Best Tires For Nissan Kicks - Complete Guide

‍8 Best Tires For Nissan Kicks

One of the newest cars to the lineup of Nissan produced every year, the Kicks has been available for purchase in North America since just 2018. The subcompact vehicle was designed to replace the Nissan Juke, which has done successfully during its short life. It also indirectly replaced the Nissan Versa Note, but that just goes to show the popularity of the Kicks in just a few years.

That said, since they’ve been on the roads for a few years, it’s getting to be time to start replacing the tires on your Nissan Kicks. Because unfortunately, no matter how well you take care of them, tires are going to wear out eventually. And they’re one of those things that you don’t want to wait until it’s too late to replace them, or you could have all sorts of trouble.

Regardless of what kind of tire you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered. In this guide, you'll find all-season tires, touring tires, performance tires, winter tires, and more. So use this comprehensive guide as your one-stop-shop for all things related to finding the perfect tire for your Nissan Kicks.

That’s enough rambling on my end, here are the best 8 tires on the market for the Nissan Kicks.

Michelin Premier All-Season — Best All-Season

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If you just want to put a set of tires on your Nissan kicks and not have to worry about anything, then you’ll want to go for a to-notch all-season tire. These tires provide reliable traction all year while offering lots of other creature comforts. And the best all-season tire on the market for your Nissan Kicks is the Michelin Premier A/S.

Even though you’ll find many other tires, including some even on this list, that offer a longer mileage warranty, when you consider the total package, the Premier A/S is our favorite tire for the Kicks. Longevity, comfort, handling, braking distance, wet and snowy performance… it doesn’t get better than the Premier A/S.

If you want to put the best all-season tires on the market on your Nissan Kicks, then the Michelin Premier All-Seasons are for you. Thankfully the smaller tire sizes that come on the Kicks helps to keep the price down, so you should only expect to pay around $180 per tire or so if you order them from Tire Rack.

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: 60,000 miles
• Max Load Capacity: 1,433 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 50 psi
• Tread Depth: 8.5/32”
• Tire Weight: 22 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: 640
• UTQG Traction: A
• UTQG Temperature: A
• Michelin Total Performance Tire
• Extreme silica and sunflower oil in the tread compound enhances traction in wet and snow

FAQ

Aren’t there other all-season tires that last longer?

Although these tires come with a respectable 60,00-mile tread life warranty, there certainly are other options on the market that will last a bit longer. But we didn’t rank these as the best all-season simply based on longevity. All around, these tires are top-notch.

How do these tires perform in the rain?

As an all-season tire, the Michelin Premier A/S performs well in wet conditions. Taking it a step further, these tires perform better than most other all-season tires thanks to the extreme silica and sunflower oil inclusions in the rubber compound.

Are these better than the Michelin Defenders?

As an overall all-season tire, the Premier A/S just beats out the Michelin Defender T+H as our favorite option. The Defender lasts a bit longer than the Premier A/S, but the Premier has additional comfort, reduced road noise, and performs better in poor weather. Both are fantastic options however that you’d be happy with.

Continental ContiProContact — Best Touring

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If you want to step it up a notch from a regular all-season tire — even though the Premier A/S above is about as good as it gets — then you’ll want to start looking at touring tires. These tires offer increased comfort, reduced road noise, and enhanced performance when compared to standard all-season tires. And for the Nissan Kicks, you’ll want to look at Continental ContiProContacts.

To start, the ContiProContacts come with an 80,000-mile tread life warranty from Continental. And if you take good care of them, you can potentially get even more life out of these tires. Originally designed for European sports cars, the ContiProContacts are designed not only to last, but to perform great throughout their lifetimes.

The all-season tread compound helps to provide reliable traction in all weather conditions, even light snow. And the PROactive Edge Technology allows the edges to flex and move more in poor conditions, enhancing grip and offering better traction under aggressive driving conditions. Combined with all this, the rubber and tread pattern design reduce vibrations and road noise for increased occupant comfort.

