What? You bought 2k2 wheels? I thought you have Enkei 17x9.5 wheels? Are you putting stock 2k2 wheels on your 95? There aren't many options you have. That's why I decided to buy new wheels, instead of replacing my tires.

~limsandy

 

I had the 03 GLE with the 215/50/17, and, not liking my minimal choices in that size I upsized to 225/55/17 actually raising my car a tiny bit. Throws my speedo and odo off by about 1.6%, which I think is negiliable. No rubbing issues on hardware, and others on this site who have done the same thing have also stated this.

This gives you the most tire choices while still being in spec with the 17X7 wheels, keeping with the 93 load rating and nothing wider than 225 on 7 inch rims.

I chose the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S from tirerack, yes, expensive, but with a treadwear rating of 400, I'm hoping they will last a while. The Dunlop SP 5000 was a close second choice.

I like the slightly raised posture of the car, handles long highway stretches well with more aplomb and not as a bumpy ride that the 225/50/17 option gives you. I drive a twisty mountain road to work each day and thye handles the twisties just fine. I think I will stay with this size permanently.

If you can live with summer tires, the Kumho makes a bargain tire in this size, but Goodyear just very recently came out with their Eagle GSD F1 (?) tire in this size, whis supposedly the mother of all summer tires.

 

Yes, yes yes..... but why upsize to 225/55/17 when you can get 225/50/17 with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S? They make that size too, you know?


~limsandy

 

slammed95,

I didn't know you have 2 Maximas. Nice, I guess you'll be keeping your 2k2 stock? I was going to get ContiExtremeContacts 215/50/17 for my OEM wheels and get bigger wheels/tires just for summer. We'll see.


~limsandy

 

limsandy,

I like the slightly raised posture of the car, handles long highway stretches well with more aplomb and not as a bumpy ride that the 225/50/17 option gives you. I drive a twisty mountain road to work each day and thye handles the twisties just fine. I think I will stay with this size permanently.

Based upon reading many posts about these Michelins on this and other sites, I thought the slightly taller sidewall (55 vs 50) would prob be better for my 100 mile daily commute. The 50s might have been a bit jarring for me and my occasional occupants (wife).

Plus, as expensive as those suckers were, I'd hope that maybe the 55s will last a little longer?? Don't know, just a theory... fewer rotations per mile?? And, they fill out the well nicely, I prefer that look over the 50's.

Although I previously stated otherwise, I may very well just get 225/50/17 next time around just to change things up abit. One thing I thing we can all agree on is that the GLE stock 215/55/17 size is woefully underserved at the present.

My wallet would prefer a contiextreme in my size (225/55/17 or 225/50/17 or stock 215/55/17). I won't comprimise load rating or wider than 225 on my 7 inchers. But they don't exist....

 

And I have read the FAQs and important questions before posting.

 

totttalled,

when you raise the sidewall of your tires, you lose handling. You're making the "boaty feeling" of the Maxima even worse, unless you're lowered.


~limsandy

 

limsandy,

In theory, i agree. But prob because I switched from Turanza EL42 215/55/17 to Pilot Sport A/S 225/55/17, the handling is actually vastly improved. No boatiness in comparison to the OE. I think the tire quality mattered here more than the size.

Now if I switched to PS A/S 225/50/17, the handling yes would have been even better, but at the expense of comfort.

 

I struggled with the decision of 55 vs 50 series to the point of idiocy on my 02' GLE. Knew I wanted the Michelin's, wanted to stay on OEM rims and I went with 225-50 Pilot Sport A/S's on mine (almost had myself convinced to go with a 55 but...). Right decision? After only ~300 miles in various weather/road conditions it was for me and that's all that matters. Ride quality remains excellent compared to the stock EL42's (215-55's) and the overall improvement is outstanding. Here's what they look like if you care:

 

i'm running the falken ziex 512's on the stock SE rims in the 225/50 size

great tire... i'm not sure if they carry the right size for the GLE rims though

 

225/50/17 Yokohama AVS ES 100

 

totttalled,

my bad. I was thinking and assuming that you were upgrading from Potenza RE-92 225/50/17.


~limsandy