditions.
Silverstone MT-117 XTREME - costs almost the same as Simex. Thanks to the lugs on the sides, it can get out from where the Safari gets stuck. The tires are designed for dirt, and on normal roads they wear out too quickly. He is not afraid of clay - he does not get washed out.

Many drivers believe that Safari is too heavy for the Niva. Because no one wants to load bearings and hubs.

The debate about which tires for the Niva 4x4 are the best is still going on. Some people manage to drive in mud on standard tires, others take the Bear for the winter and for mud. And a fair percentage “pray” to Goodrich, who is essentially very versatile. If you are not an extreme sports enthusiast, then there is little point in buying tires for 12,000 rubles. You just need to clearly understand why you are buying tires. If you are traveling for work, hunting, fishing, etc., then in each case you need to correctly understand where to go, on what road, at what time of year and in what weather. Otherwise, you can either get stuck or ruin tires that are clearly not suitable for certain conditions.

Often, some even experienced tire drivers install good tires, kill them on the asphalt, and then scold them on all forums for their weak tread. Unfortunately, driving experience and understanding are not the same thing.

What is good in mud, and even in snow, can be 100% useless on ice and clean asphalt. The specification of each set of tires for Niva cars is very unique. But we tried to talk in general terms about what is most suitable and for what purposes. So that when you buy tires for Niva, you get exactly the result on the road that you wanted to see. And don’t forget that no less depends on driving skill than on tires, no matter how much they cost.

Niva is one of the few Russian cars that can even participate in prestigious rally races. Therefore, considerable experience has been accumulated. Cars of this model perform quite well in the toughest off-road races.

One of the Niva’s greatest successes was 2nd place in the 1983 Paris-Adjir-Dakar rally. A year earlier, another crew also received silver, and they took bronze in 1981.

Lada 4×4 performs quite well not only on mud, but also on sand, which becomes an obstacle for many Dakar crews. And the reason for this is the correct choice of tires. Perhaps it is precisely thanks to the versatility of the Niva and the ability to adapt it to different tires that athletes from many countries really like it.

Under normal standard conditions, the best wear resistance is shown by the most common domestic tires K-156-1 and Y-457. They managed to beat the expensive Dunlop Grandtrek AT2. And the point is not the poor quality of the latter, but the fact that the Dunlop tread turned out to be too shallow.

We managed to avoid obstacles on the road using the Kama-232. While on imported tires I had to seriously slow down. When braking on wet asphalt, the result is similar, not comforting for foreigners and pleasant for Kama tires. Having tried braking on dry asphalt and snow, we again found that the Kama copes better.

During testing, the car crawled out of mud and ditches better with the K-156-1. The worst in this ranking were the Ya-457s, but the Dunlops were quite good. They turned out to be the best in braking on snow and ice, leaving domestic models far behind. So the foreigners have completely rehabilitated themselves by showing good statistics for the winter.

We wish you to successfully cope with any off-road conditions and not end up with your Niva in places from which you can’t get out on any tires without a tractor. Good luck on the roads!

In general, there are many videos about the correct choice of tires not only for the Niva, but also for SUVs in general. You can find one of these videos below:

Every part of the machine requires attention. When it comes to maintaining it, we don’t just mean systematic checks of oil and water levels. The truth is that there are many aspects to take care of, and tires are one of the most important. Choosing the right tires for your car can be a difficult task, especially if you don’t know what the modern market offers and what tires you need. Tires can be purchased from dealers, in specialized stores, in online stores; it is important to pay attention to factors such as product brand, presentation, quality, price, reliability.

Choosing the right tires for Niva is not an easy task

An even more serious choice faces you if you are the owner. As practice shows, having a Niva or UAZ in your garage is not a guarantee that you will be able to conquer off-road terrain with this car. An important task is choosing the right off-road tires. How to properly put on car shoes? It is very difficult to choose tires without certain knowledge.

Bolt pattern tables

To ensure that the car owner does not have to take measurements and do unnecessary work, special tables have been created that already contain data for a specific car.

The disadvantage of doing your own calculation is that you can make a mistake in taking measurements. A difference of a few millimeters after inserting data into the formula can end up producing completely different values.

Due to the fact that various manufacturers create all sorts of variations in the diameter dimensions for bolts, in which the values can be close, you may not be able to make the right choice. For example, instead of 139.7, get close to 140. This means that the wheel is guaranteed not to install, despite the difference of only 0.3 millimeters.

You may be interested in what is the difference between alloy wheels and stamped and forged ones

The tables are designed to make life easier for car owners due to the fact that they contain ready-made and accurate data.

