Just a warning to anyone with the stock potenza maxima tires!!!! REPLACE THEM TODAY if you want to be safe in slipperry conditions!!!

Spun out on rt 78. east today while trying to avoid a major accident with a tractor trailer. (The guy apparently was drunk or just didn't see me, and wanted to squish me as he changed lanes). I was parallel with about his rear tires. I Slammed on the brakes hard, and spun out.... Did a 360 and then slammed into the median, rebounded, and stopped in the middle of 78. Anyway, the road conditions were pretty bad, so I was only doing about 40-45 mph (in a 55 zone... as was everyone else around me). I attribute the ****-poor braking performance to the ****ty-*** potenza's supplied with the car...

I'm not saying that I'm not to blame here... however, I cannot see how I could have prevented an accident. By the time i was clear of the trailer portion, I could not correct for the spin, and certainly could no longer stop. I may not be the best driver out there, but i've been in my share of sticky situations with various cars, under various conditions. I have always been suspicious of these tires (as have many other maxima enthusiasts... do a search!), but didn't believe that it would make all that much difference ( I would just wear them out, and replace them then). However, my life was on the line today, and I feel as if these tires failed miserably. Thankfully, everything turned out ok.. (luckily, everyone else was keeping their distance, and i didn't get squished by any of the surrounding trucks). However I could envision this situation turning out much much worse for myself, and the surrounding vehicles.

I hope this is a wake up call to anyone who felt as I did at once. Don't take some internet wacko's (my) word for it. I could have have some vendetta against Potenza, and just made this story up! Maybe i just don't know how to drive! Do your own research today! Go out to an iced-over parking lot, and obvserve the pitiful performance of these tires. Look over some of the other opinions presented on Maxima.org (from what I remember, this is an almost universal consensus about these tires!). Compare them to your friends/wifes/brothers/uncles tires. Make the decision to prevent an accident before it's too late.


-Tom Z.
(hopefully still a maxima owner once the body shop estimate comes in! )

PS. I find it curious that the ABS didn't go off during my braking. The car was slipping and skidding like crazy. Usually, as soon as a single wheel somewhere slipped (on a patch of ice, for instance), you could really hear and feel the ABS at work. Not this time!!! (i really felt as if proper function of the ABS could have helped me maintain control of the car) In fact, right after the crash, i noticed the amber ABS light on (it went off since.. as i drove the car to the shop!). Any thoughts on what may have happened here? Did my ABS malfunction, or is it functioning to spec?

 

Sorry about your misfortune Tom. The weather in NJ today is NOT Maxima weather. I agree, Potenzas are not good tires when the road surface has any precip on it.

Since the day I got my Max, I pledged to upgrade the tires and brakes as soon as it possible. I'm looking at getting the Michelin Pilot HX MXM 4 to replace my Summer tires (Potenzas) within the next month or two.

Glad you're OK bro!!

Peace.

P.S.: (cough)totalled Max(cough,cough)G35 Coupe(cough)on the way(cough, sneeze). My bad!! I have a cold.

 

Sorry about the accident! I agree the Potenza's suck in the snow. I've grown up driving in upstate NY and have plenty of experience in the snow, yet I couldn't stop a low speed sideways slide into a curb a few weeks back. Luckily only some curb rash on the rims. I've taken my SUV out every time it snows since (which is a lot considering we'll have about five feet so far this year after it stops tomorrow!!!!).

If the car isn't totalled I'd talk with the body shop and make sure they note that the tires are flat spotted from the spin and need replacement...with Michelins!!!!

 

I'm on the fence. In this tire size, it's pretty much Pilots for me. yet I can sell the 2k2 wheels and get aftermarket rims AND decent tires for not much more. Ugh.. I really need to do something. It was raining and below 40 yesterday - not ice, just cold and wet and I couldn't believe how little traction I had.

I hate to keep making Big Wheel references (yesterday), but it kinda reminds me of how much traction those hard plastic wheels had.

