I am a first time Maxima owner. I recently purchased a slightly used 2000 SE, Auto (got great deal, otherwise I would have bought a stick shift). My car is great. Great suspension and brakes, comfortable/stylish interior, and a super fun v6. My one big complaint, however, was that my car came with the old convenience package. I got 16" rims and cheap Toyo tires. I can live with 16" rims, but the Toyos are another story. I recently replaced these tires, although they had only 15K miles on them. I replaced them because, whether summer or winter conditions, these tires handled like sh*t. In my opinion, the Toyos are a cheap all season tire with a worthless grip. I also think they have poorly constructed and inadaquate sidewall support. And compared to other all season tires on the market, the Toyos on my car had a very low and unimpressive treadwear rating of only 240. So, to remedy this matter, I began by doing a fair amount of research on different tires and prices. If you are like me, love your car, hate your Toyos, and can't afford a very expense upgrade, then here is my advise. First, do some research and become informed as to the different brands and styles of tires that fit your car. If you have 16" rims, your tire size should be 215/55/16. Next, visit the following website: http://www.tireconnect.com. Then purchase, if you so choose, the following:

Quantity: 4, Stock Number: 20-0016632, Manufacturer: Continental, Model: ContiTouring Contact CH95, Tire size: 215/55R16 (H), Sidewall: BK, Speed rating: H, Ply rating: 4,
Load range: B, Item Total: $222.20 ($55.55 per tire! & no state sales tax).

Unless you live in a place where it does not snow at all and are only concerned with ultra high performance, or unless you live in a place where roads are frequently covered with heavy snow & ice during winter months, it is my opinion that for the money the Continental CH95s are practical and a best buy (I live near Chicago). The CH95s are made in France and come standard on many European sport sedans, such as on some BMW models. And although these tires were designed with an eye toward performance, they handle much better than the all season Toyos in the snow. Had I purchased these tires from a local retailer I would have paid $95 per tire plux tax. Even the next lowest internet price I could find was $74.00 per tire (@ http://www.tirerack.com). Shipping and handling was by UPS, and due to my location, shipping cost only 9$ per tire. I then had WalMart's Lube & Tire shop balance and mount the tires, which was another great deal. This cost just about $13 per tire, and free lifetime balancing & rotation was included! The TOTAL out-of-pocket cost of my upgrade was right around $310 bucks. And now, my 2000 Maxima SE is safer to drive and it drives more like it should (AND I get free rotation for the life of the tires). I immediately noticed a difference in the car's handling. The CH95s do a wonderful job gripping the road (which is felt when steering). Plus, the overall ride quality is better and my car's corning ability has improved significantly (noticably less body roll). I wish I had bought these tires the day I bought my car. So far, with quality and price in mind, I don't believe I will have any regrets. If you share the same considerations as I, hopefully this post will be of some use.

 

Just went through a week of ice, 12" of snow followed by more ice and had no problems with the Toyo tires that came on my 2kMax GLE. Just needed to reduce speed and drive based upon conditions. Made it through many places that others got stuck (indluding fools with SUVs who thought they could drive anywhere as though it was still dry conditions).Driving for eight years in upstate NY (winter from Halloween to April Fool's Day) before moving to Illinois helped a bit.

 

Excellent winter gripe and dry weather grip. They do have a high treadware and are alittle noisy on concrete surfaces, but like I said before, these tires offer fine grip.

 

I just went thru my first bit of snow with the Toyos and while I didn't get stuck, I wasn't too impressed with their grip. I did drive a little more sensibly(o/d off, starts in 1 and 2nd). Little hills did prove to be a bit of a challenge though...made them but felt like if I need to stop I would have been you know what The Toyos do seem a little loud and rough riding for a 16" tire. I'll probably check out other tores well before the life of these are over.

 

i think the tires handle pretty well. although my car did do a 180 down a hill last week in the ice....but that wouldve happened to me regardless what tires i had on at that time.

 

I liked the test drive I had before I bought the car. The test car had toyos. I liked the grip and road noise was minimal. I ended up buying my GLE with goodyears on it because they didnt have a GLE that had toyos that didnt have a sunroof. I didnt want the sunroof so the other GLE on the lot that matched what I wanted had Goodyears on them. The Goodyears are not up to par with the toyos. They are noisy and they wear horribly. I only have 13,000 miles on my car and it seems like I have 25,000. Id prefer the Toyos over the Goodyears any day.

 

I bought my 2000 GXE used and currently have 31,500 miles on the Toyo tires. I removed them last week and put on winter tires(Artic Alpin) good thing as we have had over 30 inches of snow in the last week.
I didn't think the Toyo's were very good in snow, even when it was only 6 inches deep. I plan on replacing the Toyo's this spring. I thought that they were ok summer tires and they did last over 30,000 moles and had about 5,000 more miles left on them.

 

In the snow I found the Toyos to be especially bad. I was sliding all over the place. At one point I had to stop due to a car that had spun out. I was passed by about 6 cars before I got rolling again at around 30 mph. When the road was dry, the tires would squeal too often (and I drive an Auto). Corning was no fun with the Toyos. I felt like I was going to roll over at times. Also, if I didn't take turns at a fairly slow pace, the front tires would lose it. I guess the bottom line is simple. If you like the Toyos, don't waste your money on new tires. If you don't like them, then there are some reasonably priced alternatives available. I only kept one of my Toyos, in case of an unexpected flat. Had I known there were so many Toyo fans out there I would have kept them all and put them up for sale here. Of course, then I'd be forced to say a couple of nice things about my Toyos, and that's asking just a bit too much.

 

I would have kept them and sell them, too! But yeah, I really do like these Toyo's. The town I live, it is very small and I can take sharp 90 degree left or right turns easily at 30-35mph. The tires don't protest, only if I am on the gas. Remidy for that would just let off the gas and it will "tuck" back in. Good luck with your new tires!