Hello everyone, it's time for my Maxima to get some new rubbers. I am looking to replace my stock Potenzas with some better tires. I want a better gripping tire than the Potenzas, they were and are horrible when roads are wet. I have the 17" stock SE rims on my car. On my `93 Maxima I had gone through two sets of Pirelli's and liked them a lot. Please post any suggestions or comments on any tires - if there are any brands to stay away from, let me know. Thanks!

- Kirk

 

If you live where it snows, Bridgestone Turnaza-LS-V great tire all year round and it comes in the stock 225-50-17

Stay away from the Falken Ziex-512 regardless what you hear, I was in a car when one blew. They do not have any road hazzard

www.tirerack.com ranks them #1 in thier category

Just my two cents

 

topview-Falken 512's are great-I have em on two cars here and I wouldnt trade em for the world.

also-you can get road hazard on them from discounttiredirect.com

Kirk-I'd go with Falkens or Nittos-if you can afford it go Michelin Pilot Sports A/S

-your buddy Nt2shbby

 

You are 100% correct the stock potenzas are useless peices of crap, most likely to get you into an accident instead of out of one.

However, and this is a big one; The Potenza RE950 and RE730/750s are VERY good tires. I have been through 2 or 3 sets of 730's (I drive like a loon) and my brother had 950's on his maxima in a stock size. Mine are 235/45/17s on a 7.5" rim. I was thinking of going 245/45/17 however they might rub as I lowered my car.
The 750s are a W rated tire (168mph) and excellent in water. I do a few trips a year from Atlanta to Miami and I always hit rain. I can surefootedly drive at 75mph though standing water with 1/2 tread or more. Any less and I don't care what kind of tire you have, there is not enough tread to pump water out at that speed.
Mine have NEVER squealed and I have never broken the rear loose. When the front plows in a turn it is done predictably and with PLENTY of warning. Your front end is not just going to go ZOOM out from under you.
And guess what!!!!
RE750s are CHEAPER then RE92s 150 vs 163. (tirerack.com) and I can even get that price at Big10 Tires.
Now if you are a cold weather driver, (30 or below), I would say the 950s have a better compound for cold and will last longer then the 750s.

Blah blah blah, this is my experience.

 

Hey, when did they let you out of your cage? HA-HA

Welcome back to the "community." Thanks to everyone that posted.

I will be using these tires year-round, and I live in NY, and we have wonderful weather here, so we'll see what I decide to go with.

 

What he said.

Love my 950's. I got 35K miles on them and they still got plenty of tred left.

 

750s, 950s, if you like Pirelli the Nero M+S are AMAZING tires, P7000 supersport, Sumitomo HTR+, those are all really good tires

 

sumitomos are decent-but really lax in handling capabilities

 

I had the Pirelli P7000's on my 1993 Maxima. They were awesome.

 

All season? Falken 512s. You can get road hazzard warranty through Discount Tire.

 

i love toyo proxes T1-S and so will you !

 

I just had the Falken 512's installed on my Max this morning and I love them! It is very sogggy in Austin,TX right now so I had a great opportunity to give them a thorough wet traction test. The first thing I noticed was how much quieter they are than the stocks. They gripped on to the wet twisty roads and plowed thru the puddles on the highway offramps with ease. The same offramps would cause that scary hydroplane feeling with the Bridgestones. The Falkens felt glued to the road. I went with 225/50/17 for my GLE. Also, they look HOT! Oh, and the best part... $147 each includes install, tax, certificate for lifetime warranty on EVERYTHING.

 

This is the first time I've heard negative feedback on the Falken 512's. I guess the editors at Consumer Reports should have contacted this guy before they rated the 512 so highly.

 

Rare for tires to just blow like that.

 

Potenzas RE950 on my car since August . Great handling in dry weather. Very good in the rain. Poor, Poor in the snow. Tread wear is better much better compared to my brothers pilots. So far one of the best tires ive ever owned. Really cant expect good snow traction unless your yousing snow tires.

 

It helps if you have all season tires instead of summer tires. Ofcourse driving slower helps too.

 

whatever you buy, may I please suggest going to a local tire retailer and telling them the online price, and giving them the oppertunity to give you their best price. It wil be a bit higher but figure in that there is no shipping and that your warrenty will be honored in a day rather than in a week.

 

As for Discount Tire, their online prices are cheaper than if you would walk in to the store and bought the same tires. In stores, they include mounting and balancing fees. I believe it's $10 - $15 per tire

 

Not to mention by buying at a local tire retailer you are feeding your local economy while fullfilling a civic duty.

 

.........

 

I wholeheartedly agree with PhatMax about the Potenza RE750's. Mine stick like glue, even in the rain (northeast Louisiana gets quite a bit). Surprisingly, they are quit and comfortable, too. However, if you live where it snows, you may want to get an all-season tire as these are not snow rated.
And like plurco said, check locally. I got mine from my local Firestone in 225/55/16. Mounting, balancing, valve stems, and a front end alignment was only ~$670 out the door. And being from Firestone, my road hazard warranty will be covered just about anywhere I may travel. Rotations are free, too.

Dave

 

for those with falken ze-512:

which rating, V or W, did you guys go with?

Ammi, how did you get the tires installed if you ordered them online?

 

225/50/17 V
235/40/18 Z
245/40/18 Z


Order online, take them to local tireshop. They will charge you for mounting and balancing unless you know someone who works there.

 

thanks dude

 

You might want to check out local store first too. They can order them for you and their price should include mounting and balancing fees

 

on discounttire, do i need to get the stems?

 

well if you planning on taking your tires to local shop, I wouldn't get valve stems from online. Go to local shop and get chrome valve stems

 

i might just do that- have discount tires/american tire co price match the online price plus mounting/balancing fees

 

I doubt they try to charge more than online listed price. If they do, I'm pretty sure mounting and balancing fees will be included.