Well, thanks partly to my car scaring the living crap out of me in the rain yesterday/last night...I placed my order today for Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 235/50-17's. I got them at Sears, for $802 plus mount and balance...I think it was a pretty good deal. The only bad part is that they are on order and won't be in for 5-10 business days; so I have to make do with the crappy Bridgestone Pretender's until then. I can't wait, and I'll post my impressions when I get them.

-Loren

 

congrats
be sure to tell use how you like the new size.

 

are these going on the stock 17's?

 

yah

because the sidewall is 50 it fits safley

but it will lift the car a little bit and it will then look like an SUV...the wheelgap is gonna get smaller though but then that SUV look sucks as@....they are HUGH tires

 

Beauty, my friend, is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Very odd size you picked there, you speedo going to be off 1.5% on the slow side. At 60 you will about 61mph. Not bad.

Dixit

 

2k2Merlot isn't the first to pick that size and I doubt he'll be the last, Dixit. The 235/50R17 is more compliant than the the 225/50R17 (which could be a plus or a minus depending upon your requirements), it fills up the wheel well better than the 225/50R17 on non-lowered Maximas, and it's just as wide as the 235/45R17 without requiring a rim change to remain in-spec. IMHO, those are pretty compelling arguments in favor of the 235/50R17 despite the rather dubious contention that it makes the Maxima look like a SUV. (I suppose those who think the 235/50R17 makes the Maxima look like a SUV must think the Lincoln LS looks like a SUV too. )

I don't plan to either lower or autocross my Maxima nor do I intend to change my rims. So you'd better believe that when the time comes to replace my tires, the 235/50R17 will be a serious contender.

 

If anyone's looking for my reasoning behind my tire size choice, just check out y2kse's post. He pretty much listed my reasons. I think an encounter with road debris in the middle of the night when my car was less than two weeks old that caused over a thousand dollars worth of damage to my front clip, exhaust system and fuel tank squashed any thoughts I ever had of lowering my car.

-Loren

 

I'm right there with you Loren. I'm getting mine put on in the morning at Sears. I can hardly wait! As stupid as this sounds, I've been driving my car a little harder and spinning the wheels more since I made the decision to upgrade. Partially, I wanted to make it that much more obvious when I get real tires. It rained here most of the week and it was killing me. I'm looking forward to the new shoes. Oh, and I read all of the posts about tire sizes and decided on the 235/50/17 mainly due to the wheel gap. I wanted a wide tire, but the thought of the 235/45/17 with an even shorter sidewall than stock made me cringe, not to mention the plethora of arguments against that size. Plus, I heard such great things about the Pilots, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

Maxima owners, take note... Sears is hooking you up this week!!!

 

What is the real difference between the 225 / 50's and the 235 / 50's??


And for me living in a cold weather state how would that affect winter driving?

 

Go back and read my last post, 2003MaximaSE_TE. Then send me a PM if you have additional questions.

 

And I love 'em. Not sure that my car looks like an SUV, considering I have LESS of a truck like wheel gap now.

 

Ok, I just had a chance to zip around town for a few minutes, and there is no question about it - the 235/50/17 Pilot Sport is the deal! I took turns faster than I ever would have with my stock tires, and no squeeling at all. Turning quickly from a stop is not so much of an issue, because the tires stick very well. The true test will be when it rains. I keep hearing that this is when these tires really perform.

As far as them being taller, it definitely looks different, but I will certainly get used to it. Considering the gains on traction and cornering, I have no regrets. Looking at jjames' car, it seems to me that it would be less noticable on the black car. Mine is Sterling Mist, so there's more of a contrast.

So far, so good...

 

So I just sit here waiting for my tires to come in. Ugggghhh, the suspense is killing me. hehe

 

Man, it is so worth the wait. It rained all night tonight which was perfect. I got to test out the new shoes in a variety of conditions. I have to say, the tires performed basically as well in the rain as they did on dry pavement! No lie... I'm totally serious. I have a 5 spd and I drive it as such, and I'm telling you, it was pouring rain earlier, but I was still taking turns and accelerating as though it was bone dry. It was quite a rush. I am so happy with my decision. This was well worth the money. It's like driving a different car.

 

I've had the Pilot Sport A/S 235/50-17's on the car for over 4,000 miles now. VERY PLEASED WITH THEM!!!!! (Including the "look".)

 

 

Check these out if you are considering this tire. They are not lying when they say "The Pilot Sport A/S frees you to push your ultra-high performance vehicle harder in virtually any weather condition without compromise".

http://tires.michelin-us.com/promo/t...llseasons.html
http://tires.michelin-us.com/differe..._082401_a.html
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....m=25WR7SPORTAS

Oh, and did I mention they are giving a way a Samsonite suitcase and a road atlas with the purchase of 4 new Michelins. It just keeps getting better!!!