For how great of a tire it is, you might be surprised at the price you can get the Continental ContiProContact for. On Tire Rack, you can buy these tires for just $108 a piece, depending on which size you need. So for under $450, you could have your Nissan kicks ready to go with the best touring tires on the market.

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: 80,000 miles
• Max Load Capacity: 1,356 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 44 psi
• Tread Depth: 10/32”
• Tire Weight: 19 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: 400
• UTQG Traction: A
• UTQG Temperature: A
• PROactive Edge Technology brings more active edges into contact with the road for optimal traction
• Additional comfort and reduction in road noise for a pleasant ride

FAQ

Are ContiProContacts all-season tires?

Yes, Continental ContiProContacts are all-season tires. So you can install these on your Nissan Kicks and hit the road without worrying about what the temperatures are or what the road conditions are looking like, for the most part.

What is the tread life warranty?

The ContiProContacts come with a whopping 80,000-mile tread life warranty. For average drivers, that means you can expect to get around 5-6 years out of them before they need to be replaced.

How do Continental tires compare to Michelin?

If you’re considering either Continental or Michelin tires, then you’re only looking at the best of the best. These are both two of the top tire manufacturers out there, and Continentals can compete with Michelins on many fronts. You’ll be happy with either brand!

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 — Best Summer

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Although the Michelin Premier A/S and Continental ContiProContact tires above offer top-notch performance, there's really only one way to get the most out of your Nissan Kicks. And that’s by putting a set of performance-oriented summer tires on it. The best summer tire for the Kicks is the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2.

As you could probably guess from the term “summer tire”, these tires are designed to be used during the warmer months only. You should not try to drive on summer tires year-round if you live anywhere that the temperatures get too low. The tread compound used in these tires will not work well in cold weather and you will get very poor traction!

But during the summer, nothing else will compare with these tires! Inotia;;y developed for some of the fastest sports cars in the world, the Pilot Sport PS2 is made for one thing — high-speed performance. This is accomplished through the use of multiple rubber compounds that allow the tire to grip and flex however it’s needed to offer unparalleled traction during the most aggressive of driving conditions.

So if you really want to push your Kicks to its limits and see what it can do, you’re going to need some high performance tires like these Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s. That said, they will cost you a pretty penny for tires you only use one season of the year. You can order these tires today and have them at your door shortly for $205 each from Tire Rack.

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: 20,000 miles
• Max Load Capacity: 1,521 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 50 psi
• Tread Depth: 9.5/32”
• Tire Weight: 22 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: 220
• UTQG Traction: AA
• UTQG Temperature: A
• Multiple rubber compounds used together to provide maximum traction
• Original equipment on some of the world’s fastest sports cars

FAQ

Can I drive on these tires all year?

Since these are strictly summer tires, you should not drive on these all year. In fact, these tires are designed to only be used during the warm weather months. They will not provide good traction at all in cold weather and especially not in snow.

How long do the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires last?

In the sizes that come on the Nissan Kicks, the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires come with a 20,00-mile tread life warranty. This is better than most summer tires, which come with no warranty. But it’s still the shortest warranty that you’ll find on any tire on the market.

Do I need summer tires for my Nissan Kicks?

For the overwhelming majority of Nissan Kicks drivers out there, summer tires are not needed. Since these tires are designed for maximum performance, you don’t really need to get them unless you’re looking to push your Kicks to its absolute limits.

Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 — Best Winter

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If you’ve ever bought a set of winter tires before, then there is a decent chance that you’ve heard of the next tire on our list. That’s because when it comes to winter and snow tires, there is one that has long been recognized as the gold-standard across the industry — the Bridgestone Blizzak. For the Nissan Kicks, you’d be looking at the Blizzak WS90 to be specific.

Winter tires will change the way your Kicks performs in winter and snowy weather conditions drastically, more so than anything else you can do to the car. So before we get into anything else, you  should really consider getting snow tires if you live somewhere that gets cold in the winter and has snow-covered roads. You can drive much easier in these conditions with a set of snow tires.

