Hi, I have a 99' Maxima (automatic) and i currently am using the Goodyear RS-A (dunno if its OEM or not). I am trying to figure out which tire to get for a replacement as the RS-A is very noisy and wearing out. I have checked tirerack.com and read some reviews and such but it seems like everything i find has bad reviews. I am looking for a tire that is quiet, handles well, and has good wet traction. Price range is around 600 total. Anyone have any suggestions on what tires to get ? I would prefer Goodyear but anything that is recommended will be noted. Thx.

 

Welcome to the org. The fiorst thing that you will want to take notice of is the "search" function in the upper right hand corner. Not that you could know this now (since you are new), but this topic has been covered rather extensively over the last few weeks. Play around with the search function on issues like this and you will find a lot of the answers that you are looking for.

That having been said, I have to advise AGAINST the Goodyears. I have just never heard glowing reviews on those tires, either for performance or value ot anything else. For your money, there appear to be better choices.

Coming to mind immedately are the 2 choices that were discussed over the last few weeks, the Dunlop SP Sport A2 (highly recommended on the org) and the Sumitomo HTR+ (which I have, as do many others). Let me break it down like this:

If I had more money, I would be riding on the dunlops,but on my budget, the Sumitomos provide a great value. The dunlops are available in the OEM size (215-55-16) as well as 225-50-16. The sumitomos come only in 225-50-16.

My recommendation: Price the tires online, and then either order them from tirerack OR get the quote from tirerack and take it to Sears, where they will match the price BUT yo uwill have point-of-service attention and will have better options for returns, as well as the options to purchase services such as lifetime balance or a road hazard warranty.

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

 

The Sumitomo HTR+ is not available in the OEM size of 215/55-16. You can get it in the "plus zero" size of 225/50-16 though.

Another tire to consider is the Bridgestone Potenza RE950. I've had them for the last 2 years and they have been fantastic. I looks like I will be getting about 50,000 miles of very hard driving out of them.


Oh yeah...search

 

I can never remember if it is the RE930 or RE950, so I leave that part to you. See my original post, I DID specify that the Sumitomo only comes in the 225-50-16 .

Hopefully, search will become his friend.

 

Just my .02
Phenryvi is right the sumitomos are great. I do have the Dunlop Sport A2's and only have 2K miles on them. They are excelent tires. Great snow/wet traction (for the max at least) and they are quiet and comfy. If you can sport the $ for them, that is my recommendation. I hope this helps!

-fnny

 

This is what I get for not reading your whole post:

You ---><--- Me

 

Thank you very much guys. And i will use the search option from now on . I will be looking at the Dunlops then i guess. Maybe the other one listed as well.

 

Good luck and please post w/ your decision and thoughts of new purchase!

 

I think that you will be please with any of the 3. In order of preference, it goes the RE950s, SP Sport A2s, then the HTR+s. In terms of price, it is the reverse. No matter which way you go, you can maximise the value and convenience by having sears do ao price-match. Best of luck, let us know what you decide.

 

FYI: The Dunlop SP Sport A2's can be bought at Sears for the same price as TireRack (and they'll also pricematch).
Great Tire, and if you ever need to cash in on the tire's warranty, you just deal with Sears instead of Dunlop or TireRack.

I've got Kumho Escata's and I'm replacing them with the A2's. The Kumho's are good in dry and not bad in wet, but in snow - THEY STINK!!

 

breaux124,

What type of deal did you have with Sears? Were you able to match the tires price only, or the shipped tires price? How much did they charge you for mounting/valve stems/balancing/disposal?

I went to a local Sears to ask about the 215/55/16 A2's and they were only going to match the shipped price of TireRack. Mounting costs are extra.

If you got mounting for free, please teach me on your strategy.

Thanks

 

Hey you should also look at Yokohama AVE ES100, there a great tire. Planning on getting those soon...

 

I was talking about the price of the tires only. The A2s at tirerack are $89 for 215/55-16 where right now at Sears they are $87, but then you don't have to pay shipping and it's easier to deal with Sears if anything goes wrong.

I never said anything about free mounting.
If you bought the tires from tirerack, unless you bought wheels too, you would still have to get them mounted and balanced. I think Sears charges about $16/tire to mount and balance which is about average.

I was trying to show how you can get the same tires from Sears for about the same price, and then you have somewhere easy and local to go back too if any problems occur.

 

breaux124,

"I was talking about the price of the tires only. The A2s at tirerack are $89 for 215/55-16 where right now at Sears they are $87, but then you don't have to pay shipping and it's easier to deal with Sears if anything goes wrong. "

WOW! My local SEARS wanted $104.99/tire (before price matching, tires only). I wish I could get it for $87.

