so we all agree that the potenzas that came on my car are crap. so i put four falken zeix ze512s on the car. six months and MAYBE 8,000 miles later, three of the tires are fuct. one hole in the sidewall from a nail; one wore very quickly (maybe the tire wasn't balanced correctly); and the third had a slight cut in the sidewall that grew progessively. but the fourth tire and the donut are doing fine. i'm not blaming the tires for their short lives. i just need a some direction.
so i need new tires. i'm looking at the

1. Michelin Pilot® Sport A/S
2. Toyo Proxes TPT
3. Yokohama AVID H4S

all are 225/50/r17.

i am looking for an all season tire and i'm leaning toward the pilot sports because they are ultra high performace all season tires, versus the other two, which are just (regular) high performance. but if i hear a ton of horror stories about them, like they are comperable to the potenzas, then i want to know before i buy them. also, i don't want to buy the falkens again, but if anyone has fallen in love with a tire that isn't on the list above, i would appreciate the feedback. thank you guys. -andy

 

I would go w/ Michelins

 

I had the Yokos on my old car, and here is what I think. The tires stick well on dry and pretty good on wet. But when pushed in a corner, the traction starts to lose, and you get a sense of uncertainty. Traction in snow is actually decent for an all-weather tire, and in conclusion the tire is a great tire for the $, but not the most performance oriented one.

 

Toyo Proxes 4....great A/S tire. Pilots are nice, but they wear FAST and are loud as hell (I know from experience). My proxes 4 are a little softer, but sill very nice handling, ride, don't see ANY wear after almost 10K amazingly, and they are nice and quiet. Oh, and they cost 50% less than the Pilots. Also, the rain grip (especially lateral) is outstanding and they are reasonably good in snow.

Best tires I've ever owned.

note: I do NOT use them for autocross though....just so you know. They are a little too soft for that, but not for street driving.

I suggest you make sure your alignment is good before replacing tires though....if your Falkens wore unevenly, there must be a reason.

 

- Toyo Proxes 4's

 

Check out the Avon Tech's at the Tirerack. People that buy them, swear by them. Those are the tires I'm getting next. I already bought them for my Suby and now I'm gonna get them for the Max. Plus, NO ONE can beat the price!

 

man the same thing's been happeneing to me!!! I got a nail in my tire a few days ago. Same Falkens you have. Got it removed and plugged, then the dumbass mechanic cut my rim with his tool and pierced the sidewall of my tire. I took it to another place and they tried sealing it, which didn't work. Then the same day I was driving on my donut and I got a flat in it too!!! So i had to borrow a tire from the mechanic to ride on for a few days while im ordering my new ones. I went with the Kumho ECSTA ASX. Good price off tirerack. Theyre 235/45/17. Check em out if you're interested: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....1=yes&place=39 I just ordered them yesterday and should be getting them installed next week.

 

Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S

 

I've heard good things about the Avons too. No personal experience with them or the Toyos though. I didn't feel my Yokos had good traction, even on dry pavement. They seemed to break loose and squeal even on moderately fast turns. Everyone else says they have good grip, so I may just be me. I'll agree that the Michelins are loud. Too bad these accidents turned you off the Falkens. I think they are pretty good tires for the money. The key point being that they are cheap. Otherwise, I think the internal construction (i.e. the belts and carcass) are a bit on the weak side, contributing to their soft ride. But I got mine for nearly half the price of Pilots, so I'm not complaining. Only other thing I got to say is maybe you should invest in a road hazard plan. Everybody's bound to get another nail in his/her tire sometime. Good luck.

 

Not much selection in the stock 225/50/17 sizes. I have heard of good things about the Proxes 4 but I don't think it comes in that size. I was thinking about the TPT, but I got a good deal at Sears for the Pilot A/S and had them since Feb this year. I did drive in some snow and wasn't bad. I have read about the noise concerns but I don't recognize it. Reason for Sears is that they matched a local dealer price and took 10% off. They also took another 10% off since there was a "10% sale" off everything in the store. I will rotate the tires next week since it will be about 6k miles. I will also buy a set of Pilot A/S for my wife's Max soon since she has 27k miles on her set of Potenzas. I know that the Pilots are more costly than others but comes with a great rating and if they last a good three years, my reasoning was that I would have spent about $250 more over the next three years if I would have bought a cheaper set. I know that if I would have bought a cheaper set and saved $250, I would have spent that money on something silly anyways.