 

No to change the subject but, do you remember how much fun it was to go a fast as you can on the Big Wheel and then YANK the brake handle hard for that SUPER spinout?!? Lots of fun until you got that gaping hole in the front wheel after a few weeks.

 

Yeah... that was friggin awesome.. Big Wheel!!! I remember those days :-)

Anyway, thanks for all of your concern guys... but honestly, it's just a car, it's very replaceable.. People are not!!! and I doubt it's totalled, i was able to drive it back perfectly (although it was a little bit on the loud side when it idled)!!! It's a whole bunch of expensive dents though... and there appears to be some bending in the engine bay... so we'll see...

I can update you with an actual estimate (for anyone that cares to keep track of maxima repair bills), on monday.


-Tom

PS.. I was appalled by how poorly the tires performed (much worse than even I had anticipated), so I felt it would be better to complain bitterly... maybe it got someone else thinking seriously of replacing those four pieces of cr*p they try to pass off as tires on a 30k car!

PPS. I was furhter appaled by the fact that no-one who witnessed the accident stayed around... As soon as I backed up off of the road, they all left!!! And the truck "responsible" was long long gone by the time i had stopped...

 

be advised...they are GREAT in rain (as we have here in the Northwest for five months of the year) but I'm not too impressed with their dry grip...they have a pretty open tread pattern which does'nt put a lot of rubber on the road so dry grip is not so hot...a bit squishy at high cornering speeds.

That said, they are extremely predictable -meaning when they start getting close to the edge of adhesion you'll know it- so it's an extremely easy tire to drive fast. Also, they ride much better than the Potenzas and the Pilot A/S Sports.

If you want ultra performance, go for the A/S Sport, if you want a more 'grand touring' tire the MXM4 is great.

Now, all this said, why not try the new Kumho KH11?

 

Yeah, I kind of figured I might be sacrificing some dry weather performance. But safety comes before performance.

Speaking of Kumhos, I just bought some Kumho Ecsta 712s for my Quest and they are pretty good; the stock Eagle LS tires sucked BIGTIME. How do the KH11s rate??

 

think anyone on the Board had installled them on a Max yet but they're supposed to be a more comfortable (again, more 'grand touring) tire than the 712s or 711s..

They're also supposed to be a 'summer' tire which means if you live in an area with lots of snow =forget it but the tread pattern loks like it would be a great rain tire as well.

At 100 bucks each versus 180 for the MXM4's, yeah, I would seriously consider them!

 

to the KH-11's

http://www.whalentire.com/tiredetail...irenumber=2750

 

Hey tomz17, I know exactly what you mean. Yesterday on the way to work at 8:45 in the morning, I had someone pull out in front of me. It was raining and I was on a back road that's 4 lanes wide and isn't all that busy. No one was around me (for several miles) and I was cruising at 80mph like I usually do. In front of me I saw a Ford Explorer start to pull out. They were only 100 yards away which seems pretty far until you factor in my speed. I was in the left hand lane and they pulled into the middle of the road. Now any considerate driver would know that if a car was coming in the left lane, they need to be in the right lane. Nope they ride the middle and at the last moment pull into the left lane. All this time I was slowing down, expecting them to go to the right lane, but I was not prepared for them to pull in front of me. Once I realized what they were doing, I turned the wheel to avoid hitting them and hit the brakes at the same time. The Maxima started sliding down the road sideways at 65+ mph and still in the left lane. I was able to straighten the wheels up gain control and make it into the right lane to go around. I came 2 feet from hitting the Explorer. It was a scary watching a bumper approach the driver side door as you fight to gain control.

It might have been the ABS that kicked in that saved me. All 4 wheels locked when I hit the brakes, but I think the real blame is with the Craptenzas. With any other tire I would have still had some control. But with the combination of rain and these tires I had no chance. I have been looking for aftermarket wheels and tires and will be replacing the Craptenzas as soon as possible.

