Threxx

My Maxima is going to be needing some new tires soon, and I've been doing a lot of research on tires recently. I want tires that will give me the smoothest, most isolated ride possible. Handling doesn't mean all that much to me, and as long as wet-weather traction is decent, I don't care too much about that. Ice/Snow is not a factor where I'm at.

So what would y'all recommend?

I've heard all sorts of raving reviews about the Michelin MXV4+, but my girlfriend has that on her honda accord- and I'm not all that impressed with them. Is there anything better? Cost is not that big of a deal, but I wouldn't want to get too much more expensive than the MXV4s, which run at least $110 per tire, depending on where you are shopping.

Thanks,
Kyle

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Check out the Dunlop Sport A2's. Tire Rack has some great review on them and a buddy of mine is running them on stock 16" wheels. I drove his car, and it rides nice. Holds the road great, nice quiet ride and they look hot all shined up! Nice tire!!!!

RussMaxManiac

BRIDGESTONE RE730, the best tire for the buck really. Awesome wet and dry traction, and very quiet.

Threxx

What about ride quality? Are they really the quietest and best ride for the money? Or do they give up some of that for their "awesome wet and dry traction"?

Is it my imagination, or do I recall seeing those tires on a 2002 Maxima w/ 17 in wheels at the dealership. Do some maximas come with these?

RussMaxManiac

http://www.5thgenmaximas.com/russmaxmaniac/re730/

Not the same tires...here are some pics when I had them....These are a much better tire. I replace the stock Firehawks on the Sentra, oh my gosh, what a difference. Ride suffered a hair, firehawks had really soft sidewalls on the sentra....but it also made the ride alot more stable.

zagato27

What about the Kuhmo 712 ECSTAs???? Are they as good/better/worse than the RE730s or the Dunlops Sport A2s?

NISMO808

iTrader: (2)

I'm running kumho's. No complaints so far, good traction all around low noise and a lot cheaper than the competition.

Wizeguy

Make sure to check out www.tirerack.com for reviews also it sounds odd but check www.miata.net under the reviews, plus hit their forum there's a wheel and tire area there too. The size is different but I think alot of the info is still valid.

I think Consumer Reports just did tire reviews a few months back hit the libary for those. I don't recommend consumer reports for the performance crowd but for you it just might be the ticket.

General speaking. The less knobby the tire the quieter the tire. Rubber compound has some to do with it too. Look for channels in the tread for water run off.

Good luck and there is no perfect tire only good ones.

TurDz

iTrader: (3)

Russ, I agree with you that teh Potenza RE730s are great tires. The best I've ever had on a car. BUT...with my old 4th Gen 96, I don't have as much sound isolation and insulation as your new 5th Gen. I've driven a 5th gen and I can understand why you feel the tires are quiet. But on my car, they're noisier than what I really want. Hopefully, the RE930s could be a better compromise, not as race-bred as the 730s.

BTW, 730 is the only tire with a AA traction rating, correct?

NYCe MaXiMa

iTrader: (9)

i heard, Yokohama AVS db are very quiet. Go to tirerack.com and check the reviews.

RussMaxManiac

I had them on my 2000 Sentra....not the Max. I can tell you the Sentra had less sound deading than any max

Mishmosh

iTrader: (3)

RE730. Some say that when they wear, the noise gets pretty bad. Don't have the tire so can't say. Also, one feedback on Tirerack stated that the Wet performance started to deteriorate pretty rapidly as well. Also, may not be available in a lot of stock sizes.