 

i got them kumho ecstas on my max they feel pretty good

 

I would recommend the BFGoodrich G-Force T/A KDW, but if you want an A/S tire, then definately go with the Michelins. Sorry to hear about the bad luck. It sucks wasting mod money on crap like that.

 

I'm going with Toyo Proxes 4's very soon.. Last night I almost crash with the crap Potenzas...

 

I put on Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires at 30,000 miles, and I have very good tread wear. These tires were on the cheaper side too. One of the keys for this car, you need to rotate the tires often.

 

I personally would go with the Michelins Pilot A/S. I had them on my car and man, were they worth it. Traction was incredible even in the winter time. I so surprised. I have to warn you though, they are expensive but they last, more than i expected at least good luck!!

 

has anyone tried continentals?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....tnum=25VR7CV95

 

That's why some of us have 235/45/17s on the stock rims... much more to choose from and sometimes its cheaper too...

 

Pirelli PZero M+S (235/45/17) on stock rims. Ive put 10K on them so far and they show very little wear. Got them for $127/tire at Tirerack.com + $50 for all 4 shipped. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S are expensive as hell.... aroudn $200/tire, same site. Good luck with your decisions. Just to let you know, I was going to go with the Zeix 512, but heard that the sidewalls were a bit soft. Im glad that I went with the Pirelli. And they're an All Season tire. Im done. Im out.

 

Nitto extreme performance tires have been really good to me........

 

So are Falkens 512 a crap?
my fronts wore out within 6-7 months, but i know i had an alignment problem and no time to get it done... and yesterday all of a sudden flat tire... a crack in a sidewall. I'm soooo mad... just ordered replacements. I'm using donut right now. but it seems to be very loud when driving 10-25 mph... and especially when turning... is it normal? or my bearing is also messed up? or it's just due to alignment problem?

 

Potenza RE950 on 4 corners. A totally different story from RE92. Handling exemely well on dry pavement as well as in rain. Feels the car is surely footed, great tires overall.

 

I would never buy a bridgestone tire after the ones that came with the car. I just can't trust that name anymore, but we all have different opinions.

 

had them on my oem 17s and now on my soon to be installed 18s. tire is in described in one word.... A W E S O M E!

 

Please do not judge rest of Bridgestone tire line based on your experience with OEM RE92's that come with the car as there is a difference of night and day between both in terms of performance. Nissan used the RE92's because they were probably the cheapest option out there.

The Michelin MX4V somethings that came OEM on my old accord were crap and didnt last so long I replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza RE730's back in the day and they were the best tires I ever had on my car. I am looking at RE950's or Toyo Proxes 4 next for my max. A friend has RE950's on his car and they are excellent tires.

 

Has anyone noticed that the low profile tires like Bridgestone Potenza RE950 are made in japan?

 

agreed....

 

Affirmative.
There are "made in Japan" stamps on side walls.

 

I thought they all were. They are a Japanese company after all...

 

I heard nothing but good things about the Bridgestone Turanza LSV.

 

Go with the pirelli P zero neros man...i loved that tire. Lasted a long time too

 

The Goodyear RS-A's on my wife's Mazda 3 were also made in Japan!!

 

A couple comments about the 512's (I've owned 2 sets):

They are a soft-compound tire, which means they have excellent GRIP (both dry and wet) but they tend to wear quite fast.

As they wear, they get louder. Something to do with the aggressive tread design. This happens on other tires too, but I did notice the Falkens got especially loud when they were getting low on tread. Directional tires tend to be louder during low speed turning than non-directional treads, by the way.

Both of those said, they are a good tire for the price. Not a tire for ultra-aggressive driving/handling, but good for all-season cruising.

The Proxes 4 are similar in wet/dry grip (better lateral wet grip), and mine don't seem to be wearing as fast as the Falkens. They are MUCH quieter. They are also about 30% more expensive. I liked the Falkens fine, but I absolutely LOVE the Proxes 4. I would pick them over the Pilot A/S for every category, personally. They do have slightly softer sidewalls than the Pilot, but they grip just as well (you just have a litte bit more sidewall roll - the Pilot is VERY rigid). that, and the Pilot's just cost too damn much and the set I had on my Acura only made it 15,000 miles before they were treadbare.

As to bearings - common maxima problem. I've had one replaced. Your tire wear (since it was uneven) could be a result of the bad bearing, or of your alignment being off, as I mentioned above.

 

DO NOT EVER BUY COOPER TIRES, trust me