 

 

Lumbee & Tomz,

When I first got my Max, I had the Goodyear RS-As as delivered from the factory. Those were the worst tires I have ever driven on. On dry roads they felt like they were slipping on ice from a panic stop around 45 mph. I got two near misses and ended up rear ending someone. I have never ever rear-ended anyone in all my 10 years of driving in any car, except this one, I always keep my distance, I just surprised how far my car slid before stopping on a dry road.

I was ready to sell the car, I thought the Maxima had ****ty brakes or something.

Then I changed the tires to Bridgestone SO3s. What a world of difference. Stops in the dry, hard lockups 60+ were rewarded with solid straight stops, no skidding/sliding with ABS barely kicking in. Wet traction was also enormously improved.

 

I will get flamed for this, but it needs to be said. Has anyone heard of the term "driving too fast for conditions" ? Yes the Potenzas suck in the rain and snow. Everyone knows this, so either factor the tires into your driving when conditions are bad or buy new tires. Slow down, give yourself some more room up ahead, etc. Stop blaming the tires. Many times it is driver error. If you know the tires suck, why continue push them to their limits?

Sorry for the rant. With all of the freezing rain, and snow in the NE lately, I cannot believe how fast some people drive. I know there is no way they are going to be able to stop if some bonehead pulls out in front of them, cuts them off, or if a kid darts in the road. In bad weather, I find a quiet street and nail the brakes a couple of times to get a feel for how fast I can stop. People need to factor in their ability to stop. Sorry, IMO driving 80mph on a road where people pull out from a dead stop in the rain is driver error, not the tires fault.

 

To a certain degree you are correct. BUT (always a but) have you heard of inadequate equipment?

I had the Pretendzas. Ditched them. Recently put on Pilots A/S. Absolutely NO comparason. Night and day. Oil and water. Get my drift? Yes, with the Craptenzas you have to drive 10 MPH in rain and snow making yourself a target as people "zoom" around you. Thats where most accidents happen anyway. The tap brakes tap dance in the right hand lane.

We have been getting more poor weather here than usual and I will never go back to anything than the Pilots. I can drive with much more confidence with "better" tires than the factory crap.

 

In this type of weather, I'm seeing this ALOT MORE with SUV drivers than with folks in cars. But to reiterate (and paraphrase) Toms statement, Potenzas (still) suck when the road is slick.

Peace

 

I agree with you 150% and I'm in the same boat. Have you had any suggestions to what Tires you should switch to? And if you should switch to strictly snow tires or new/different All Seasonal?

-JoeyMax02

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by phillyguy
[B]I will get flamed for this, but it needs to be said. Has anyone heard of the term "driving too fast for conditions" ? Yes the

If you're from the NE than you should know 20 MPH isn't 'too fast for conditions'. I've never had a set of "all-seasons' as loose as these are, and I've been in the snow up here for decades. Also, speed doesn't explain the loss of acceleration traction on wet pavement.

 

We all agree the tires suck. But let's put it in perspective. I don't think they are Firestone/Explorer bad. I suspect that the average Mom and Pop doesn't have an issue with these tires, and it is the enthusiats, like the people on this site that have the issues. Having +/- 255 hp on a frontwheel drive car does not help the issue either.

Out of curiosity I checked the NHTSA website and there are no reports against these tires or on the Maxima (at least the 2001 and 2002 model years). If you think there should be, then submit a report. My point is, drive accordingly if you have them on your car. Enough said.

 

And our point is if you drive accordingly to the limits (or lackthereof) of the tire, YOU are the one becoming a danger to others who have more capable tires and are driving 'accordingly'.

They suck and should be replaced. Period.

Now 'enough said'.

 

I understand that reckless driving in inclement weather is inexcusable, and a separate topic altogether. But the fact remains that I ended up in a complete spinout on a major highway while trying to emergency stop from a very conservative speed (in my opinion) of 45-50 mph. I was not going faster than any of the other cars around me, and the speed (again in my opinion at the time) was appropriate to the road conditions (apparently, it was not). Now while I may not be the best driver out there, and there is much I have to learn, I cannot imagine that your average mom & pop driver would fare much better. I don't care what anyone else says, my belief is that those tires were at the very least partly responsible for placing myself (and all of the other cars around me, which BTW WERE able to stop safely) in a dangerous position...