What makes the Blizzaks so good are its studless design and various technologies that help generatore grip and traction. Multi-Cell technology absorbs the top layer of water from the snow and ice, allowing the thousands of biting edges created by the stiffer tread compound and beefed up tread blocks to dig in and find traction. And for a snow tire, they’re surprisingly comfortable and quiet to drive on as well!

So if you live anywhere that you can reasonably expect to be doing some winter driving, especially if there will be snow, I strongly recommend getting a set of Blizzaks before the weather gets cold. For the size you need for your Nissan Kicks, you can get a pretty good deal as well. From Tire Rack, you can order these tires today for just $118 each.

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: None
• Max Load Capacity: 1,389 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 44 psi
• Tread Depth: 12/32”
• Tire Weight: 22 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: N/A
• UTQG Traction: N/A
• UTQG Temperature: N/A
• Multi-Cell technology acts like a sponge to remove the layer of water off snow and ice
• Thousands of biting edges dig into snow and ice to offer traction

FAQ

Do these snow tires have studs?

The Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 winter tires use a studless design. To provide traction, the tires use a plethora of technology to whisk water away and dig into the ice and snow below. Studless designs last longer and are also much quieter to drive on.

Are they noisy to drive on?

Thanks in large part to improvements in rubber compounds and the advent of studless tire designs, the Blizzak WS90 is not noisy to drive on. The tread is a bit stiffer than normal tires, so you might hear them slightly, but most people won’t notice any difference!

How many winters do these tires last?

Although there is no mileage warranty on these tires, you can reasonably expect to get about 4-5 winters out of them if you maintain them. This means making sure they’re only used during the winter, keeping them properly inflated, and rotating them as necessary.

Michelin Defender T+H — Best Highway

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If you do a lot of highway driving, then you’ll want a tire that’s designed for exactly that.One that offers a smooth ride, reliable traction year-round, and a long life. And to get the best of the best, we go back to the old faithful and have another addition to the list from Michelin. The best highway tire for the Nissan kicks is the Michelin Defender T+H.

With its class-leading 80,00-mile tread life warranty, you can expect these tires to last a long time. They used to come with a 90,000-mile warranty a few years ago, so they have the potential to last even longer if you take good care of them. Some drivers can regularly get 100,000 miles out of a set with no problem!

This is all thanks to a brand new tread compound from Michelin that focuses on durability and longevity without sacrificing comfort or performance. Combined with Michelin’s proprietary IntelliSipe Technology, these tires also offered incredible traction in wet conditions as the sipes expertly channel water away from the contact patch between the tires and the road.

As a close second behind its Michelin brethren above, you’ll be happy to see that the Defender T+H is a little bit more affordable. If you don’t want to splurge on the Premier A/S tires, these are a great second option. And for under $140 per tire from Tire Rack, you can’t go wrong if you order these tires!

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: 80,000 miles
• Max Load Capacity: 1,389 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 44 psi
• Tread Depth: 10/32”
• Tire Weight: 23 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: 820
• UTQG Traction: A
• UTQG Temperature: B
• IntelliSipe Technology increase tread stability while directing water away from the contact patch
• High silica content in the rubber increases traction in cold and wet conditions

FAQ

What is the tread life warranty?

Michelin Defender T+H tires come with a class-leading 80,000-mile mileage warranty. They used to offer a 90,000-mile warranty on these tires but reduced it to 80,000 in the last few years. Even so, average drivers can get 5-6 years or more out of these tires.

Are these better than the Michelin Premier A/S?

The word “better” is subjective, but the two tires are close. In terms of longevity, the Defender outclasses the Premier A/S. But the Premier is a bit more comfortable and has better handling, so it’s a toss-up. We rank the Premier A/S just ahead of the Defender T+H, but they take the top two spots when it comes to the best all-season options on the market.

