The maximum tyre size that I can recommend for the Niva, without a suspension lift or alterations to the bodywork, is 215R15 or 205R16......anything larger will rub the bodywork on cornering or at (near) full suspension travel.
As there are so many tyre options available, I can only report on the tyres that I have personally tried on my Niva. This includes for both 16" and 15" wheels.
| The best tyres that I have used fitted to the standard 16" wheels are 205/75R16 Nankang - 'Wide Conqueror' Radial All Terrain tyres. These tyres have proved to be a hard wearing good 'all round' tyre. | |
I have recently been given a set of 15" BWA alloy wheels for my Niva. As I had a good set of Nankang tyres on my factory standard 16" Lada Niva wheels (above), I could not justify the expense of purchasing new 15" tyres. I therefore decided to search for an affordable alternative.
| The tyres that I found are 215/80R15 'Ground Hog'
Monoform tyres manufactured by Motorway Tyres of Stawell in Victoria. These tyres are available, in Tasmania, through Mornington Tyre Service, 131 Mornington Road, Mornington. (Ph 03 62441313) and offer an excellent alternative at less than half the cost of new (popular brand-name) tyres. Check them out by clicking on the link below to visit
the Motorway Tyres website. |
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The Motorway Tyres 'Ground Hog' tyres where fitted to my
Niva on 9th July 2002. My first impression of these tyres is that they are
'brilliant'. They have a reasonably aggressive tread pattern which performs well
on the highway and they are also excellent on gravel roads/tracks and in heavy
mud and snow.
At $AU88.00 each (this price may vary between dealers etc) they represent a very
cost-effective alternative to purchasing other 'brand-name' tyres.
By way of
example, I was offered a set of Nankang tyres the same as my 16" tyres but
in a 215R15 at $AU132 each or a set of BF Goodrich M/T tyres (same size and similar
tread pattern) at $AU175 each..............that's quite a saving!!
Even if the
'Ground Hog' tyres only prove to have half the life of the BF Goodrich tyres the
purchase still represents a considerable saving.