-Tom

 

I have the Pilot Sports A/S tires on my BMW. Absolutely solid compared to the stock Potenzas on my wife's Max. The Michelins aren't cheap, but can you price safety and reliability?

 

I, too, can't believe how lousy these stock tires are! I traded in a '96 T-bird that was RWD and is notorious for sliding around in inclement weather (I'm in the Chicago area). I recently put some Dunlop Sport A2 tires on the car (only $85 each at Tirerack) and I could go around corners way faster in that car in rain than in my Maxima.

I certainly thought that the Maxima would have no problems being front wheel drive - wrong! The front end plows into the direction but is way harder to regain control as compared to being able to counter steer w/ RWD.

I don't have two nickels to rub together since the purchase of the car (less than a month ago) so buying Pilot tires is out of the question....ARGH!!! Also w/ a crappy tread wear rating of 160 on these Potenzas I KNOW I'll have to replace them before I turn the car in after the lease.....FRICK!!

 

dude, the EXACT same thing happened to me a month ago to my maxima. in the thread i started, everybody knew right away those potenzas are partially to blame. my car was totaled, and everybody in my car was okay just some bruises. that's one thing the maxima did well, the chassis held up well and everybody got out alive. good thing you're okay.

dru

 

Yeah... props to the Maxima on that... I figure that i hit that cement barrier still going somewhere btw. 20-30 mph, and I walked away completely unharmed. I mean, NOT EVEN NECK PAIN the next day! WOW!!!

I did a bit of looking at copartfinder.com, and it seems that the passenger compartment holds up remarkably well, even in totalled maximas!

-Tom


PS. There is quite a bit of body damage, so the maxima obviously absorbed the brunt of the impact. I really doubt that the car is totalled.. but nonetheless, the amount of damage far exceeds the cost of new tires!!! (justify it that way).

The shop is currently waiting for the insurance adjuster.

 

well, this is a frequently rotated, evenly worn, 50% tread Potenza.

One arrow is the indicator, and the other arrow is the other tread block. So, just where exactly is the water supposed to exit on this tire?

 

Apparently BETWEEN the tire and road.



Oh, I still fondly remember the day I got rid of those tires!

 

I agree with several posters here that the Potenzas are seriously bad all season tires. I also agree that drivers always need to take into account their vehicle limitations and prevailing road conditions. Its extremely unfortunate that someone gotten into an accident because of the combination of tires, road conditions, and other drivers. Many of us have been there and it is often not possible to anticipate every possible outcome while driving.

I am just a little surprised at how often people are shocked that ABS didn't save them from a bad situation. Given the Potenzas are bad in wet weather it shouldn't be a big surprise that the ABS would not help. I'm sure you understand how ABS works but are just forgetting that the bad traction in wet weather is just as bad as having all 4 tires on ice. I don't believe there are any anti-lock brake systems that include accelerometers to see if the car is still moving. It seems likely that since some cars now include active handling that this will probably be incorporated into the braking system to deal with these cases.

 

No... my shock isn't with the fact that ABS didn't save me.. (I wasn't expecting it to be this magical bullet that prevents accidents)..

However, given that the tires clearly broke traction with the road surface, I am shocked that the ABS system didn't go off at all!!!

-Tom

PS. Got the estimate today...

$3,000 for genuine nissan parts
$3,000 for labor


PPS. insurance company called me, and wanted to tow it to one of their own shops... i said "hell no"... they said ok...

 

Having had other tires on my max for almost 2 years, then downgrading to Potenzas when I got my 2k2 rims, I can tell you that I must drive 3/4 of the speed (or less) than ever before.

I've driven the same route to work forever and I noticed puddles that I never really gave much thought before, now they jerk the car. That realization was a day or two after getting my rims, so I know its not changes in the road.

As far as ABS, with other tires on this same car, I have driven *around* obstacles with the ABS pumping (you can hear and feel it). Now with these tires, you are right, its like ice, ABS doesnt even bother. You have to have *some* friction for ABS to operate.