What sizes are offered?

The Michelin Defender T+H is one of the most popular high-end all-season tires for passenger cars. That said, they come in just about every size from 14” through 18” wheel diameters, including the popular 205/60R16 that comes on base model Nissan Kicks.

Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus — Best Performance Street

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Another great all-season tire that you should consider if you're looking to get some more performance out of your Nissan Kicks is the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus. You’ve seen a few different Michelin tires and a Continental fso far in this guide, so let’s branch out a bit and look at an option from one of the other top-5 manufacturers.

The Cinturato P7 is Pireli’s Grand Touring tire, which means it’s basically an all-season tire on steroids when it comes to handling, comfort, and performance. The low oil, high-silica content rubber compound used in these tires helps them to reduce braking distance and lower rolling resistance, which then helps lead to increased fuel efficiency.

The twin steel belts within the tire are wrapped with variable-tension polyamide to enable the tire to flex and grip the road as necessary to provide ultimate traction, even under aggressive driving. They also have four circumferential grooves that help direct water away from the contact patch to reduce the risk of hydroplaning in wet and snowy conditions.

If you’re in the market for a more performance-oriented tire for your Nissan Kicks that you can still reliably drive on year-round, then these are the perfect option for you. From Discount Tire, you can pick these tires up for just about $140 each today.

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: 70,000 miles
• Max Load Capacity: 1,389 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 51 psi
• Tread Depth: 11/32”
• Tire Weight: 23 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: 260
• UTQG Traction: AA
• UTQG Temperature: A
• Optimized tread pitch to reduce road noise and enhance comfort
• Circumferential grooves direct water away from the contact patch

FAQ

How do these compare to the Michelin Premier A/S?

Just like the Defender T+H above, we had the Pirelli Cinturato P7s ranked right up there at the top. The Pirelli offers a bit more performance capabilities than the Premier, which is why they’re listed here. But the Premier offers slightly better comfort. It just depends on what you’re looking for!

Are they noisy to drive on?

If you’re nervous about buying a performance-oriented all-season tire like the Pirelli Cinturato P7 because of noise, don’t be! These tires are no more noisy than any other high-end all-season tire like the Premier A/S or Defender T+H.

Are these run-flat tires?

Pirelli does in fact offer a run-flat version of the Pirelli Cinturato P7, but these are not it. Since we’re focusing on performance here, the additional rotating weight of the run-flat tires didn’t make the cut. They also cost more too!

Firestone FT140 — OEM Tire

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When it comes to OEM tires, Nissan usually does a pretty decent job giving their customers at least an average set of tires. On most models, Nissan won’t give you the highest-quality tires or anything like that, but you’ll usually get something that will last a decent bit and that handles well. And that’s the case with the OEM Firestone FT140s on the Nissan Kicks.

Your typical, everyday all-season tire, the Firestone FT140 does a fine job of handling the Nissan Kicks year-round, no matter what the weather conditions are. That’s right, they can even be driven on in light snow. But that doesn’t mean they are a replacement for snow tires, not by a long shot!

Although these stock tires do a decent job, that’s about all you can expect from them. To be decent. They don’t really excel at anything, and you could do much better with some of the other options here. And without coming with a manufacturer’s warranty of any kind, you shouldn’t really expect the longest life out of them either.

Although we encourage you to go with one of the other options in this guide when you need new tires, we know some of you will love how the OEM tires performed on your Kicks. So if you want to replace them with another set, you can get them from Tire Rack for $117 each. For similar pricing, you can get a better tire above, but these aren’t the worst choice!

Specifications

Some specifications may vary based on the exact tire size selected.

• Warranty: None
• Max Load Capacity: 1,389 lbs
• Max Inflation Pressure: 44 psi
• Tread Depth: 11/32”
• Tire Weight: 20 lbs
• UTQG Treadwear: 360
• UTQG Traction: A
• UTQG Temperature: A
• All-season tread pattern offers traction year-round including even light snow
• OEM equipment on many different makes and models of vehicles

FAQ

Should I buy Firestone FT140s when the stock ones wear out?

