I've been commenting in various threads about the tires on my 2K1 AE SE 5 speed which I've had 1 month and put 1800 miles on. They are Potenzas and I have 17" rims. I've had them balanced twice now, and I hate the ride. Do others feel the same and what have you done? I'm trying to get BS to take them back and give me credit to apply to another tire...thinking Michelin or Yokohama. Have yokohama on my 93 SE and Michellin on my LS 400. Great tires...the BS are the worst I've ever experienced.

 

I in fact love my tires. The only ride problems i can adhere to is the suspension, but I plan on upgrading to some coilovers soon anyway. Bridgestone Potenza's are widely known for making F-1 racing tires. Of course, the only tires i had to compare mine to were from my old Infintit G20 which had 14" tires. :-)

 

yes... in any road condition that involves any amount of moisture they perform rather poorly

 

No problems here-but then again, what the hell would I know coming from a Toyota Corolla BTW, why would BS take those tires back just because you don't like them? And to give you credit against competitors tires seems even less unlikely. Good luck.
Gregg

 

I find the stock Potenzas pretty good in dry conditions. In fact, they are pretty sticky and give decent performance. But when it is wet, look out. The tires seem to transform completely when it gets wet.

 

I'll second that. I live in Los Angeles so we're dry most of the year and the Potenzas perform adequately. I don't drive aggressively when it rains so I can't really speak to the Potenza's wet weather performance.

 

..performance in any condition wet or dry. I wouldn't buy another set, I think Nissan went for comfort instead of performance because other Potenzas like the S-02 and the RE730 perform much better. As for another brand of tire your choice is limited due to the size of our 17x7 inch rims, others on the forum can tell you what brands will fit. Myself I went up to 18's wanted to change the look of the car and have a wider selection of tires.

 

greggmax...I, too, think it is far fetched that BS would buy back simply because I'm not pleased, but I wouldn't be going down that path if the Bridgestone dealer (i.e., NTB) hadn't suggested it and offered to pursue it for me. They tell me that they've been successful in the past...we shall see. I should know Monday.

It is correct that my choices for a replacement are limited since Nissan did us a favor and selected a non-standard tire size (...just maybe as a favor to BS?). However, I'm looking at perhaps going to a 245/50/17 Yokohama. Says it will fit 17" rims from 7" to 8.5" wide.

I'm glad to hear some of you are happy with the tire...makes me even more convinced perhaps I just have a bad set. Cause I don't think you'd be happy with the ride I have. I'll keep everyone posted on how all this turns out! Thanks for the feedback...keep it coming.

 

The RE92 is notorious for 2 things. One is poor wet traction. Even Consumer Reports has said that the RE92 is so bad in the wet that they would buy new tires for cars that come with them. The other thing they are notorious for is vibrations and out of round problems that can't be cured with wheel balancing. I had RE92's on both my Prelude and my Camry and I promptly threw them both away because they were such poor tires. On e-mail groups I am on for both of these cars, vibrations with the RE92's are a common complaint. Especially telling is that on Camry Solaras, you can get either RE92's or some other tire (forget which) in the same size. Many people with the RE92's have had vibration problems, but NONE with the other brand.

 

DAMN! Which issue of Consumer Reports reviewed the RE92s, mdushane?

[Edited by y2kse on 01-06-2001 at 03:44 PM]

 

It was a review of the Toyota Camry where they panned the RE92's. It might have been in the May 2000 issue.

 

Thanks mdushane. You know, I doubt that the Camry uses the V-rated RE92s. The Camry's RE92s are probably H-rated. I suspect that may have something to do with performance and ride quality, but I'm not enough of an expert to comment.


[Edited by y2kse on 01-06-2001 at 06:04 PM]

 

I think you're right about the Camry having H rated tires. My Prelude definitely came with V rated ones though. They were equally appalling. I don't get why such an expensive yet poor tire is OEM on so many Japanese cars.

 

Probably because Bridgestone struck a deal with the Japanese automakers that was too good for them to pass up.

Well I'll probably keep my RE92s awhile longer. But I won't replace them with another set of RE92s. I'll probably go with Michelin Pilot XGT Z4s when the time comes.

 

They Suck.

I am BS gives some kind of smokin deal to the manufacturers, since most people replace theire oem tires with the same type. In particular on the Max, they are almost forced to if they keep the stock wheels. I went with Dunlop SP 5000s and luv them! Better road feel, better dry traction, vastly better wet traction. The RE92s used to spin like crazy if you were at all aggressive from a standing start in the wet, I can't get the Dunlop's to spin when it's wet...highly reccomend them.

 

My only concern is whether or not a 7" rim width is sufficient to prevent tire damage over time. I noticed on the Dunlop site that they took their 235/45R17 SP5000 measurements on 8" wide rims. I think I'll give Dunlop a call next week and ask their technical department if they recommend running those tires on 7" wide rims.

FYI, Dunlop recommends 245/45R17 SP5000s as the proper replacement for the RE92s. They also measured those tires on 8" wide rims.

[Edited by y2kse on 01-07-2001 at 01:10 AM]

 

I just got off the phone with Dunlop. The minimum recommended rim width for both the 235/45ZR17 SP5000 and the 245/45ZR17 SP5000 is 7.5".

