how do you rate your max in the snow?
if you have the money get Nokain snow tires and have seperate summer tires. the nokians are the best snow tire on the planet!!!!
if you are on a budget (like me... i just bought an engagement ring....
)
i say get the Conti Extreme Contacts, great all year performance, you give up some summer fun; to be sure you dont end up in a ditch or a telephone pole.
if you are on a budget (like me... i just bought an engagement ring....
)i say get the Conti Extreme Contacts, great all year performance, you give up some summer fun; to be sure you dont end up in a ditch or a telephone pole.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 196
I have to agree with Irish44. I have the 512's. Although I do have some reservations about the sidewall stiffness.....especially when you hit roads with the rain grooves in them, but the 512's have been a huge improvement of the Potenzas. We just had some storms in Colorado, and they did fine in the snow & ice. The key, just adjust your speeds accordingly. It doesn't matter what kind of tire you have, there should always be traction concerns on snow & ice, whether your FWD; RWD or AWD.
Originally Posted by TheBigDu
Hey Irish, how'd your camera work after this shot? Haha. 
That camera has been skiing in British Columbia in a 20-below blizzard. It can survive anything (except the frequent dead batteries!)I like the "sunroof" shot better, personally.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 171
Funny story, mostly ontopic.
From Dec 22-23 our area had RECORD snowfall. The official depth was 22" over a 24hr period. Major interstates were closed. Everywhere you drove you saw 18-wheelers that had slid off-road or abandoned on offramps...
But it was Christmas...so I HAD to get to my parents new rural home. My 2000 on Pirelli Nero M/S 235/45/17s made the trip. They did tend to slip and slide, but I never got stuck...
...until I misjudged where a curb was and ended up driving through tracks made by a 4x4. Surprisingly, the Max made it through about 2/3 of this off-road pit before getting hung up on the frozen grass and dirt. I was P*SSED...all this driving around (during a state of emergency, hehe) and I get stuck in grass.
Luckily my best friend has a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT. He had been all smiles since the snow stated anyways...finally having the chance to show-off the AWD in its native enviroment. So, at midnight on the 23/24 here we are hooking a dropped 2000 Maxima SE to a brand new turbo-charged sport sedan. As I am digging around the front of my car to find the tow-point, a friendly Dodge 4x4, raised up higher than a 747 at crusing altitude offered help. Naturally right? I mean...how in the h*ll was this little blue pocket-rocket going to pull this 4-door sports sedan out of the dirt?
Answer? Easily. It was NO issue. That had us jumping up and down like idiots. The BEST part was that the 4x4 that had retreated to a nearby hill to watch what they expected to be a "America's Funniest Home Videos" moment, ended up bombing back down the hill and shouting out "IMPRESSIVE..."
But it was Christmas...so I HAD to get to my parents new rural home. My 2000 on Pirelli Nero M/S 235/45/17s made the trip. They did tend to slip and slide, but I never got stuck...
...until I misjudged where a curb was and ended up driving through tracks made by a 4x4. Surprisingly, the Max made it through about 2/3 of this off-road pit before getting hung up on the frozen grass and dirt. I was P*SSED...all this driving around (during a state of emergency, hehe) and I get stuck in grass.
Luckily my best friend has a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT. He had been all smiles since the snow stated anyways...finally having the chance to show-off the AWD in its native enviroment. So, at midnight on the 23/24 here we are hooking a dropped 2000 Maxima SE to a brand new turbo-charged sport sedan. As I am digging around the front of my car to find the tow-point, a friendly Dodge 4x4, raised up higher than a 747 at crusing altitude offered help. Naturally right? I mean...how in the h*ll was this little blue pocket-rocket going to pull this 4-door sports sedan out of the dirt?
Answer? Easily. It was NO issue. That had us jumping up and down like idiots. The BEST part was that the 4x4 that had retreated to a nearby hill to watch what they expected to be a "America's Funniest Home Videos" moment, ended up bombing back down the hill and shouting out "IMPRESSIVE..."
