I've got a 95 Se. I'm debating between two sets of tires i have. ONe is a 235/45/17 Antera Chrome wheel which I'm not too crazy about and a set of 215/55/16 Maxima 2000 GLE. NOt sure which ones to keep. Not sure If I'm going to lower my car due to what I've been reading lately onthe board. What do you think?

If you don't like the 17", then don't put them on. You have to live with what your car looks like every day. Personally, I like the look of bigger rims, so I would go 17".

I think your answer depends upon what kind of ride you want.

The 17 inch tires will have less of a sidewall (45% of 235 mm = 105.75 mm sidewall height) than the 16 inch tires (55% of 215 = 118.25 sidewall height) The sidewall acts like a shock absorber, the shorter the height, the harsher the ride). The "gain" with a shorter sidewall is of course less flexibility in the sidewall and thus greater resistance to lateral movement, i.e. better handling, not necessarily comfort.

If you're like most of us, you want the optimal balance between handling and comfort. Face it, no one wants to feel every rut, expansion joint, and pavement break on the interstate when taking a trip. At the same time, no one wants to feel their Maxima drives like a Buick or Grand Marquis. This "balance" is really very subjective. There are lots of us who've stayed with stock size on the 97-99 SE. Yet, there are many people who've gone to the 17" rim.

I think a good way to check this out is to go "shopping" and drive a used 97-99 SE with 16" rims. If it's not "tight" enough, consider 225/50/16's with an ultra-performance tire.

Drive as many cars as you can find and don't rush your buying decision. (40,000 miles is a long time and even longer if you've made the wrong decision) You'll probably find lots of SE's out there with Toyo's, Goodyear RSA's, Continental CH95's and even Pirellis. Pretend you're buying a car and try and find out how the different tires ride. Only you will know what feels best to you depending upon your driving requirements. Buy what makes you happy, not what looks good or costs less! Take your time.

I share your reluctance to lower the vehicle. There are lots of folks who've done it but ultimately returned to stock. (Just check out Parts for Sale or EBay to see how often someone is selling a set of Eibachs or H&R's, etc.) I lowered my 95 SE for awhile and went back to stock. I got tired of riding up and down.

Good luck!!!

18's are nice too!

I love the way the 2k 16" 5-spokes look!!!!! They are clean, simple and look like aftermarket rims anyways.. Plus with the 17's you have to be more careful driving not to mess up your rims, be extra careful on messed up roads, tires cost more too... Plus if you are going to keep the suspension stock, and ride on 17s your car might look more like a 4X4.. But if the 17s look better, go for those.. 16s are just less worries.

hey medicsonic
what are those 17's that you are running. Are they 2000 SE wheels. How much did you get them for? I guess I just need to figure it out. I like the handling of the 17's. Haven't tried my 16's from the 2000 Gle yet. Just wanted to get a feel for what others thought

Yeah, they are the 2K+ SE 17" rims. I had the AE rims, which are kind of chrome colored, but my brother took my car, damaged two of the rims and replaced the set with a set of regular SE rims with Pirelli P7000SS. They are alright, but I liked the AE rims better (they had Michelin Pilots on them. I haven't talked to my brother in about two months now, so I have no idea were my other set of rims are. I happened to snag them off of E-Bay for like 600 (no tires). DSMercado has AE rims on his 4th Gen too.