I've been thinking about getting the sumitomo's htr+....it seems their 215/50 17's diameter is same as 235/45 17s....I want to keep the response and feel of thinner tires in front....anyone tried it before.

 

215-55s are too narrow for 8" rims. You may be able to make them fit, but the wheel will stick out past the tire. Will look bad...ghetto.

You do NOT want narrower front tires anyway. Making the fronts narrower in relation to the rears will make the car understeer MORE than it already does...and Maximas are bad enough already.

Steering response is primarily due to the TIRE, and has much less to do with the tire width.

 

do not get 215 on 8" wide rims!!
it will look funny, go with at least 235
"wider is better"

 

I would go with a 225. A 235 will bubble a little bit. Try Tirerack.com. I am going to get the Sumitomo also. I heard really good things about them.

 

thanks all for the input....i guess i'll stick with 235/45's sumitomos. They look just like the sp5000 but cheaper.