 

breaux124,

"I was talking about the price of the tires only. The A2s at tirerack are $89 for 215/55-16 where right now at Sears they are $87, but then you don't have to pay shipping and it's easier to deal with Sears if anything goes wrong. "

WOW! My local SEARS wanted $104.99/tire (before price matching, tires only). I wish I could get it for $87.

 

No it's not, look carefully. If you put in 1997 Nissan Maxima SE on the sears web page it comes up with the wrong size, 215/60R15, which is $87. If you put in the correct size, 215/55R16, the price is $105.

I think Sears does pricematch however, so that point is moot.

 

They're $105 on sale, but Sears sometimes runs 10% off everything (including sale prices) on Saturdays. Dunlop tires were not on the excluded list. So they'll be $94.50, which is a little bit cheaper than the pricematch of $87 + $9 shipping (to where I'm at). I checked on this exact scenario in December.

I decided to go with RE950s though (got a pretty nice deal @ $25 less than the Dunlops would have been).

 

Maybe the search button should be made larger? The newbies will see it and know its there.

 

Where did you get the RE950s? Normally they are much more expensive than the A2s.
Man, I need tires badly. It's been scary sliding around in the snow the past several days.

 

To address sevaral posts at once:

Sears will match the AFTER SHIPPING price on the tires. This is almost always still cheaper than the sears price.

Work on your negotiating skills. I agreed to buy the road hazard and got my tires mounted for free. Then I paid the DIFFERENCE between the regular balance price and the LIFETIME balance price, but still got the lifetime balance. I did pay for valvestems and disposal fees.

Sears will also take the 10% off AFTER the price-match. If you can wait that long, it is a way to save even more.

Think this way:

$105 per tire for SP Sport A2 @ sears. $420 for 4, plus tax.
$87 per tire @ tirerack ($348) + $35 shipping est. $375 (MAX) plus tax.

There is a $45 savings right off the bat. Now wait until a 10% off day and save ANOTHER $35-40 and you save almost $100.

This is not even taking into consideration the wheeling and dealing on mounting, roadhazard, etc. This is clearly the way to go. Sears had my Sumitomos for $101 on sale. I walked out the door w/ lifetime balance and full RH protection for under $350. I think it was $348, to be exact.
About the search button being larger- it has been tried. If we are nice about suggesting it (like we were in this thread), it is likely that the new user will try that FIRST next time. But it was a good idea.

 

Read the reviews on the RE950 on tire rack. They have a superior "would buy again" rating of 9.3 and snow traction of 7.3. Not too bad for a non-dedicated snow tire. Quiet, handle very well and last a long time. And they look really good. For me they were the best overall tire I could find at the time. Unfortunately they are only available in the 215/55-16. They are not made in 215/60. If I were you I would go with 225/55-16 just to get a wider footprint (.3" at tread) and they will fit equally well on 6.5" wheels. I have had mine now for about 20,000 miles and it is hard to tell they are worn at all. I don't live where it snows but we get tons of rain and I have no worries.

You will find only Bridgestones on Ferrari F1 cars (unless rules change again) and they obviously work well for Michael and Rubens so I'm sure they will work well for most of us...

 

geeford,

If you have a Costco locally, you can get the 215/55/16 Bridgestone RE950's for $115/per installed ($105/tire + $9 mounting + $1 disposal). They probably will have to order but that'll only take a week.

 

Got the Dunlops yesterday (was in a rush). Sears did match the price for $89 a tire. Was around $11 a tire to mount and balance it. $60 for alignment. Everything went smooth except they mounted one of my tires incorrectly. Front left tire had a marking : Mount this way IN. The other 3 tires had : Mount this way OUT. Had that fixed and everything went smooth. Total with alignment was $510 with tax.

Tires are excellent. Much more quiet. Easier to steer ( almost forgot i had power steering ). Not much vibrations. Also braking is much smoother as well. I may get these tires again if it lasts awhile.

P.S- A big thank you to everyone for giving me suggestions and what not. Thanks again and i will use the search next time

Also, just noticed the other posts, sorry i missed it, i might have gotten the Potenza now come to think of it (based on the reviews)....anyway, love the Dunlops.

 

Good to hear. Enjoy them!

 

BTW, anyone who is a Costco member should receive a coupon book soon. I received one today and the Michelin and Bridgestone tires are $60 for the set of four (Jan 20 - Feb 2). A set of 4 RE950s 215/55-16 would be $400 even (installed/balance/hazard), plus local tax. Dunno if you'd have to order them in advance for arrival during the sale or order them during the sale.

Geeford, great choice. Choosing between the RE950s and SP Sport A2s is kind of like splitting hairs.