[Edited by y2kse on 01-08-2001 at 11:48 AM]

 

i live in LA and notice the hydroplaning too if i am at all aggresive on wet roads with my stock 17" potenzas..

y2kse.. could you post if you find any replacements that fit well..? thanks!
i don't know much about this... but i want tires that are a good fit (i.e. last long) and give good performance... are those michillens you mentioned a perfect fit?

 

They should be. They're the same size as the Potenzas. But one thing I should mention. Michellin doesn't show that tire available in 225/50ZR17. Check out:

http://www.michelin-us.com/us/eng/ti...log/pxgtz4.htm

Tirerack does, however. Check out:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....ilot+XGT+Z4+ZP

So if you decide to purchase the Michellins through Tirerack.com, make sure they check the sizing before they ship them to you.

 

Take a look at the Pirelli P7000 SuperSport in size 245/45-17 at http://pirelli.pearlcomm.com/pneumat...S_dim_data.htm

This tire rim range is 7.0 - 9.0. The Nitto 555 Extreme's in sizes 235/45-17 & 245/45-17 also have min rim widths of 7.0". http://www.nittotire.com/tire_nt555_sizes.asp.

Some participants in the max forums really pan the Nitto's (mostly the 450's though). A Max performance summer tire like the Nitto 555 has to be better than the RE92 though I have no firsthand experience with the Nitto's.

-Toolin....

 

I have to go along with the consensus that the Potenzas suck with moisture. I live in St. Louis, so we get a healthy mix of snow, rain & ice. Accelerating in snow or icy conditions is AWFUL! It's like driving a Camaro or Mustang....but with front wheel drive. If the road slopes to either side, my Maxima promptly slides in that direct (while accelerating, tires spinning). With the torque, it is tough to keep the tires from spinning, but yet accelerate at a decent rate from a stop. Traction control doesn't do much either.

Traction on dry pavement (with the Potenzas) seems pretty good. It is tough to spin the tires for long when the pavement is dry and clean. Cornering is good too....except the lack of independent rear suspension allows the back end to hop around to much.

 

...thought I'd pass along an update. Yeah, I'm trying to sell the Potenzas since they seem to check out with no defects other than they are what they are. I'm taking the Max into the dealer tomorrow...expect to get a replacement set of tires. I'm going with the Michelin Pilot HX-MXM4-v rated. Interesting story...as I was calling every tire dealer in town over the weekend, I spoke with a gentleman who now manages a local Gateway store, but had managed a Gateway tire store adjacent to an Infinti dealer. He knew EXACTLY what I was complaining about. As a matter of fact, they routinely removed the stock Bridgestone Potenzas from new I-30's before they hit the lot and replaced with Michelins; or, they'd be ready to make the swap as soon as a new Infiniti buyer uttered a complaint about the stock tires.

And, when I mentioned this little fact to my service dept,he quickly acknowledged that the Michelins will deliver a better ride, but will also maintain the handling characteristics that I DO like about the Potenzas.

So, I'll be back tomorrow nite to tell you how it really went. Let's hope they keep their commitment! srm

 

...That's right! Nissan is going to replace my stock Potenza RE92's with Michelin Pilot HX MXM4. They are ordered and will be in by Feb 1st. NO COST TO ME! My dealer came through...and I didn't even have to get ugly about it! I can't wait. srm

 

Final update: Nissan replaced the stock Bridgestone Potenzas with my choice-Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 225/50-17 tire. 100% improvement in ride quality with NO deterioriation of handling performance. Now, I feel like I'm driving a Maxima instead of an Escort!

To those of you that are unhappy with your stock tire set...complain! Through the support of my dealer, I got what I wanted at no cost to me other than time!

End of story! srm

 

Final installment on the tire issue...just got Michelin HX MXM4 Pilots, 225/50-17, installed at no cost to me other than time! Service at dealership worked with me and got Nissan to cave in and replace the stock Bridgestone Potenzas with my choice, which was the Michelin.

Difference...100% improvement in ride...feel the road and not the tire! Performance/handling as good or better than BS's.

To anyone that is not satisfied with the stock set of tires..try your luck with Nissan. I was unhappy from the start and it took a little time, but got what I wanted in the end. Now if they would have just put a decent set of tires on from the start...

srm

 

The RE92's do suck in the wet. In the dry they are not too bad, but I find that they have a flatspotting problem after having sit overnight. I have heard other people mention this too. A couple of miles and they seem fine.

Fortunately the OEM UTG rating is 160, so by the end (middle) of this summer I should be on Michelin XGT Zs. Tirerack has them @ 225/50/17 and they have great ratings!

Currently there are very few replacement tires. I have heard of some people running 235/45-17 Nitto's. The recommended rim size is 7.5 but I have heard some people running them on the stock 7's.

This is certainly a conspiracy between the car makers, tire makers and rim makers!

 

i agree last night i pushed it in the rain from a dead stop and spun the tires all the way to 3rd gear my speedometer said 100 and i was goin like 10mph ..... after i stopped the ECU shut my car down and wouldnt let me go over 2200 rpms it scared the SHI* out of me i thought i killed my car but i turned it off and back on and it was the same car i used to know glad i didnt do any damage just wanted to see what would happen.... i wont ever do that again..... bridgestone in the wet comp[letely suck..... in the dry i have no complaints i have never heard my tires break around a turn in dry conditons so wet bad dry good that is there is to it.....