marvintpa

Greetings folks. Helluva nice place you have here.

Am considering a '98 SE purchase, but it handled quite poorly in the snow. Did not know if it was a factor of the car design or just the mild tires (Michelin MXV 4).

Any other snowbound folks care to share their opinions of their Max as a sled-dog?

Thanks

cyclemax

iTrader: (1)

My wife and I both have 99 SE's. Hers an auto with TCS and mine a 5-ssd. Both are excellent in the snow (SE Mass). The one you drove must have bad tires or something.

marvintpa

I would estimate the tires had between half and three-quarters of the tread left... being M+S rated would have thought they would be at least decent in the snow.

In Canada I'm guessing we face a tad more snow than you likely see in Texas (we've had about 3 feet in the last month in this area of Southern Ontario). My quiet little street is one of the last to get plowed and it can take up to three days. I know an Accord Coupe can handle 4" of snow without too much trouble, but would prefer to get a Max for obvious reasons.

MacGyver

My tires are pretty low on tred, but it was alright in the snow. It was definatly not close to a 4wd truck in the snow, but it's as good as a front wheel drive car can be with out snow tires

GIMAX

I have a 98 SE 5spd and it handles fine
in the snow. My tires don't have much tread
left, but it still made it through this
past weekend with the snowstorm we got in
NJ. Don't really have any complaints.

Stillnmax

tires make a diff... drivin through syracuse in the winter is a ***** but max made it alright... but sooo damn dirty... - this was last year- this year had a PF =) woo hoo

max2b?

I just got a 96 SE 5spd a few wks ago and living in Minnsota its been driven on pretty much all snow covered roads thus far. Tires (Yokohama Avids) appear to have probably 1/2 tread left. I wouldn't classify it as good in snow (I've driven FWD cars that are good in snow) although I can say its performance on snow would not keep me from getting one. If I was worried about the snow that much I would have gotten an SUV. Even with the my Minnesota winters 97% of my driving is still on dry/wet roads.

kevm14

How can different FWD vehicles be better at one another in the snow? I am almost positive that the Maxima has more stock ground clearance than any Honda product. A limited slip diff is what you need to start out, if that was a problem. Otherwise, get snow tires. On ours, we've got some Cooper T-rated snow tires and I was driving through probably 6 or 7 inches of snow down my street. That was interesting. Then I left my neighborhood, drove down the main street, and entered on the otherside. Only problem is, there is a huge hill that you have to climb. Probably about 1000 feet of road. It was the same unplowed snow (7 inches). The maxima was able to do 15-20 up the hill in 3rd, almost to the floor (speedo indicated much higher obviously).

A few days ago I went out to AutoZone to order a Haynes repair manual and on the way back, I stopped in a K-Mart parking lot. Completely unplowed from the snow. I'd guess 8 MAYBE 9 inches. THAT was an experience. I was all I could do to creep along at probably 5-8mph, in 3rd, WOT, wheels doing like 50mph. That was all it could do. I didn't even want to stop.

TommyBoiSxty9

When driving in snow you have to start slow and try NOT to spin your tires tooo much or your just gonna wear them the hell out and get no where....
Once you get going give it little by little more gas and the higher the speed you get to the easier you can get going
or something, did that make anysense
oh well

04 maxse

No complaints over here. We had quite a bit of snow in Jersey..

mAdD MAX

I live in Toronto and have a '99 Max GLE with stock Michelin tires and TCS. If you have a 98 SE 5-spd then you'll probably have a limited slip differential which should help out.

The Maxima grips the road pretty well in the snow and the TCS really helps out. Although once I had quite a bit of trouble getting out of my driveway. First off, my driveway is sloped downwards and there was around a foot of snow there. In order to move the Maxima out the driveway I had to put it in reverse.

Well lets just say I ended up doing 80km/h in reverse and the smell of burnt tires. However, it did end up getting out of the driveway. The Max doesn't not slip that much on the road however, but you may have some trouble moving from rest.

The braking is really good in the snow also.

Synki

On my 99 Max w/ 16x7 rims on Dunlop snow tires, i have no problems at all. We just had over 20+ inches by me and i drove all day an dno problems. Didnt even get stuck. Last year when it snowed, i had my BF's G-Force on and they were terrible. Donuts all over the place. Maybe the RSB had something to do w/ it? Hmmm.

jdwood

Got Firestone Firehawk SH30's this fall. Much quieter and smoother than my Continental 4000's but not as stiff. Happy with snow handling in Minnesota (on a record snow pace)for a 60 series tire.

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what's up with this but my MAX sucks in the snow. I have Cooper Cobra and have more than 65% life left in them and i can't brake, drive or do anything well in the snow. Has anyone had problems like this with these tires.
________
LIVE SEX

humaras

the stock yokohamas that I had with the max (97 gle) was the pits. So this fall, I got some firestone firehawk sh30's. It is better handling than the yokohamas...and in fact in the wet it is quite grippy. Thus in the snow here in NYC, they have been decent--and I can't complain...
after reading from various sources on the internet, the michelin mxv4's were out of contention because they were so darn expensive and b/c their wet/snow handling was not all that good.
for a comparison, pay a visit to tirerack--they have things rated pretty accurately.
=)

Dave B

First off, you guys with automatics are gonna destroy your trannies if you're doing 55mph, going thru the gears, and barely moving. You will burn up your tranny. Believe me.

My 96 SE 5 speed is doing quite well in the snow and ice here in Kansas City. We've had 4 good snows that have layed down about 4-6" each. I'm running 16"X7.5" wheels with 215/55 Yokohama Avid V4s. The only time I couldn't go anywhere was when I got stuck halfway up my driveway which had 3 inches of snow with a 1/2" of ice. I'm sure even a 4 wheel truck couldn't have made it either. On just snow, my Max drives fine and stops great. When taking off in deep snow, I just put it in 2nd and start from there. The only I don't like is when I pull out onto a snow covered street and while I'm in the turn trying to accelerate, the inside wheel wants to spin like crazy. Open differentials suck when you've got some good low torque, fwd, and deep gearing. My Maxima is WORLDS BETTER than my old 94 Z28.


Dave

MaxVQ

Do all versions of the Maxima have the limited Slip diff?

In Canada, only the 5 Speed SE does as standard. (we also get the full size spare!)

With my 95 SE with Toyo Proxes H4 (yes, my WINTER tires)
the car is fine. (Record snowfall YTD)

As with dry grip, the tire does 90% of the work to hold the ground, and the suspension is the rest. The same applies with wet/snow traction.

After my last alignment, I asked for a little too much toe-out, and with a little snow on the road, and the LSD, the car is all over the road when I am on it.

Just my 2 cents.