 

How's the road noise generate by Michelin sport A/S?
I checked the Michelin site and it only received a 6 out of 10, which is low compare to other Michelin tires.
But Tirerack site has a review which is 8~8.5 out of 10.
Which one is true?

Thanks!!

 

Our stock Brigstone Pretenders actually work much better on the 4th gen Maximas. My roommate bought my stock wheel/tires and he loves them he said they don't spin out or anything on his 4th gen. i think Nissan didn't realize the Pretenders can't handle the Hp/Tq increase that the 2002 Maxima has...

 

Has he driven them on rain-soaked streets yet?

 

I didn't notice any difference. As soon as I had them put on I took it on the highway for 20 minutes. If it was lounder, I certainly didn't notice.

 

Don't know much about these tire #'s and everything, but will this 235/50/17 pilot sport a/s fit on a 2000 max, stock rims?
thanks in advance

 

Yes. I have them. Lots of posts on the topic. Search on "235/50" in the 5th Gen forum.

 

Yes, assuming you have a stock 17" rim.

 

Thanks guys gonna order these today.

 

Do you have a close up pic? Wondering about the sidewalls, and if they have a ballon like bulge...

Thanks

 

Maybe the ones here will help...

http://www.cardomain.com/id/exunaja

 

Thanks, exactly what I was looking for...

 

No problem...send a quick PM to Exunaja who was one of the first to try this size/brand.

 

Got the Pilot's 235/50/17 installed today finally. It took Sears one week to get them in. They were shipped from a warehouse in Maryland to our Sears's branch in northern CA. They look nicer and are noticibly wider than the OEM Bridgestones. I hated driving in the rain with those RE 92's.
It might be in my head, but the car felt a little higher off the ground as I drove it the short distance home from Sears. I just filled out the Michelin promotion brouchure for the suitcase and atlas. I am going to go for a drive now. Thanks to everybody that posted comments (pro and con) on these tires. I would not have bought them if it was not for folks on this org.
y

 

yeah... arguement aside, 265's on 7" rims would probably be safer than re92 in the rain :/ I had EVERYTHING passing me the other day. Everytime I hit a puddle, the max wanted to surf. These still have 60% tread at least. I hate throwing away tires, but these are starting to wear on my patience.

 

im terrified to drive in the rain with them. the 1st time i ever actually hydroplaned in my life was about a month ago on the florida turnpike. luckily no car was next to me, and i didnt slam on the brakes. pilot sports all the way, and hopefully by me peeling out alot these tires will be gone at the 15-20k mark so i can throw on the pilots.

 

Just took a short drive around areas that caused squealing all the time with the RE 92's. The Pilot's don't squeal at all and corner better. It is a better ride. Road noise is about the same as before. I hydroplaned several times with the RE 92's. I stilled had tread left on them (27K miles) but winter is not far away. The pilots are expensive but I get more peace of mind (and fun)with them. The stock OEM 17's Potenzas aren't cheap either. If anybody is buying a new Max try to get the dealer to swap out the tires if possible.

 

I've been listening to these posts for a long time trying to weed thru all the choices between wider rims, lower profile sneakers etc...and I have to say that the 235/50 17's will be my choice also. My 2k max has 30k on it now, and the craptenzas still have alot of tread. I think the best thing to do would be to get the Pilot Sport 235's and then probably sell the potenzas for a few bucks...dont know how much they would be worth tho...any ideas? I'd probably let them go kind of cheap...but have no clue how much to ask...maybe 40-50 bucks apiece?

 

Good luck on the sale...if the tire shop you use gives 'trade-in' allowances and can resell themselves, do that, regardless of how little you get. Since they are a funky size, useable mainly on Nissan/Infiniti cars, and alot of those people know how much they suck, you probably won't have a great response trying to sell them outright.

 

I don't think my old tires were worth "40-50 bucks" for all 4 of them. I tried to keep one of them as a full size spare but I was told I needed a new rim. Our donut rim wouldn't take the 225/50/17. For a plain steel rim they wanted a $100 and I didn't have time to look around a scrap yard so I just kept the donut spare.
Good luck selling your old tires, but they may not be worth as much as you anticipate.

 

I got up this morning and saw that it was raining and I got all excited because the Pilots are so amazing in the rain. I know... I probably need some professional help, but still.

In a related story, it took me all of one day to get used to the new "look" of the bigger tires. It looks natural to me now, not like an SUV as some have claimed.

 

I just saw a 2001 Max with 245/45 Pilots. It didn't look bad at all. I'm suprised that they didn't baloon more at the sidwalls. the 2001 has 17x7s right?

 

I finally got the new tires today! So far they only have about 20 miles on them, already feel more stable and secure. I also really like the look, the fill the wheel wells quite nicely. I'll update this more as I experience the new Michelins. I can't wait for rain now! hehehe...I need help too.

-Loren