VAZ-2121 bolt pattern, presented in the summary table

Tire and wheel sizes for Niva

Any manufacturer gives clear instructions and recommendations on what tire size is suitable for a specific car brand. The factory size for Niva is 175/80 R16, but there is a selection of interchangeable parameters. When selecting tires for R16 wheels, car owners are faced with the problem of an insufficiently wide selection of tires. The most popular of them are 185/75 R16, 175/80 R16 or 215/65 R16. Often, as an alternative, SUV owners use R15 wheels for their car, which are installed on the Niva without additional modifications. Tires for R15 wheels have a much wider range. The maximum tire size for such wheels for Niva is 215/75 R15.

Let's consider such parameters as the radial size of the disk, the height and width of the tire.

As for the disk size for the Niva. Wheels of 15 and 16 inches can be installed on any car from the Niv family; they are interchangeable in mounting dimensions. On R15 tires, the Niva takes on a more stylish look; due to the smaller rim size, the car will be more comfortable on uneven roads.

Tire height. Installing smaller tires on a car will reduce ride quality and cause rapid wear. An increase in height will entail an increase in the load on the wheels and chassis of the car, and the car will become stiffer. Positive quality - the car's handling will improve, reactions to the steering wheel will become faster and clearer.

Increasing tire width has both pros and cons. Wide tires improve the contact of the tire with the road, increase the acceleration speed of the car, and the stability of the car. The disadvantages are that the sprung weight of the car increases, fuel consumption increases, and the price category of such tires is much higher.

Wheel size for white Niva 4×4

Since 2006, a more advanced model of the VAZ 2121, the Lada 4×4, has become available to the population, which has plug-in all-wheel drive without locking the center differential clutch. Fans of the brand began to actively look for this modification, and more often in the traditional white color. Around this time, specialized wheels with the following characteristics began to be produced for it:

The main size installed in the basic configuration was stamped black wheels with parameters 5Jx16 ET58 5x139.7, which was suitable for tires with dimensions 175/80/R16. The central drilling and bolt pattern remained unchanged compared to models of previous years - the wheel was traditionally mounted on a hub with 5 studs of 139.7 mm each.
The owners of these cars often tried to change only the width of the seat on the rim for mounting the tire, and almost never changing the radius, because the target audience of the brand was completely defined - the SUV was used for its intended purpose. Thus, the most popular wheel sizes installed on Niva 4x4 are 6.5Jx15 ET15, 6.5Jx15 ET35, 7Jx15 ET15, 7Jx16 ET15, which corresponded to wheel widths of 185, 195, 2021, 215 and 225 mm, and the profile at the same time it remained within 75-80 mm for better cross-country ability.

Exclusive wheels for the Niva
Of course, every car owner wants not only stamped, but also cast wheels for his white Niva, which, in principle, is available, since there are many domestically produced products on the market, and their cost starts from 3 thousand rubles. * In addition, a number of wheels are available in black or white, which perfectly matches the body color.

Also, car enthusiasts often turn to paint shops, where their alloy wheels are professionally painted by craftsmen in the required color both over the entire surface of the steel and locally. The driver just needs to drive the car, agree on a paint sketch with the designer or offer his own, for example, from a catalogue, designate the required color (usually black or white), and the next day pick up the finished product and use unique wheels.

Also interesting: Niva Chevrolet installation of air conditioning - Auto magazine MyDucato

Types of SUV tires

Niva is a car that has a relatively low price, excellent cross-country ability, and is suitable for driving in any conditions. Niva tires have a wide range. Before purchasing and choosing tires, you need to decide for what purpose you are using your car.

Let's highlight two categories: the first - you use the Niva in exclusively urban conditions, then you need to choose tires for highway use, the second - mud tires for impassable roads.

Tires that are labeled Highway Terrain (H/T) and High Performance (H/P) are classified as tires suitable for driving on asphalt. Such tires are installed by car owners of premium cars that are practically never used in off-road conditions.

All Terrain (A/T) tires are considered universal tires. The tread pattern of these tires has bulky blocks that separate wide channels, which accompanies the self-cleaning of the wheels and increases the level of cross-country ability. When driving on asphalt with such tires, the noise level may increase slightly.

Tires marked Mud Terrain (M/T) are mud tires intended for poor quality dirt roads or off-road use. The tread of such tires is distinguished by powerful patterns and large grooves, which contributes to a high level of self-cleaning. Such tires are practically unsuitable for driving on asphalt. High noise level, low speed, lack of comfort in driving the car, rapid tire wear - these are only some of the shortcomings of this rubber when driving in urban conditions.

Tires with a rough tread pattern are excellent for driving in off-road conditions, increase the cross-country ability of a car, but are actually not suitable for driving around the city, reducing the comfort and controllability of the car.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the possible options, we can conclude: for the field, the most suitable option is alloy wheels, 15 - 16 inches in size, with tires whose width will be approximately 60% larger.

At the same time, the weight of the disks should not be too large so that when it falls into a hole, it does not become deformed. Therefore, choose KRAMZ wheels and be confident in your car, both on the road and in off-road conditions.

I bring to your attention a table of INTERCHANGEABILITY of wheel rims. What will help you in finding new and desired wheels for your Niva and not only