So...when I buy tires, it is a BIG decision for me. I am particular. The stock RS-A's were total junk. I have had a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS 255/45/18 for 32,000 mi. They have been so awesome. Except for noise. After 15,000 mi, the road noise is impressively loud. Love these tires otherwise. They NEVER hydroplane and have gotten me up and down the mountain to Flagstaff, AZ in 24" of snow where several 4x4 and Subarus were in the ditch. Awesome tires. Would love thm again if not for the noise. Considering the General GMax AS-03, which are much cheaper and have phenomenal reviews for hydroplaning resistance as well as snow traction. The only negative reviews I found were about road noise after 15,000 miles. Ironically, they werr all by either Altima 3.5 or Maxima owners. Coincidence?

Hydroplaning resistance is absolutely 110% non-negotiable for me....1st priority. Dry traction usually parallels wet performance, I have found. Snow traction also a big factor.

I just think this road noise issue is a Nissan issue anr not SO much the tire.

What yall think?


Late,
Trav

 

I got my car approximately 3 months ago and have kept hearing that the stock RSA's are piece of ****. Can you enlighten me on what criteria you guys judge whether the tires are good or not? Thanks

 

I'm a fan of the Hankook Ventus V12's I got, anything is better than the RS-A's.

What I judge tires on is how smooth they ride and how well they get traction in wet conditions. The RS-A's are noisy, in some cases seem to be making the car vibrate like it has an alignment issue, and have horrible traction IMO.

 

For me personally, the only thing I remember about stock tires is their horribly terrifyingly insane lack of wet traction and two drops of rain would cause them to hydroplane. Rain was a very scary thing with those tires! For someone who has crashed a vehicle as a result of hydroplaning...rain is scary to me. I can not stand for someone else to be in the drivers seat...except for my dad. Hence the importance of wet traction and my hatres for the OE tires. Whats more than that...they are expensive and totally not worth the $220/tire they go for. Bad bad decision, Nissan!

Late,
Trav

 

Tirerack seemed to not rate them very highly between the Kumho ASX and the General GMax AS-03 and the Hankook and the....I think Yokohoma ADVAN(??) Either way...I am trying to find something with THE BEST possible wet traction that isnt going to become noisy as all get-out by 15,000 miles. I am starting to think that I am going to have to exclude the noise factor in my decision seeing as how the majority of bad reviews were for road noise worsening as tire wears and majority of those were by Altima 3.5 or Maxima owners. Ya know what I mean?

 

I replaced my stock RS-As in my old 2007 SE (with 52k miles) with a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions (non-runflat). I loved those tires, and at 35k miles, they still looked and handled like brand new. Rain and snow traction were also very good in my experience. They aren't cheap though. I do plan to replace my stock RS-As on my 2012 SV someday with the newer versions of the Pole Positions, the 970 model (non-run flat) when the time comes.

 

Actually everyday (non winter) driving should be your judge.

I also have the stock RSA tires w/21K miles and for me they perform on a level I would describe as average. Not very good and not very bad either.
I have pushed these tires under varying driving situations to understand what the safe driving limits are. I then have a better understanding of what to expect with future emergent driving situations, after that the trick is not to over drive them.

With that being said I will not buy another set of these tires. There are better all season tires available. But on the other hand I never felt the need to yank these off the car as of yet.
This is not to say that some Max owners haven't experienced issues with these tires.
Any set of tires can have manufacturing issues.
Another thing I noticed is the RSA's rubber compound is not very suitable in sub-freezing temps. I will only use dedicated winter tires for snow and ice driving.

 

^ The 970's are high on my list for replacements also.

 

I had a set of the 960 Pole Positions on my 2007 Altima 3.5SE and they were really good from what I remember. Pretty sure I sold the car with them on there. Seems like I remember those having trouble with flat-spotting in cold weather. Of course the Continentals did too when they had decent tread on them and I am actually considering buying them again.

Wonder what difference is between the 960 and 970?

Late,
Trav

 

970s:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

960s:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Granted, when I got them, they still had non-run flat tires in the 960s. Pricing wasn't much different at the time than the 970s.

I never experienced the flat-spot problem...luck maybe?

 

If hydroplanning is your main concern go with Michlin Pilot Exalto A/S (see attached link) which Tire Rack rates 8.7 for hydroplanning vs. 5.5 for the GS-A. These also have a good snow rating and have the lowest noise level of 15 tires rated. Second best is Yokohama AVID ENVigor.

PS I had the RS-A on my 2012 Maxima for 4,000 miles now and have not experienced any problem. They are quite so far but I have not driven through water with them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....t+Exalto+A%2FS

 

I replaced my RS-A's with Michelin Pilot Super Sports and I am very happy with them. A little pricey but worth it. My Nissan dealer matched the Tire Rack price and does free rotations.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ot+Super+Sport

 

Thanks Ghozt..I'll check them out..I am in dire need of new tires!

 

for all season tires that are useful in the winter something like the Generals are pretty good; Blizzaks are pretty sweet winter tires too ive heard good things.

 

The new Toyo Proxes 4 plus all season are pretty damn good, they have a high tread wear rating too...

 

For all season good performing tires, the best always seem to the the bridgestone 960AS/970AS Pole Positions and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

Personally, I would go for the pilot sports due to the 500 treadwear rating.

But note......you will pay a lot for these tires.