Hey guys. I bought a 2013 Maxima back sports/tech edition in August 2013 and let me tell you, the tires I got must be defective or something. Two weeks ago while driving (I live in Chicago), I barely hit a pot hole and my driver side front tire got slashed. The PSI went from 35, down to 4, down to 0 in a matter of seconds. I went to the Nissan dealership and it costs $300 to fix. Then today, I was driving and out of nowhere, the tire pressure monitor stated check tire. It dropped down from 35 to 24. I legitimately hit nothing and upon getting home, there was a big gash. Is it the tires or am I a **** driver? Anyone else have problems like this? It's ludicrous.

 

No the RSA are really ****ty tires

 

So it's just the RSA tires? I'm so angry about this whole situation because I paid $300 the first time, and now it's going to be $300 again. Do you or anybody have recommendations for better tires, especially in the snow? I've had it up to here with this situation!

EDIT: Also, do you know where I could possibly buy the tire for cheaper and have some put the rim on it, rather than paying $300 at the dealership? Or is $300 the standard price?

 

Just changed from RSA's to Continental Extreme Contact DSW's. Wow what a difference. Live in Louisiana and last week we had sleet. Next week weather suppose to be worst. Tires are IMO extremely better than RSA's

 

How much did they cost? I think the Nissan dealership is ripping me off when they charge $300/tire for RSA's. How much did the new set cost? Also, did you take them to dealership or somewhere else?

 

Why would anyone buy tires at the dealer?

 

I mean if you really want me to answer, it's because I'm kind of a noob and don't know much about cars, but I am asking for advice, not criticism.

EDIT: Do you know a good place to buy a new set of tires?

 

Anyone have advice as to a good set of winter tires? Also, possibly a place where I could buy them and get installed around Chicago? Any information will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Altimax from General Tires are great and just as good as Blizzaks IMOP.
You can get them from Tire Rack and shipped to a local installer. I went with narrower 17''x7'' tires with dedicated rims as recommended for Winter use.

 

Yeah the stock RSA's are junk! I'm gonna get more miles outta mine but they are definite gonna go next year! I drive lots of highway miles and they also hum very loudly on some of our highways out here!

 

While not a fan of the RSAs, I do not believe this is a tire issue per se. My OEMs lasted 72000+ miles. The issue here is the slashes from some type of detreius. Potholes CAN indeed slash sidewallls as do curbs and other trash on the roadways. This does NOT necessarily mean you are a poor driver, just unfortunate. But please tell me, is the same tire slashed again or a different one? Inside or outside?

I wish you the best of luck but no tire can withstand the abuses of poor roads. If you do get new tires, I would insist on a Road Hazard Warranty!!

 

LtLeary is correct. I have had over 43K miles of excellent service from my OEM RSAs. Still tread left, wearing very evenly, never needed balancing or alignment, and I only rotate each 15K miles.

I suspect I would get equally good, possibly even better service form a tire such as the continental DWS, but I am very happy with my RSAs.

Potholes can destroy ANY TIRE AND ANY RIM OF ANY BRAND. In the weather conditions that are currently ravaging the midwest, it is sometimes impossible to see potholes, and even if they are seen, it may be impossible to dodge them or stop in time. I suspect many roads in the midwest will be in terrible condition until the weather warms this spring and road crews can fix the problems.

Of course winter tires have higher sidewalls and sometimes deeper tread, which gives the tire a better chance to protect itself and the rim in the event a pothole is hit.

 

The first tire was the front driver side wheel. It was slashed outside, resulting in getting another tire. The second tire, the one that's f-ed up now, was the front passenger side wheel. I am not sure the extent of the damage as it was dark when I got home, with extreme amounts of snow. I will check today and report back. Thanks for your input. Makes sense.

 

Well I guess it's time to hit the road and move out of Chicago. Oh wait, I only have 3 functioning tires.

 

Look for a Discount Tire in your area, tires are priced good and for about $25 you get a non pro rated road hazard that also includes free rotations


For about $225 you can get a zero deductible 5 year tire and wheel warranty fom the dealer, something to think about next time if you live in an area that gets pot holes


I have bent enough wheels to know this warranty is for me

 

Chicagoki7 - There are no Discount Tire shops in downtown Chicago, but there are 15 Discount Tire shops in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. They want around $185 bucks for the Conti ExtremeContact 245/45ZR18 DWS 100Y XL B load range XL, or $192 bucks for the Conti ExtremeContact 245/45ZR18 DWS 96Y BSW load range SL in the Chicago area.

Each Discount Tire has its own prices, but there is usually little difference between them. All will charge an additional $2.50 per tire or so for environmental fees and $3 or so per tire to dispose of the old tire. There will also be a $16 or so per tire charge per tire for installation and spin balancing. And don't forget the $9.25 or so per tire for the TPMS rebuild kit.

