I bought twice the Falken Ziex..205/55/15 87V....the tire has very good performence in water and dry conditions...the ride is harsh though and they make more noise on highway speeds then the stock Potenza...i don't know if they make those for sizes like the maxima use (225/50/17)

The tire is way cheaper then the potenza cuz i got them from Sears auto center for 130 a piece....but if you do a 4 tires replacment you can get it a little bit lower...Falken was bought by Dunlop BTW...good luck

 

They apparently have an FK 451 in 225/45ZR17 91Y (rims allowed 7.0-8.5). Not quite a true replacement, but at least it seems like the rim size issue won't be a big deal.

 

I must agree with you on the thread pattern they are really awsome and special...