Overall, we aren’t big fans of the OEM Firestone FT140s that came on the Nissan Kicks from the factory. We would strongly encourage you to go with any of the other all-season options in this guide instead of buying another set of these.

Are these tires all-season?

The OEM Firestone tires are all-season, so at the very least they do have that going for them. So even though we aren’t huge fans of these tires, they will at least provide traction year-round, even in wet and snowy conditions.

How long will the OEM tires last?

Unfortunately, the Firestone FT140 OEM tires do not have any mileage warranty from the manufacturer. That said, you can expect to get around 30,000 to 50,000 miles out of the stock tires before you need to replace them.

Nissan Kicks Tire Sizes

With only a few years of production and release here in North America, there haven’t been too many versions of the Nissan Kicks yet. At the very least, that at least makes it a bit easier to keep track of the different tire sizes that have been offered. In fact, the Nissan Kicks has only come with two different OEM tire sizes:

• 205/60R16
• 205/55R17

Since production has only been going on since the release of the 2018 model years, there aren’t too many different models of the Nissan Kicks out there. Still, it’s important to know which model you have so you can make sure you order the right size tires. To make it easier on you, we’ve created the table below, showing every trim level and tire size that has been offered on the Nissan Kicks since its 2018 release.

Nissan Kicks Tire Buyer’s Guide

Do I Need Winter Tires For My Nissan Kicks?

As a front-wheel drive (FWD_ car, the Nissan Kicks can handle its own in winter weather, even in light snow. At least when compared to a rear-wheel drive car at least. So if the Kicks can do okay in the snow thanks to its drivetrain, do you really need to get winter tires? Or will some nice all-season tires be enough?

The truth is, even if you have an all-wheel drive (AWD) cra, you would still want to get winter tires if you’re expecting to drive in the snow. And we would strongly encourage you to do so. Having a nice set of quality winter tires on your Kicks will be the single best thing you can do to prepare for winter weather driving.

What Size Tires Do I Need For My Nissan Kicks?

For some vehicles, this question can be nearly impossible to answer. With all the different model years and trim levels, it can be difficult to keep up with all the possible tire sizes that might be the right one. But for the Nissan Kicks, there have only been a few years of production and the same trim levels have kept the same tire size every year.

This makes it much easier to answer! No matter which year Kicks you have, there are only two tire sizes, and it's entirely dependent on which model you have. If you have the base model S, then you’ll need to order 205/60R16 tires. If you have the SR or the SV models, you’ll need to get 205/55R17 tires.

How Can I Get The Most Life Out Of My Nissan Kicks Tires?

As you’re reading through this guide and searching for the perfect tires for your Nissan Kicks, you'll come across mileage warranties or tread life warranties. These are a decent indication of how many miles you can reasonably expect to get out of your tires.But to get that many miles out of them, you’ll need to take care of your tires. Here are three of the biggest things to keep in mind.

First, always ensure that our tires are inflated to the proper air pressure. This can be found inside the driver’s door on the yellow tire information placard. We recommend checking the pressure at least once a month. Also, make sure you get your tires rotated every 5,000 miles and have your alignment checked every 6 months. These two things will greatly increase the life of the tires on your Nissan Kicks!

Do I Need To Get High Performance Tires For My Nissan kicks?

If you’re a Nissan Kicks owner, you probably have realized that the car wasn’t exactly designed for high-powered performance. Sure, it might have a little bit of pepe to it, but you won’t be breaking any land speed records in the Kicks. So do you really need to get high-performance tires for it?

In my opinion, high performance tires are almost entirely unnecessary for the Kicks. That’s why even for our Best Performance Street tire, we went with a high-quality all-season that also performs well under aggressive driving. There are plenty of more performance-oriented tires on the market, but they just aren’t really necessary for a Nissan Kicks!