Newbie - Just Registered
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4
I still have my factory wheels and use Michelin Hydroedge tires and haven't had any problems in the snow or ice. Tire is excellent in all weather and is wearing perfectly. Looking to switch to Potenzas on 17" 350z wheels here soon so we will see what happens.
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 19
OK, a few winters later and still on the same tires. Definitely go with winter tires if the temperatures regularly drop down to near freezing or lower. I have since bought new summer tires and they are lcearly better than the OEM crap, but in the cold days before I installed the winter tires they weren't as good as the cold weather buns. It's not just about snow or ice, it's about the tire compounds and tread patterns. It's worth the investment!
Supporting Maxima.org Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 109
IMO, the unfixable problem with the 6-speed in snow is the drive-by-wire throttle. It has about a 1/2 second delay when coming off idle - you move the gas pedal, wait, then the engine responds suddenly. With practice, you can adapt to this, but it makes a start in slippery conditions trickier because it becomes really difficult to apply torque smoothly and avoid spinning the wheels.
I also sometimes drive a beater car, a 12 year old Toyota Tercel. It's always a pleasure to shift that car, because the engine responds to the throttle without delay - making smooth starts and rev-matched downshifts much easier.
The HLSD does not do much for you in low-traction situations like snow or ice. If one tire has basically zero traction, the HLSD is going to behave pretty much the same as an open diff. You will spin the tire with zero traction and develop only minimal force at the other tire.
I also sometimes drive a beater car, a 12 year old Toyota Tercel. It's always a pleasure to shift that car, because the engine responds to the throttle without delay - making smooth starts and rev-matched downshifts much easier.
The HLSD does not do much for you in low-traction situations like snow or ice. If one tire has basically zero traction, the HLSD is going to behave pretty much the same as an open diff. You will spin the tire with zero traction and develop only minimal force at the other tire.
It's not as bad as driving my old AE86 Corolla GTS or 88 Supra or 88 BMW but it's not much better. I cringe at the thought of driving in the snow when usually in my civics 82,90,96,97 I always loved going out in it. Even my 89MR2 with blizzaks was way safer than the Max with brand new continentals.
Driving crazy is fun
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 38
My max is pretty good in snow,also considering I have low profile tires and am in NY with a crapload of potholes. The windows fog up really quickly and it's a pain to drive with more than on person in the car. Heated everything would have been easier.
We had around 14 inches of snow on Thursday and I had no problem going up a long uphill driveway without any room to get a runoff. The driveway wasn't plowed so it took 3 tries to get to the top. I pushed a lot of snow out of the way; a Honda CRV and a Suzuki Vitara couldn't get up the hill after I made it and I done it twice afterwards with no problem. 4 studded Goodyear Magna Grip snow tires in excellent condition.
i have falken 912s on my maxima, about 200 miles on them and I got home ok in MA.
i couldnt get up the hills, on some inclines I had to floor my car or rev it hard to move ever so slow up the incline... it was sad. those WRXs and SUVs were most likely driving by and laughing at me
i plan on getting Nokians but with 85K miles on my car, i rather get a new car and then buy tires. haha
i couldnt get up the hills, on some inclines I had to floor my car or rev it hard to move ever so slow up the incline... it was sad. those WRXs and SUVs were most likely driving by and laughing at me
i plan on getting Nokians but with 85K miles on my car, i rather get a new car and then buy tires. haha
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,124
From: Leicester, Ma
i have Nexen n3000s with about 5000 miles on them. in Mass we just got blasted with a ton of snow over the last week. That car is good with these tires as i havent gotten stuck once except on a very steep hill. Once im rolling im good. Tires do get superhard in the cold weather though. Next year ill get the blizzaks and leave the nexens for just summer driving. if im in slush or a snow covered ground and have t omake a tight turn it holds the road pretty good and the tires dont get loose. Better than i thought they would be.
Newbie - Just Registered
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6
my max performs fairly well with snow tires on 16" rims, the tire size is 225/55/16 (Toyo's). i read somewhere that on stock 17s theres not enough clearance and that causes problems as snow gets stuk in the wheel wells