SE-Raider

I have a 98 I30 (wife's car) and a 98 SE. The I30 has Bridgestone Revo H tires. These are excellent handling tires with accurate and crisp turn-in and good stick but are VERY quiet, much quieter than the Michelin's and about as quiet as the stock Yokohama's. If you want a quiet tire with a priority on handling, then these are an excellent choice. Probably one of the quietest tires out there that still handles. Expect about 30K real world miles.
When I bought my Maxima last year, I got a set of RE730's because I wanted a better handling set of tires, at the extremes. I was very impressed initially with all aspects of the tire including it's quietness. However, there was a vibration in one of the tires that we could never get out, and as the tires wore they got louder. Alot louder. In fact I bought new tires early because I was tired of the droning. I only got about 20K miles out of these tires. I replaced the RE730's with RE930's. These are great tires. Excellent handling both wet and dry. Turn-in and linearity is great without being twitchy. The best part is that they are nearly as quiet as the REVO's. This is a great real-world performance tire that does it all for the performance-oriented driver that doesn't need the absolute extreme in handling and values a quiet tire. I could not be more pleased with these tires. They are very smooth riding, and have restored the quickness and agility that seemed to have been lost at the expense of absolute handling in the RE730. Also Bridgestone has a 500 mile return/exchange policy, detailed on their website, should the tire not meet your expectations. May be a problem if you buy mail order: but I found the local pricing on this tire to be within $5 of the mail order prices. Hope this helps.

iansw

iTrader: (7)

What is the widest tires you can put on a 4th gen SE (16's) stock?

Thanks,
IanS

JUDE

iTrader: (7)

The widest you can put on the 16in SE rims is 225-50-16.
Go with the Kuhmo's. I got a nice set of two that Tire rack delivered today. They will be installed by tomorrow.

SE-Raider

The stock tire is a 215-55-16. The RE730's I had were 225-50-16. Unless you just like the aesthetic look of the wider tire, I 'd stay stock. You'll find as you go to a wider tire in the stock width wheel that there will be much more sidewall flex. This flex introduces a little delay from the time you turn the wheel, til the sidewall flexes, til the tire takes a "set". This will make the handling feel mushy in comparison to a more vertical sidewall profile. This is the reason that the manufacturers strive so hard to get a stiff sidewall and bead, so that the tire will feel agile and quick. Going to a profile with too much curvature because you've put a wider tire on the same width wheel defeats the purpose. These are minor but perceptible differences.

iansw

iTrader: (7)

Interesting...wouldn't having a 50 series tire have less sidewall flex than a 55 series?

Less sidewall=less sidewall flex.

IanS

red112fl

My understanding, too, is that the shorter the tire sidewall, the less flex there is to it. The less flex, the better the handling of the tire. (Of course, the flip side to this is the taller the sidewall, the better the ride because there is more sidewall to cushion road imperfections.) This is why really low aspect tires (i.e., a 35 or 40 aspect tire transmits a lot of road irregularities)

A 215/55/16 tire is 215 mm in width. The 55 represents the relationship of the height of the side wall to the width of the tire. In other words on a 215/55/16 tire, the sidewall represents 55% of the width of the tire, or stated differently, the sidewall height = .55 x 215 = 118.25 mm.

On a 225/50/16 tire, the sidewall represents 50% of the 225 width OR
.50 x 225 = 112.50 mm.

The lower aspect tire (the 225/50/16) has a shorter sidewall by 5.75 mm.

Which size should you buy? Well, my friend that is a personal preference. A lot of Max.org members are wearing 225/50/16. (Perhaps because this tire provides crisper and quicker turn-ins and handling) On the other hand, I think almost as many folks run 215/55/16's or even 225/55/16's for an equally important sense of ride comfort.

The 215/55/16 is a taller tire than the 225/50/16, and will make the dreaded fender/wheel well "gap" less noticeable than if you use a 225/50/16. If your car is "lowered", this well help offset the unsightly appearance of the "gap".

Tires are a real "hit or miss" purchase, but there are things you can do to make a "smart" decision.

1. Check out reviews on www.tirerack.com
2. Know what you value more in a tire, handling or comfort
3. Check out some of the member car pictures here on max.org to see what the different size tires look like on lowered and unlowered cars.
4. Run a search on max.org. There must be hundreds of posts on this question. Then e-mail the max.org member and ask questions.

Personally, I'm running 215/55/16 sized tires. I'm not exactly thrilled with the "traction" of my present Continental CH95 touring tires, but I'm going to stay with this tire size when I buy the H-rated, Dunlop Sport A2's or the Yokohama AVS db's in a few months.

Handling and comfort is a delicate balance.

GoodLuck!

black019

falken grb tires. i love em