Replaced the Potenzas with the 512's about mid-summer and have been very happy with them in wet & dry quiet and good grip.
However, last Sat we got about 3-5 inches of snow in Denver and the streets iced over immedately. Driving the max was humerous. Touch the gas, spin, let off the gas... touch, spin, let off the gas etc... to get moving from a stop.
I saw several other max's in the same situation so I know it just wasn't me. H*ll I even saw 4x4's spinning on minor grades.
We'll see how they handle in heavy snow later in the year.

 

are you saying falken 512's didn't perform well in snow? I was planning on getting these for the snow season...

 

I drive a 99 Max and have bought the falken 512s the last two times. They handle decently in the snow and pretty good in wet(rain) and dry traction. I think the biggest problem though is that the Maximas dont grip too well in snow and in rain. The tires always seem to spin on wet surfaces, so if you think you're going to start and stop suddenly on snow, forget about it. Overall, I think the tire is worth the money for the rim guard and life of tire itself. Best tire yet I have bought

 

Yep, on hard pack they didn't work for s**t!
I bought them for the all weather fuctionality. Looks like I'll be picking up some steel wheels and straight snows.

 

I have the 512's too and had them on my wife's previous car....Decent in the snow, but let's remember that they are performance tires - so it's all relative to other performance tires. They are far better in snow/rain than the craptenzas, goodyears, or dunlops - but obviously not as good as a touring tire with softer sidewalls would be. Actualyy I think the 512's are "excellent" in the rain, no matter how many puddles you hit, no hydroplaning. If, as in your case, 4x4's were sliding around, then why would you expect the Max to grip with ANY tires???

Also, I think a major snow problem with the maxima is that there is alot of power to the front wheels, so unless you have great "touch" on the accel, you are going to spin the tires. Snow driving has everything to do with the driver, less to do with the tires, and little to do with the car, unless it's it's an Abrams tank

 

...remember, the maxima is a pretty heavy car and that weight causes extra momentum stopping insnow and makes it harder to start. My guess is that most people that buy maximas probably upgraded from something smaller (Civic, Sentra, etc...), which weigh less and so obviously have less stopping momentum and starting weight.....

 

very few 17in tires will perform well in the snow