I want to stay with the stco 98 SE sims for right now. I like the way they look and I would rather put the money towards other performance mods etc. I do need to wrap em in some new rubber though my car is hitting 53K or so and needs them soon. Here is the question, any reccomendations on a nice looking sporty tire? I wouldnt mind something lower profile like but not quite as expensive as say Yokohama and also because for the money they dont last all that long from my experience seeing other people with them. I would want something that will lasta while. It doesnt have to be very low profile either. I see alot of people getting the rims done on here so I figured I would ask you guys, go straight to one of the best sources on the net.

SuDZ

 

Get 225/50-16 either Dunlop sp-5000 for all-season or sp-8000 for summer.

Check out www.discounttire.com and www.tirerack.com

 

There are also the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712.
They are inexpensive and they are rated really well.

I got mine at tirerack for $75 each.

 

I don't blame you for wanting to stick with the stock rims. Let's face it - they look nice, are decient weight, and the only reason people don't like them is because of the term "stock". If I had those wheels I wouldn't have bought my Racing Harts. Anywayz, I have Yokohama H-rated tires (smooth, quiet, but only last 15k-18k miles). They grip the road excellently (good performance), look nice, and lets face it - your never gonna go fast enough to use Z-rated tires. However, they are $105 each, which is a little pricey. If you really want to save money without sacraficing performance I would get Kuhmos like breaux124 said. I almost bought them myself, but I had a package wheel/tire deal, and had to upgrade the size so I upgraded the brand/model as well (only $100 more for size and different tire). The Kuhmo Ecsta Supras are great tires. Just trying to help.

 

Go with the Kumho's, best tire for the money hands down, go to www.tirerack.com and check out owners comments about them...

 

How many miles are you expected to get out of theese? I like the look and love the price but curious as far as whether or not they will make it long. Is there a typical average for what to expect out of a lower profile tire? I do alot of driving and dont want to be replacing tires every three months if at all possible. I could not find the Dunlops for all season on tirerack. I also noticed on Dunlops site though that they are going to be the stock ones for 2000+ maximas, so I wonder if I could find out about them there or maybe price since it wasnt listed.

 

The Dunlops I run are ultra high performance all-season and are one size bigger, they are not 215/55-16 (regular size for 97-99 SE rims) but 225/55-16 which are wider. You can also get 225/50-16.
The price for Dunlop SP-5000 was $105 a piece when I got them 6 months ago.
I just checked tirerack, they are there $103 a tire.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop/du_s5000.jsp

 

Well, if you want a lower-profile tire, you will have to go with z-rated because you have 16" wheels. The Kuhmos Ecstas are z-rated, but a problem is that you can't expect more than 25k miles out of any Z-rated tire. Most will only last 18k miles with hard driving (and lets face it - everyone on this forum likes to drive hard). That's why I am telling you to get the Kuhmos - YES they will wear down fast, but they are also cheap to replace. Like I said, if you want a lower-profile tire in 16", you have to get Z-rated ones. If you get Z-rated ones, you cant expect H or even V-rated tire wear. Just trying to help.

 

Can you please explain why? I've never heard this before.

 

Well, low-profile tires are designed for handling (not really for straight acceleration). Z-rated tires can go faster without problems and sticking to the road, of course. Most low-profile tires are Z-rated. Think of it this way - all 17" & larger wheels require low-profile tires. How many 17" V-rated or H-rated tires do you see? 96% of the market is Z-rated. On the other hand, H and V-rated tires get MUCH better treadwear (last 40k miles). For his 16", low profiles are not excessively common. The only ones offered are a few V-rated and Z-rated. If you are looking for the performance tire, it is going to be the Z-rated. Thats as simple as I can put it, if you have any other question I'll try to answer them for you. Just trying to help.

 

I have the same rims on my Se and I just bought a full set of Kumho Ecsta 712's. They are awesome. Do not pay more for the Pirelli's. I was also concerned about the treadwear rating of the tires. So I chose the 225 55 vr16's
The V rating gives the tire a 340 treadrating and the Z's are 260. So the V is the way to go. The 225 55's are nice and fill out the wheel wells better than my last tires also.
You can not get the 225 50 16's in A V tread only 55's

Tread lightly
OUT

 

Cool, Lots of great info here. I will be taking all this into consideration when I am gonna get mine, probably in like a week or two. Thanks everyone.

SuDZ

 

Well i just got some last week and i lvoe my knew ones..
Michilen MXV4 Plus... 215-55-16
They are AWESOMe mud/snow/wet tires...

VERY VERY quiet tire as well. And for that low of profile tire they are suppost to have awesome milage

I got them special ordered from COstco..w/50$ off coupon!
Total was $460 but its worht it

 

on my GXE 15" stock i went for Yokohama Avid Tourings really a great all round tire with an 80K limited treadlife warranty...
on my 18"s i'll go Yokohama AVS dB...

Yoko's are great tires... and $43 a pop for my size of Avid Ts... a great deal too

 

While we are on tires topic. i just got new 2k rims and put on Michelin 225/16/55 on them..What is the tire pressure i should have in it? i am not sure of this. i put in 34 psi but still seems low. Please help if anybody knows what should it be. thanx

 

Try Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce. They got a better rating than Michelin. I have them and they are smooth.

 

Somebody posted "why go beyond 'H rated' you won't go that fast. Probably true, but the V rated tire will be of better construction with a stiffer sidewall. There *is* a difference - drive some v (or better) rated tires and see.

On treadwear: it simply NOT true that all high performance tires wear fast. In the late 80's that was true because the only way to make a sticky tire was to make it wear fast. The converse was also true - any long wear tire was slick in the rain and had poor traction. That's why Michelin's lasted so long but were so poor in the rain. That's no longer true (well Michelins still suck in the rain, but that's another subject). Today a high performance tire can have a great treadwear rating - you just have to look before you buy. A tire with a high rating treadwear rating will wear well unless you spin them a lot. That's the whole point of the treadwear rating system.

Specifics: Consider the Pirelli P7000 or SS (all season version) when you are looking.

Bob

 

Somebody posted "why go beyond 'H rated' you won't go that fast. Probably true, but the V rated tire will be of better construction with a stiffer sidewall. There *is* a difference - drive some v (or better) rated tires and see.

On treadwear: it simply NOT true that all high performance tires wear fast. In the late 80's that was true because the only way to make a sticky tire was to make it wear fast. The converse was also true - any long wear tire was slick in the rain and had poor traction. That's why Michelin's lasted so long but were so poor in the rain. That's no longer true (well Michelins still suck in the rain, but that's another subject). Today a high performance tire can have a great treadwear rating - you just have to look before you buy. A tire with a high rating treadwear rating will wear well unless you spin them a lot. That's the whole point of the treadwear rating system.

Specifics: Consider the Pirelli P7000 or SS (all season version) when you are looking.

Bob

 

And if you look at the Michelin tread pattern for rain and snow, they don't look like they do much to keep the tire in contact with the road. That's why I bought the Pirelli's. Very good in snow and great in the wet.

 

What type or model tires are on the newr Maximas. I know they are larger but curious if they make a tire like that for 16 inch rims like I have. I figure those should be good for all year tires plus they look good. Any ideas?

 

Regarding the tire pressure, just look on the side of your tire and it will tell you the recommended range. I just ordered a pair of the Pirelli P7000 supersports to replace some crap "rage roadhuggers" the previous owner decided to punt with. Im lookin forward to them. How do they handle guys? DO they live up to their name?