I know tires have been discussed a lot here, but most of the talk seems to be for 16 or greater. I don't have the money to buy new rims, but want a decent (i.e. good) set of performance tires...but I live in Indiana and need them in the winter too. Any suggestions on high performance/all season for stock 96 Maxima? If you could include total approx. price, including installation, and where the best place to get them is (I'm still thinking tirerack.com) that would be great. Thanks already.

 

It's all preference. I've driven on Yokohama A509, AVS tires, Dunlop D40M2, D60A2, Michelin Pilot SX, Sumitomos, Kumhos, etc...

One of the better compromise tires that I've seen is the Michelin Pilot SX tires. They're suprising good in the snow as long as you're not stupid, quite good in the rain, and ok in the dry. They give up in absolute handling in the dry and maybe a little in the wet. They sidewalls are slightly soft, yet they don't ride the smoothest either. They're slightly noise, but wear well. They squeal when pushed hard, but that doesn't mean that they're not gripping. Just means that they're talking to you. I've auto x'd with these tires and they're quite progressive in the breakaway, giving you plenty of warning.

I've read quite a few positive posts on the BFG G-Force series. The the KD and the KDW... The KD for dry and the KDW for dry and wet. They're supposed to last pretty good as well. They are OEM on such cars as the Contour SVT (hi performance version of the contour which handles awesome... way better than the max!)

Yokohama's AVS are great in dry, wear kinda fast, are decently quiet, reasonable good in the rain, but pretty much suck and spin in the snow.

Never took the Dunlops up to the snow, but they were pretty good in the rain and dry. The newer versions are the SP8000 and 9000...

In general any W, Y, V, or Z rated tire is going to be quite good. Ideally, you would have a separate set of tires/rims for the snow and another set for the wet/dry. Short of that, try to look for the M+S rating on the sidewall of tires you buy. That stands for Mud and Snow. There's not really a standard to define how well tires will this stamping on them actually perform in the mud and snow, but generally accepted practices is that they have to have a certain amount of open space in their tread block (50%? 30%, not sure). This open space is suppose to mean more tread block and sipes, giving your more potential biting edges for the mud and snow.

It's really difficult to design a tire that's good for everything. To be good in mud and snow, the tread needs to be able to compact mud/snow under the tread for traction. For good wet weather traction, the tread needs to be able to excavate and throw out as much water as possible from under the footprint, directly contradicting what's optimum for mud and snow. For good dry traction, you want as much rubber as possible on the road.

-V

 

I like the Michlen Pilot XGT-H4 (215-60/15). Very good all around tire. They were around $95 when I ordered them through Costco, and they do a good job of mounting and balancing. Another tire worth looking at is the new Bridgestone 950.
The M&S designation only means that 25% of the tread is void (open, no rubber).

 

XGHT Pilots are very good tires. When I was getting my tires it was the cross between the Michelin Pilots and Fireston SH30's. In hindsight, I would have taken the Michelins (215/60 15) instead of the firestones. The reason I bought my firestones were because of the price...
oh well, guess I will change these tires in a few years...

 

Bridgestone RE930i's are excellent tires for 15" stock wheels. I had them with my stockers and they were great in the rain and had good treadwear (50% remaining after 25,000 miles).

 

I have heard nothing but good things about PIRELLI's P4000 SuperTouring. They are all-season performance tires. I'm not sure if they have M+S rating. Automoblie Magazine put a set on their own long-term test Max, and they said every aspect of performance was improved. Tirerack list them from $58 to $83 for 15" wheels.

 

check out yokohama avid touring
$55 for a 15" tire good stability and cornering, along with superb noise and comfort characteristics. Also, the tread rating is very good.
www.tires.com

 

Michelin Pilots XGTH4. Great all around tire. Great performance and great grip in all weather. Good looking too. Noise is also very minimal. I paid 85 each at NTB. Haggle with those guys, they'll give in. Ask about AAA discount.

 

NTB? sorry. What's that? I like the haggling idea.

 

I looked at some 215/60/15 Dunlop HR's this week and I really think that is what I will go with. They are a good brand and the ratings look aligned with what I want.

 

National Tire and Battery. They have them here in Texas.