Hi Picking up the red manual base tomorrow at five

[Daox]

Good article Ustauk. It seems to make sense.

[Pete]

My daily comute is 235k so mine is up past 2500k already. I might have taken it to five grand a couple of times before 2000k but what was I suppose to do when that punk in the red yaris thought he was going to "own" me on the county roads? The car is geared low with the five speed and I for one am going to put as tall a tire as will fit the first time it needs tires.I will become the warranty on this car quite quickly because of my long comute will burn it up so the plan is to drive it mod it and give it to my oldest daughter in four years.

[aftica]

My daily comute is 235k so mine is up past 2500k already. I might have taken it to five grand a couple of times before 2000k but what was I suppose to do when that punk in the red yaris thought he was going to "own" me on the county roads? The car is geared low with the five speed and I for one am going to put as tall a tire as will fit the first time it needs tires.I will become the warranty on this car quite quickly because of my long comute will burn it up so the plan is to drive it mod it and give it to my oldest daughter in four years.

Hey Pete, I have taller tires on mine and it does make a nice difference. If you plan on taller tires for the stock steelies I would recommend going to a 185/65/15 which would bump your overall tire height to 24.43'' from the stock 23.7''
Of course, given the tall stock suspension there is room to go taller still...

John.

[Pete]

Hey Aftica thanks for the info. Did your stock firestones wear out or did you just change them? Yes I plan on using the steelies for now. What is your new r.p.m. at 100kph and did it change the speedo accuracy much as it seems a bit high with the stock tires according to my gps. I take a stagger guage with me when I buy tires because one companies verson of a 185/65/15 is not always the same as other companies. I wonder what the tire circumfrence of the top of the line model with the 16 inch wheels is... if it is larger than the 15 inch firestones that would explain part of the gearing and speedo issues that are not really issues.

[aftica]

Hey Aftica thanks for the info. Did your stock firestones wear out or did you just change them? Yes I plan on using the steelies for now. What is your new r.p.m. at 100kph and did it change the speedo accuracy much as it seems a bit high with the stock tires according to my gps. I take a stagger guage with me when I buy tires because one companies verson of a 185/65/15 is not always the same as other companies. I wonder what the tire circumfrence of the top of the line model with the 16 inch wheels is... if it is larger than the 15 inch firestones that would explain part of the gearing and speedo issues that are not really issues.

No problem Pete Stock tires did not wear out, just wanted a better looking size.

The RPM shows the same at any given speed, but the actual speed is higher than before...I just don't have a way of measuring it. It is very noticeable, but even with my taller tires (~24.25'') the speedo still reads high...just can't say for sure how much.

The SR 185/55/16 tires are about 23.98'' tall, so the speedo would still read high on SR models, unless they have been calibrated differently.
My hunch is that the speedos are all calibrated for the different gearing in the automatic trannys and us MT guys are left guessing what speed we're actually doing.

John.

[Pete]

Well according to my GPS when my Speedo says sixty klicks my gps says around fifty six or fifty seven with the stock firestones so it is not too far out. I was thinking with taller tires it might be bang on or just slightly off like actual sixty two or three when it reads sixty.My wife wants me to wait until the firestones are used up before I am " allowed" to get new ones

[Pete]

Thirty days and 5000k later I still love the little micra. The engine reminds me of Honda's ZC and B series engines except backwards. They even have the same little oil cooler behind the filter. I think nissan anticipated people would be putting taller tires on this car with the low gearing of the.manual tranny.The tranny is really close ratio and the real power from the engine starts around 4000 rpm so shifting fairly fast is required to keep it in the power. It is pretty much the same gearing as my 91 Integra as 3000 rpm in 5th gear is 100kph 2000rpm in 5th is 65 kph but 3000 rpm in 3rd is 60 kph so it is close ratio and geared almost perfect for around the city. On the highway I held it at 4250rpm for 40k and it seemed fine but I think I will stay off the 401until I get taller tires.On 80 kph highways where most people are going 99kph it is pretty good and with the stock tires I don't hardly downshift for little towns where the speed limit drops to 60k I just let off the gas to 2000rpm and cruise through them at 65kph. The only things I don't like about it so far is there is no hatch release from inside the cabin and if my daughter rolls down the rear windows while the front windows are up the buffering almost blows my eardrums.

[MetroMPG]

Thanks for the update, Pete. You should post a garage entry for your Micra! Add car

The only things I don't like about it so far is there is no hatch release from inside the cabin

At first I thought... "YEAH! Why didn't they offer this?" And then I thought: "does it really matter?"

The only time I could see this being a problem is in the base S without power locks. Because you'd have to manually unlock the rear hatch to open it, right? Whereas in cars with power locks, unlocking all doors is the equivalent of "popping the hatch".

and if my daughter rolls down the rear windows while the front windows are up the buffering almost blows my eardrums.

Yes, I noticed this too.