Well, I've been rid of the potenzas long ago. I currently have cooper Lifeliners on my 02 six speed. Just to let you know.

Winter driving in this car is worse than any other car I've been in. I had had a 93 sentra and a 94 altima and both cars fared better in winter driving. My maxima wants to pull to the right every time. There were three instances this winter where I just barely saved my car from hitting a guardrail or skidding offroad into a ditch. And forget going up a decent hill !

Are snowtires that much better ? Or is the maxima just so terrible in the snow because of the weight distribution and torque? With the exception of the engine, I've been pretty disapointed with the Maxima. I've come to the conclusion that the Maxima is just a fair weather car.

 

Snow tires help quite a bit, you just gotta be easy on the gas; the sentra and altima have a lot less torque than the maxima so they wont tend to pull to the right as much.

I've been caught in the snow with summer tires on my car and I must say, it is difficult to drive with the summer tires; however I did survive. I just went easy on the gas and kept it in a higher gear to keep the rpms down and therefore reduced the torque going to the wheels. As far as hills are concerned, I probably wouldn't want to give it a try unless I had all wheel drive; any fwd car would suck going up hills.

Honestly, I've never heard of any one using cooper tires on their maximas, but I have heard some good things about the falkens 512's and contientals all seasons. Good all season tires are expensive, but they'll outperform the cheaper ones -- tirerack.com has ratings on the tires in different driving conditions, i would check that out.

 

Whats wrong with cooper tires? My tire shop had very few tire selections in 225/50/r17 and alot more tires in 235/45/r17. I could have had nokians in the 235 size instead which would have cost as much as the coopers. I think Nokians are more for winter driving. I'd be hesitant to use the 235 tire size since it is not recomended in the owner's manual. My tire shop said it is alright to use the 235 tire sizes, which has more selections and cheapers ones at that.

 

Actually Maxima isn’t that bad in the snow. But driving in the snow without snow tires is crazy and useless. I had a BMW before, I had to have a sand beg in the trunk and still the Max is far better in the snow.

 

snow tires do make a HUGE difference. i had some on the front of my accord, and i never felt unsure of the grip like i do in the max (i have Turanzas). invest in some in the summer, if you can, when they are cheaper, and you will not regret it. mine were on a second set of rims, but i didnt mind driving them in the dry weather either, it was just fine.

 

I got my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's and this was the first winter ive driven on them. I can tell you that there was a big difference. I mean, granted, I still didnt have much traction cause, comeon, its snow! But, the traction was a lot better than Ive even had in the snow.

 

OMG thats a lot of snow!!!!

 

Get a beater for the winter and preserve the Maxima! If you love your car and want to keep it for a long time, then don't drive it in the ice and snow. I've been doing that for 10 years and my car looks like new and will never have any rust on it. Rust proofing before delivery also helped.

 

I agree .. worst car for snow traction that I've ever owned. So bad that I bought snows for the first time ever. Blizzaks from tire rack. $630 got me the Blizzaks on rims balanced,delivered,with hubs that I never actually installed. Very big difference and a MUST you drive a Maxima in the snow or ice. I took them off yesterday morning right before the snowstorm. Bad timing. Now I need to buy A/S tires because I hate the original Turanzas. Any good suggestions?

 

see post #6

 

It only pulls if you hit the gas.... it handles just fine. The worst is slush. For some stupid reason this car seems to want to follow every slush groove it can see. how about having the wheel turn halway left to go straight... but snow is not as much of a problem as people make it seem.

 

no doubt the potenza's are the most dangerous out there. So i got a pair of kumho ecsta's 235/45/17 on my stock rims. Couldn't be happier. Rain driving is NO problem, Snow driving - considerable. As long as u drive smart you should be ok. I used to be one of the slowest cars on the road, now for the most part I lead. In the snow, of couurse most trucks got me.

 

this is the way to go. with the michelins, the car is very planted in all conditions, including snow. i have a FSTB and RSB, all else is stock. if your car sucks in the snow, blame your poor tire choices or the driver. set the car up right and you will be amazed how well it behaves.

 

I have never had problems in the snow with Falken 512s and very few even with the blowtenzas. I chalk it up under my ability to drive well in the snow. I definitely think its the driver. You are jsut giving it too much gas and/or letting the clutch out too quickly.

 

I've never had a real problem driving in snow even with stock Potenzas (which is just replaced by the way). I think a lot of the times, it's the driver's fault trying to go too fast for conditions. Even with a 4X4 vehicle, driving too fast in snow is just asking for trouble regardless of how the car is set up or what kind of tires you have. Just my
$.02.

 

I bought my Maxima as my primary car, regardless of conditions. It's not like it's a Ferrari or something.

 

I agreee with you, however, once the max breaks away, there is no way to gather it back. That's the problem with it. I went into a ditch last winter on the crapenzas in a slight off camber turn at 10 mph (no ABS to help at that speed. I don't think I could have gone any slower). The same happens with the snow tires, granted, at higher limits.

 

Pirelli P Zero Nero MS. Great tire for the Maxima. Best all season performance tire I have ever owned.

 

Have the cooper lifeliners 225 50 17's much improvement over the blowtenzas. With the stock blowtenzas I slid sideways while going 5 mph around a slight uphill turn. The Coopers work well and were $100 for a 55k Tire.

As for knowing how to drive, that is part of it, the other part is where you live. Some people here say it is always the drivers fault. What you have to remember is snow differs in different parts of the county. Here in the midwest, we get a wet snow comobined with road salt. If you compact our snow without salt, it gets slippery and with the water will freeze solid. If you live in Colorado the snow crystals are sharper and do not pack like it does here. They also use gravel out there, here that would clog our sewers. Not sure about the consistancy of east cost snow, but sure it is different than the stuff out west. So tires that work for me, may not work for you. If you get dedicated snow tires, they will work better because the rubber is made to stay soft below freezing. Most also have tiny bubbles in the tread that aid in traction. Your potenzas do not. The downside is that most snow tires will wear quickly, and have no sidewall, and can be noisy.