One further caveat - Virtually no Discount Tire in the Chicago area (and many other areas) has these tires (or many others) in store, but they can usually special order them and have them within a day or two.

I use Discount Tire down here in Georgia, and have always had good service.

 

I have always bought at Discount tire or in other parts of the country "Americas tire". You can shop online for the best deal then go have them match it. Many times you can take a quote from tirerack.com and discount tire will match it if they are higher.

I agree with the others, ExtremeContact DWS are very good tires!

 

Wow! Thank you very VERY much for your input. I very much appreciate it. I actually went with tirerack.com and found out there is a Tirerack installer around the corner from my house, so today everything will be better, beside the weather (currently -5, real feel: -18)

 

My local Discount Tire will match the Tire Rack prices.

If you ask nicely ( and they have a tech who knows how to use it) you can get a road force balance for that same $16 price as they spin balance on a Hunter GPS9700

 

Hey,

May I suggest Nokian ?

I have these on my car right now http://www.nokiantyres.com/tyre?id=1...akkapeliitta+R and they are good, but looking to get rid of them and get the Hakka's 7 or 8

I was actually looking to get these here in Canada where I'm from but last year no one will sell me them as they are studded tires and they are illegal in Toronto, but I saw a lot of studded tires on cars now. They are only allowed in the northern parts of Ontario.
http://www.nokiantyres.com/tyre?id=1...kapeliitta%207

 

Thanks for the advice. I will be needing to replace my OEM RS-As sometime this year, and will definitely check and print Tire Rack prices before heading to Discount.

I have heard here on this site for five years that the Hunter 9000 series is the only common alignment system that can properly road force balance or align the 7th gen Maxima. Of course, as you said, this system does require a knowledgable operator. I will take your advice, talk nicely, and cross my fingers on the operator.

Thanks again.

 

I had been leaning toward the DWS over two other tires. Your statement sort of tips the scales for me. I will go with the ExtremeContact DWS when I replace my 5 1/2 year old OEM tires later this year. I have had good service with Contis in the past. And I will have a printout of Tire Rack prices in hand when I head to Discount.

 

They match the Tire Rack price SHIPPED to your house so it's a bit more than the online price you will see per tire when you add the shipping.

I have 2 Discount Tires within 10 miles of my house, only one has a guy trained to use the Road Force

I had Extreme Contact DWS on m previous Infiniti and loved them, very nice looking tire also

 

If you are in northwest Chicago check out Central Tire. They are a full service tire shop with knowledgeable staff. I've used them in the past and was very satisfied with their quick service. They carry a large inventory on hand and I'm sure they could direct you to a good winter tire.

 

I had a bad front tire after 500miles. I hate these tires.

I always use discount tire (I'm a nitto fan) or tire rack.com

 

My front tires were wearing a lot faster than the back so I ended up changing only the fronts (rears still have roughly 20k miles left on them). So I ended up going with the Continental Extreme Contacts on the front and the useless RSA's on the rear.
Drove the car through rain and slight snow (I'm in TX so not the northern kind of snow) and the car handled brilliantly! I wish the Max was RWD just so I would have another excuse to justify getting another pair of the Continentals LOL

 

How often did you rotate the RSA's that they wore so unevenly ?

 

Guess I lucked out mine came with Goodyears.

 

RSA's are made by Goodyear

 

Goodyear RS-A tires are the OEM tires for the 7th gen Maxima. I have 44K on my RS-As with tread left, wearing very evenly, and I rotate only every 15K.

I carry two pounds more in the front tires because 60% of the weight of the car is on the front tires, and the front tires do all the accelerating, all of the turning, and most of the braking.

I have never had to have my 2009 Maxima aligned, and have never had to rebalance these tires, yet the ride is very smooth at speeds the moderator does not want to see here. I have been driving since the 1940s (yes, I am an old codger), and I have never had a set of tires give me better service than these Goodyear RS-As.

Having said all that, I am aware others here have not had the service they would like from these Goodyear RS-As. Some of that may be attributable to the fact roads in the U.S. are in the worst shape I have seen in my long life. Atrocious weather conditions, ever-heavier semis, vastly increasing numbers of vehicles on the road, and no money left for road repairs have created a royal mess with our roads.

But there are better tires than the RS-A available. And also worse tires than the RS-A.

 

I've had 3 rs_a tires replaced under aftermarket wheel/tire road hazard insurance. 2 due to gashes/slashes in side wall and 1 due to nails. At 280 a tire the rs a are taxing. I've read they have a problem with sidewall splitting and I can confirm that