cichlidcity

I didn't listen to you all... at 22k I figured I could squeeze some more mileage out of these stinkin tires before shelling out $200 a pop for Pilots. I didn't count on dangerous hydroplanning in a rain storm! After driving for 25 years I never had a set of tires put me into a unrecoverable slid which turned into a 360 before slammin into the dividing wall head on and then an additional 360... I'm lucky, and so are other drivers, that while I was spinning no one T-Boned me. Even the Good Year Aqua Treads I have on my minivan (No wise cracks, I got Kids) would have cruised right through. $6,800.00 damage! I walked away without a scratch (seat belts and air bags did the trick). Sorry just venting...

MAXINXS

That really sucks man. Be thankful you didn't get hurt. I know what that feels like spinning out of control. Knowing that your about to come in contact with a wall, slab of concrete, etc. It's one of the worst feelings in the world. Just make sure you get rid of those tires when your Max is fixed. From the stories I've heard, I'll never by them. Good luck.

nismotech

yup, those CrapTenza's has really got to go! I was driving in some moderately heavy rain last week, and I was crusing around 60MPH on the right lane(I-290) because if I go faster I feel like I'll loose control of the car.

all the sudden the car in front of me step on the break, because a Ford Taurus had just spun out and was parked sideways in the middle of the lane, everyone try to stop to avoid a collision, I step on my breaks, but damn I couldn't slow down fast enough, because I think I was hydroplaining a bit on my tires, I had to pull to the shoulder lane to aviod a hit. Damn I hate these Potenza's~~ In Dry road its GOOD, but when its WET or snowy......Watch OUT!

C430

The moment it starts to even drizzle, I immediately slow down because of the Impotenzas. They are the absolute worst tires in wet weather. You don't even have to hit a puddle - they will slide on any wet surface. And if ther's an oil patch on the road? You might as well be on ice. Whoever designed them needs a talking to.

With 42,000 on mine now, I can see why they are so bad with a wet roadway. Look at the treads, the small capillary-like drainage slots are all worn away. If the water does not drain, you hydroplane (didn't mean that as a rhyme).

I think $200 per tire is ridiculous, especially for a soft compound tire that will wear quickly. There has to be a compromise tire that delivers good handling in wet or dry weather, does not wear out quickly, and is reasonable in price. I'll need new tires before the summer is out.

Interesting that the Tire Rack is still selling the Impotenza for the Max.

WHEELMAN_03_SE

I bet the pilots have a better wear rating than our blowtenzas 160
WHEEMAN

fhaze_max

iTrader: (1)

Falken 512's. Replaced my Impotenza's (lol) with them. I LOVE em'.

packetattack

iTrader: (1)

Had many similar incidents to this when I bought my 99 SE, that had Goodyear RS-A tires. I replaced them with Bridgestone SO-3s. Now I can drive on the highway during rainy storms with confidence. Even the dry grip is so much improved. I'm sure I've cut quite a few feet off my dry stopping distances.

cichlidcity

I290 eastbound left lane at York was my down fall...

y sleep

Treadware is rated at 400 on Pilots (235/50/17). I am looking at my sticker. Much better than the potenzas. Traction is AA according to the sticker.
y

bobcat

I'm at 22.5K on the potenzas.. they're not horrible in the rain yet.. I'll probably be replacing them within a few thousand miles. Tirerack has a special on the Sumitomo HTR+ 245/45-17 right now, $96. Seems like a good deal to me!

vsamoylov

Yeah but 245/45/17 is not a good size for a maxima. If you have 17 on your car, you want to go for a good size. I want to find a different tire that is the size 235/50/17 because that is a good size for a Maxima and any other car. Tire Rack only sells the Potenzas in that size. And for all you guys who have a lot of miles on your Potenzas, replace them. The longest time they will last is about 20,000 or 21,000 miles and then they go bald and lose their performace. Nissan should have chosen a different brand of tires but the same size.

lcf

iTrader: (6)

Good size? Clarify what you mean by that.

02SEinStL

I always have heard that for every "10" you go wider, you go "down" 5 in aspect ratio. So, since my stock size is 225/50/17, I would look at 235/45/17 if I wanted a little wider on the stock alloys. That should not mess with the speedo at all that way, since the actual diameter stays very close.

slag

Only 4k miles on my car, driven in rain a few times and the potenzas have felt great all the time.

When do they start to go downhill?

fhaze_max

iTrader: (1)

It's not so much the wet roads, but standing water of any sort. They have a hard time pushing the water out of the way due to the tread design. As the tread gets more worn, it exacerbates the issue.

Rob'sAE

I've got ~38,000 on my "iwannakillmyselftenzas" and I hate them in the rain. The fastest I go in the rain is about 55. That is the only time I ever drive a sensible speed on the freeway. I am thinking of replacing them with with some continentals that are rated really well on tirerack.

Dany

iTrader: (1)

My friend just got Sumitomo HTR+ for his TL-S and he loves them.
They don't make them in our stock size 225/50R17, but the do make them in 235/45R17 which is acceptable too for our stock 17" wheels. Tirerack has them for $89 a tire. Sounds like a great deal to me.
Anybody else had/has Sumitomo HTR+ tires? How do they perform?