 

The way I see it is that if you live in area where it snows alot ....you Need snows on your maxima. I have never driven like such a sissy in any other car in the snow with these turanzas. I am careful but there is zero nothing nada you could do onse the max starts slipping...trust me. Plus, if you do get snows that will be 3 months less that your $150-$200 A/S tires see the road and will prolong you next expensive purchase of new A/S tires.

 

"Here in the midwest, we get a wet snow comobined with road salt. If you compact our snow without salt, it gets slippery and with the water will freeze solid"

Sounds a lot like Ohio.

 

Well, I live in Edmonton, Canada (Alberta), and yesterday, we got 15cm (about 8.5 inches) of snow. I JUST bought my Max, and have never had the joy of driving it in fresh, unpacked snow. Until now.

Going to work yesterday, I backed out of my driveway, into the street, and promptly got stuck! And yes, I have the Potenzas, too!

This is my 9th car (mostly American). I've driven through MANY tough winters here, and I have to say that my impression is that the Max is not the greatest winter car in the world.

It kinda sucks to be out there, trying to get SOME movement, and have some yahoo in a 1986 Olds Cutlass plow right past you! Humbling. Yeah... That's it! Wait 'til summer! THEN, I'll be the one grinning!

Anyway, once I shut off the Traction Control, cursed a bit, and eased it back and forth a few (OK, lots of!) times, I WAS able to get it going. I DID however, park it indoors, 'cuz I didn't want to get stuck downtown, not able to get out of the parking lot!

Lesson Learned? I WILL be buying 4 snow tires, and some winter rims SOON. Problem is, that's about $1100.00 or so. Ouch! That's a LOT of beer! Still, NOTHING can compare with 4 winter (NOT A/S) tires on your car, no matter what kind it is. With 4 good paws and a little patience, MOST vehicles will fare well in snow (West Coast, Mid-West, East Coast, or wherever).

BTW, what makes the Potenza's such a POS? Blowtenza... Ha! Love it!

g

 

Welcome to the forum!

Not sure why the craptenzas are so crappy, not a tire expert, but I can tell you that at my first opportunity, I got the Pilot a/s's and I havent looked back. They are amazing!

 

The Maxima is the worst car ever in the snow? Well, I'll admit that the Maxima must be driven delicately in slippery conditions, but that's the price you pay for having torque on tap. Your Sentra, my Sentra, and everybody else's Sentra would probably feel better in the slippery stuff than our Maximas, because the Maxima delivers a lot more power to the wheels at low RPMs than the Sentra does. Normally, having power readily available is a good thing. In the snow, it can be a hassle.

Get real snow tires if you live somewhere where snow is common in the winter. Have them mounted on a cheap set of 16'' wheels. Pop them on in the winter. Put your summer tire/wheel combo back on when the snow melts.

 

That reminds me, I put on my new summer set and we're going to get 1" of snow tonight. I may have to call in sick tomorrow.

 

Snow tires DO make BIG difference. This is my second winter with Pirelli Winter 210 Snow Sports and I am NEVER going back to all-season tires in the winter months. Snow, slush, sleet, ice - my Max can easily handle it all now (assuming, of course, that I'm not driving like an idiot - no tire will solve that problem).

Jaeger

PS The craptenzas were such crap it is crapping unbelievable.

 

Start out in 2nd gear....less torque.

 

I've got Nokian Haakapeliita RSI's on my Maxima and they are awesome! I picked them up at Kal Tire for about $900 Canadian (no rims though). They've got me through the worst storms this winter trouble free (about 12 inches of snow one time). I do have a 4th gen though so it might be better in the snow due to the the lesser power, but I'd definitely recommend the Nokians. They are better than the Blizzaks we had on our old Maxima.

Check them out at http://www.nokiantires.com

 

Snow tires are the best for the 5th geners. I had to buy a set of Blizzaks because my previous set of All Seasons were terrible in the snow. Believe me, if you live in a winter climate area, save up some money and buy a set of snow tires (4)...well worth the money. Yeah, the Max's aren't great in the snow because of the bigger rim size and width in the wheels. The smaller cars perform great in the snow because they have smaller tires and more narrower width which give them excellent traction in the snow.

 

I'm on my 3rd set of tires so far.
RE92's = skating rink
Sumitomo HTR+ = awesome when new
Yoko AVS = pretty good

Damn shame the Sumitomo's don't last and have blowout problems. They were awesome in rain and snow for the first 10k miles...

 

I have BF Goodrich Traction T/A tires and they are awsome in the Winter.

 

Running Falken ZEIX 512s... 235/45/17s on stock 17s... never had a problem driving in the snow; both in light slushy snow around DC and heavier snow elsewhere...

 

did your Sumitomos blow? i just ordered a set and hopefully they will last at least 10k without problems..the deal was just too good to pass up either way

 

I live in Calgary. For a few years now in the winter I use Michelin Pilot Alpins 225/5R17 which add an inch of diameter over the stock 225/50R17's. I bought some fairly cheap FRD rims so I can swap wheels back and forth. Calgary is mostly dry for the winter with occasional periods of really bad winter weather. The Pilot Alpins are good enough in the really bad weather and still perform well in the dry weather so I just keep them on from mid-October to early May. When I had used my stock imPotenzas in the winter it was pretty scary. There were some hills in certain conditions that I just could not ascend (with or without traction control) while all the other vehicles around me had no problems.

 

I have the Falken Ziex 512's and they were much better than the stock tires. I could still feel the antilock brakes coming on every other time I hit the brake.