Hey folks, I'm pretty new here, so sorry if this is a question that's already been answered. I did some searches and found some info that was close, but I'm still a little confused about all this.

I just bought my first set of rims and I'm looking for a little guidance on tires. I drive a 2009 maxima, stock height. The rims are 20x9's, not sure about the offset, but the person I got them from had them on a 7th gen maxima and said they were perfectly flush, so I'm guessing somewhere in the 35-45 range?

Anyways, anyone have any suggestions on tires? I'm looking for something that will fill up the wheel well more than the stock wheels, but I don't want any rub (tallest I can go without rub), and I'm not interested in 'rolling fenders' or any of that. I'd like a tire that fits the width of the wheel without ballooning out or being stretched too thin.

As for the type of tire, I have a set of blizzaks on it now on the stock rims. They will be my winter tires. I drive 'spirited' but don't do any track or autocross. It's my daily driver, so I'd like something quiet and smooth, with good tread wear, and good wet and dry traction, for a reasonable price (I guess I want it all, or more accurately, the most balanced tire I can get).

Here's what I'm looking at so far:

Continental extremecontact DW
Hakook Ventus v12 Evo k110
Firestone firehawk wide oval Indy 500

I think 245-40r20's, unless I can go bigger without rubbing. (I hear the firehawk runs a bit narrow?)

Anyone have any suggestions/experiences with tire size and or type for my situation? Cheers

 

You would be much better off with a 255/35-20

Your 40 profile is going to throw off your speedo a lot.

 

Would there be any other negative side effects? I'm definitely going to take the speedo into consideration, but I'm not going to totally let it control my decision.

Does anyone have any experience with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS? How much wet/dry traction would I give up to gain the extra tread life?

 

The size you are looking at is taller than your current tire, so will fill the wheel well and provide a slightly better ride. The speedo will be 4% off.
The tire size I posted is 1% different than the factory. It is also a better width for a 9" wide wheel.

I have the DWS currently on my car, with almost 40k miles on them.
They have been great tires, and much better than the Michelin MXV4.

 

I concur with the above. Continentals have been awesome on my Maxima. I drove the factory RSA's far past their prime.

 

While I did not use them on this Maxima, I was very happy with the Continental DWS on my 5th gen (235/40/18). I was basically looking for a balanced tire like you, & the DWS' fit the bill. I almost got them this time around, but tried out the Nitto Motivo's on my 2010.

 

Ok, I think I'm sold on the 255-35r20 for size.

So for three season driving (I've got dedicated winter tires) you guys like the DWS better than the DW, Wide Oval Indy 500, and Ventus V12 in terms of ride quality, noise, and tread wear... Does anyone have any advice on how they handle compared to those other tires?

I've read a lot of reviews that say the DWS has overly soft sidewalls and feels 'spongy' and 'wonders' when changing lanes at highway speed. Have any of you experienced this? Will it help that I'm looking at a pretty low profile tire?

 

If it is a three season tire, just stick with the DW over the DWS.
I don't have experience with the other two options you are looking at.

I don't think they have spongy sidewalls, and yours will feel much stiffer with the 20s.
Proper width plays a big role in how the sidewall feels, which is why I recommended the 255s.

 

I have the Hankooks. Been 6 months or so on them and have no issues whatsoever. Ride is great, think it's better than my old Bridgestone OEMS!

 

I had the DWS as my last set and decided to try the MXV4...so far with 3k on the Michelins, I am not that impressed with them. I noticed the car seems to wander more on the highway (alignment is good). I also noticed the wet traction isn't as good as the DWS.

Next set I'll be going back to the DWS.

 

Is it possible to reprogram the cars speedo to account for bigger tires?