One thing I noticed about Hondas, their ABS is very proactive, its already pumping when differences in wheel speed are sensed. The maxima seems to start as you apply brake. Not sure that really means more or less braking, just an observation.

 

Now that we all completly agree that these tires are horrible and must be replaced (espically if you live some place like the north east), where do we Max owners go from here? What tires should we switch to? What are our options?

 

Joey got right to the point - what are some of the best replacement tires?

Keep in mind that we don't all drive the same way on the same roads. I don't need V or Z rated tires, H would be fine, possibly bumped up to 235/50 series. Some of us like to drive fast, but we don't race or beat the he** out of our cars. NJ has a complete range of weather from deep snow to wet and wild to dry and hot.

Has anyone put on Yokohamas? Pirellis? Toyo? Falken? Anything else?

 

Yoko YK420's...225 55/17.

 

Anyone tried these Falken S/TZ-01? Supposedly they are "All-Season." Falken at Whalen Tire

The Kuhmos posted earlier are only high performance, not all season.

 

I'm currently using Bridgestone Potenza S0-3s on the stock 16" rim (99 SE). What a great tire, very good levels of grip and confidence in both wet and dry weather. While its not an A/S tire, it handled the recent snows in NYC quite well, I was surprised.

 

Drove my parent's Hyundai Sonata to work today... The roads were pretty bad again (in fact, worse than when I had my accident). The car handled much much much much better than my +$10k maxima!!!

Come on Nissan... stop Jewing on the tires!!!

-Tom

 

errr, I know you didnt just say that....

 

just a question...how much would a new set of Pilots cost of a new 03 SE? I have less than 7k on the stock tires....

 

the only real choice for a tire in the 225/50r17 size is the michelin pilot sport a/s. if the snow traction isnt up to par get some snows. (toyo or bridgestone) for those of you with aftermarket wheels (7.5 wide or better) the Potenza S-03's are awsome.

bewtween the potenza RE92 and michelin MXM4 HX, which evil do you want? the MXM4 comes oem on the Volvo S80 (same size) and they suck just as bad as the RE92 potenza. i had a customer that wanted me to warraty them for lack of wet/snow traction. (after 2k of driving no less)

the truth is tires like the RE92, MXV4, MXM4 (and other closed shoulder tread tires) would not exist if the vehicle manufacturers did not specify that such a tire be built. the 3 tire models i just listed make up about %50 of the tires installed on brand new cars.

in this example you=mass market joe/jane smith
on mass market vehicles the OEM tire is designed to have

low rolling resistance-fuel economy
low noise-would you buy it if you heard too much tire slap/groan on the test drive?
comfortable ride-comprimises in construction, comfort vs performance-would you buy/lease/have bought/leased that SE maxima w/ C/C package if the performance was great but the ride was harsh?

all other factors that would be considered when making a "good" tire are secondary or not even considered at all.

as far as abs goes (i'm not pointing fingers at anybody here) try to understand that ABS was designed to help you steer around the obstacle while you are braking.

next time you get the chance pull your abs fuse then find an empty parking lot on a rainy day. drive in a straight path till about 30mph and slam on the brakes. when the front wheels lock up try to steer the car. %90 of the time you will have no steering control at all. re-install the fuse and try again, you will notice an improvement in vehicle control. the same thing applies to evasive manuevers, you dont want your wheels to lock up while you are trying to weave around the obstacle in front of you. here is the the vice in that exapmle. once the vehcle is sideways due to the excessive weaving you have lost control, ABS cant do a thing.

i feel bad about your accident and i hope things go well for you (getting the car fixed) going into a spin while braking in a straight line has got to be scary as he11.

 

I know what you are saying about the V/Z rating but unfortunately the tire manufactures are not making tires in the sizes we need unless they are V/Z rated. Guess that is the price we pay for the all-around package Nissan gives us in the Maxima. (As for us, "her" and I are still happy with the Lifeliner SLE Tourings we have on the Max