2 Da Max

iTrader: (2)

dam TET whose ferraris are those?

Mizeree_X

iTrader: (9)

Ummmm, a Maxima is a perfect compromise for harsh winter conditions -- front heavy FWD. On stock wheels (excluding the fact that RE92s are terrible OEM tires) Maximas are fine in bad driving conditions. But if you have aftermarket 19" wheels with wide summer tires on them, then you have a problem. I think the fact that a Maxima is sporty and can handle harsh Northeast weather is one of the reasons they are so popular up here. The guy I bought my snow tires from drives his Porsche 911 year-round.

Xugg

18” wheels have a much larger profile then stock, the problem is not drive error but the drag that causes the wheels to float over the snow since more snow accumulates in front of the tire. maxima drives like a dream with snow tires on sawblades.

BlackBIRDVQ

iTrader: (15)

Armed with a ABS lip- aka snow plow, 17" Enkei RPO1 lightweight 13lbs wheels over my big brakes- with ofcourse Blizzaks. This is going to be the 2nd winter on these wheels, my stock 15" steel wheels won't clear the brakes. Winter goes away..... these 18s go on.


its all bout style n low weight.

2 Da Max

iTrader: (2)

dam an enzo wow. neways your car is the only thing that is not making me want a 97 bumper but keeping mine and putting a 96 lip on it

Mr. Peabody

Bought 4 American Racing Rims years ago for the 91 $30.00 each and put studed winter tires on all around. The things goes through heavy snow much better that my 4X4 Yukon.

Keeps the summer wheels always looking nice, the summer tires last twice as long, and you can just go go go in the deep deep snow. Plus your nice rims don't get dinged up changing tires twice a year.

One other point & this is most important. If you put on snows you have to put them on all 4 wheels. I drove my 91 through 8 years of mountain winters and this is the absolute truth.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Nice rims but too bad they're universal lug

Bman

Unfortunately this misses a lot of the point of having winter rated tires (with the mountain and snowflake logo).

I assume that by a "more suitable" vehicle you mean something that is 4x4 or AWD. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking such a vehicle is automatically invincible on snow and ice, but this isn't true. AWD will only help you accelerate and possibly allow you to steer with the throttle if you're very good. It doesn't help you avoid skids, or more importantly help you brake and steer the car. The greatest factor in having winter traction is the tires, not the characteristics of the vehicle. With winters on you can sail by those SUVs sliding around on their "all terrain" tires. Why not have the maximum traction available for the worst conditions you might encounter?

Besides, this lets you run performance summer tires (which you really cannot run in cold weather) for the rest of the year, as mentioned, and it keeps your good wheels safe. Cost-wise running winter tires isn't as expensive as it seems at first, since you have to run SOME set of tires all year anyway. The only cost you don't really get use out of is the spare set of wheels, which is a must.

Triple8Sol

iTrader: (29)

I roll 19's year round.

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

I have a set of cheap steel wheels with some super aggressive studded snow tires (Cooper Weathermaster M/S). They are fantastic in the snow and I don't like trying to drive in snow and ice with an all season tire. The town I live in is built on the side of a hill, so there is no way around driving on hills, so both of my rigs have studded snow tires.

I think it's a good idea to invest in a set of cheap rims and get tires designed for snow and ice (blizzak, nokian, some kind of studded tires where legal). It's funny when guys talk about not compromising on their Z-rated summer tires, but they will try to get away with those same tires or some "all seasons" that barely get traction in the snow.

It only takes about 30 minutes to swap wheels and once you have a set of snow tires, they should last for 4-5 seasons (or more) if you swap them yourself when you first hear the words "snow" in the forecast. I don't think it's worth risking your life, your car or your expensive rims leaving on tires that are better suited for warm weather.

Poowill

iTrader: (12)

I didn' change my wheels out last year, and it resulted in a major accident (if you wanna know goto my cardomain page) because of the summer tires. I also got a curb mark on my wheels. So this year, it was stock tires and all-season tires. Living in SD, this is necessary even though i can't stnd the ugly-ness of the crusty stock rims..eeeeek.

kcidmil

I usually change over to my stock rims with studded snow tires for winter. We get a lot of snow from Jan-Apr. I have a set of 15" motegi's for the summer. When I get back I'm getting a set of Kazera KZ-T's 17" for around town, and using my motegi's for traveling.

nyautostyle

always change wheels every winter, salt could mess them up and rott the wheels.

stock 17's go on tomorrow morning!

SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

I switched out my 19" Axis for my OEM wheels and 512's a day before our first snow. No way I'm trying to drive around in the snow/ice/salt with Nitto 555s.

kingrukus

iTrader: (41)

I swapped back to my sawblades with some Conintental VikingSnowTech winter tires. This setup does wonders on the snow/ice here.

liqidvenom

iTrader: (6)

ok there is a big mistake bieng done with the wording or this thread. if you have wheels that are made correctly then it will withstand more winters then your tires will. the bggest problem that many people face is that they have summer/ hi-po summer tires on thier cars and those tires are bad in the winter for many reasons. one the tire compound tends to be stiffer/harder and it needs to be at a certain operating temp to have max traction and the cold doesnt allow for that. they also tend to be wider then our cars stock set of tires. but if you have wheels wth a good to great snow rating and you didnt buy cheap wheels then there is no real reason to remove your wheels during the winter.
if you take them off because u believe that you dont want to damage your expensive summer wheels, many newer maxes have stock wheels that end up costing more to replace then the summer wheels you purchased on your own. thats if everything is being bought new.

BlkShadow01

Totally true and a great way to stay safe and keep yo nice rims nice.

Nismotic

iTrader: (25)

First off, to those in CA and FL that don't have to take off their rims

I threw on my oogly 17" konigs w/continentals and threw the evo's back in the garage...just in time for 23 degree weather and snow

Maxima99SE

iTrader: (2)

im so glad I don't have to change back to stock wheels here in GA... that's ONE advantage of living here

Kazao

I took off my rims, because last winter I destroyed the tires on my 17s in the snow.

Frank Fontaine

Ditto here--I've got 18x8 aftermarkets and this will be the 3rd winter with them, they are not messed-up in any way. I admit that 235/40WR-18 A/S tires are not ideal, and snow tires are better, but for one this is Philadelphia, and two, the A/S did just fine in 25" of snow 2 years ago. Some people like to spend money, and as much as they can on their Maxima. So that means multiple sets of rims and tires. If you like that, it's your nickel. But if you don't like that, it's not necessary. Just keep in mind that with A/S, the ability to drive in snow seems to nosedive once more that 50% of the tread is gone. They do work much better than it would seem when new(er).

grave_digger500

me

depends maybe

chrome might not like winter

Wills98MaxSE

Mine are too. Leased a Grand Chrerokee last year for winter as well, Max is a beater during the warmer months to keep the miles on the Jeep down, will still drive the Jeep occasionally during the warmer months