Thanks.

NewbieMaxOwner

I need new tires too. I have almost 30K miles on the stock potenzas. Will these sumitomo tires fit the stock 2k1 17" rims? $90 /tire seems reasonable. Can't afford those $200 a pop michelins.

fhaze_max

iTrader: (1)

225/50/17 <- IN SPEC OEM Size
235/50/17 <- IN SPEC
225/45/17 <- IN SPEC
235/45/17 <- NOT IN SPEC, But it should be okay as long as you check your tires pressures on a very regular basis.

Dany

iTrader: (1)

I think 235/45/17 size should be ok. I mean I would get the OEM size but nobody makes tires for them
I think number of people here run 235/45/17 size on stock 17 rims and they don't have problems.

juvymax8

dis might be stupid but dont maximas have turanzas and not potenzas?

fhaze_max

iTrader: (1)

hey juvymax8:
I need to read the FAQ and IMPORTANT threads before posting a question!

Lumbee1

I think the GLE's come with turanzas. The SE models come with Bridgestone re92 potenzas.

juvymax8

that explains it i have 2002 gle.....thx for clearing that up. which performs better turanzas or potenzas?

cichlidcity

Your dead on! Standing water is what I hit then it was like a Maxima Tilt-a-whirl...

Maxnut

how are the touranzas?are they as bad as the potenzas?

MannyNJ2k2max

iTrader: (3)

They both suck ballz! I only have 16K on my 02 and I almost shyt myself
this weekend during a rain shower, I mean I couldnt do more than 45-50mph without sailing , it was scary- time to rotate them and
start shoppin around for something new-
Check Vhttp://www.victoriatire.com/t_search.htmlictoriatire.com- Yoko Mohawks 235/45/17 for $83bucks

MaxKlinger

I was thinking of 245/45/17. Does anyone think these will be too big?

bobcat

According to this thing here:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
speedometer wise this is what you get:

235/50/17: 1.5% too slow
225/45/17: 3.4% too fast
235/45/17: 2.1% too fast
245/45/17: .07% too fast

but, I don't know anything about how bigger/smaller tires wear on the stock rims so I have no idea which size to get.. if they've got the HTR+'s in 235/45 and that's more acceptable I'll proabably go that route.

fhaze_max

iTrader: (1)

235/45/17 state that they need a 7.5" rim. We only have 7" wide on the stock rims, so by putting them on you are tempting fate. I run this size myself and am OK with it. I would not recommend going with a 245/45/17 as it surely would require an 8' wide rim. I doubt you would find any tire installer willing to mount them for you anyways..plus 235/45/17 looks perfect in my opinion. (now to deal w/ the wheel gap....)

dobiegillis

Ok, that's it. I hate the potenzas too and I have a set of Falkens sitting in my basement. I just haven't wanted to mess with dismounting them and remounting them on my AE wheels. Even though I haven't slid yet I can feel the crappy traction in the wet--I don't trust them so they need to go. I was going to wait since they've only got 27k on them but I think next month I'm taking them off.

And i used to run 235/45 Kumhos on my 17x7 rims with no problem but when i found out the tires weren't rated for a 7" rim I switched to the Falkens in stock size. Still have them in the basement too. Need to sell em.

booboo13

I just bought new rims recently, and got the Potenza S-03's. And I can confirm everything the other person said. I've flown around sharp corners at 90MPH in dry good pavement, and gone pretty quick in the rain without even a hint of sailing. They're 235/45/17's mounted on 8" wide rims.

Dany

iTrader: (1)

So you think I shouldn't get 235/45 tire for my stock 17" rims? There are so many nice choises for that size and good price too. I mean there are no good tires in 225/50 stock size except crazy expensive Pilots.

jjs

This whole size issue has been discussed at length. Please start with the FAQ's and then SEARCH if that does not help.

highroad

Has anyone looked into Coopers? I live in a rain/snow zone, and a local dealer told me he has 225/50/17s in Cooper that are a good all-around tire.

RichK

I found the Potenzas to have very poor traction in the rain, even when the car had 20 miles on it. I removed them at 6000 miles and went to 18s. I chose the Yokohama AVS ES100s. I must say that the AVS are great in the wet. I am very pleased with them.

Tony Fernandes

I have Potenza RE950s. They were a HUGE improvement over the RE92s in both handling a wet weather traction. My Prelude had the RE92s on them and they sucked on that car too!

Tony

JTMAX03

iTrader: (6)

I have the Potenzas that everyone saying thats it's really bad but I don't have any problems with it yet but thanx for the info so I'll change it soon.

Andrew

iTrader: (5)

I've had serious problem with the Crap-tenzas. It was raining all day and when I went to pay for the toll, I pulled away at just hitting the gas pedal. Not even racing away, just accelerating, I was spinning my wheels. Also, when the rain really hit, I was hydroplaning at 15mph!! forget these tires, time to invest in something better.

Evan

Same experience here. I was cruising along at 100 km/h (60mph) in heavy rain, hit a bunch of standing water, and the whole car started to rotate. Although I was able to straighten it out, this is not a comfortable feeling on the highway in the rain. These tires are pretty poor in the wet even when brand new; mine only have 5000 kms on them.