Need new tires for my max ASAP...

this is going on a 2k2 Max 6speed

tire sizes is 225/50/17

i have made it down to the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712

or the Falken Ziex ZE-512


if they are the same price which would you choose and why???


thanks

 

I chose the Falken's. It's supposed to be an all season tire with good performance. 245 x 40 x 18 size. I'm not sure if I'll get dedicated winter tires and I wanted a tire that I could use year-round.

I can't say how they perform....I'm getting them today or tomorrow, but they've gotten very good reviews from a number of places.

 

i am leaning toward the falkens too, i like the tread pattern better then in the Kumhos anyhow

 

Apples and oranges. The Kumho 712 is summer-only tire and the Ziex 512 is all-season tire. Given that, the Kumho 712 would have slight better grip, but totally sucks when driving on snow/ice. The Ziex 512, on the other hand, is all-around performer.


~limsandy

 

So if you're in SoCal you'd go with Kumho's?

 

i have decieded on tha falkens

here is the kicker i can get them in both the 225/50/17 or the 235/50/17...

should i opt for the wider tires???

 

I would highly recommend staying with 225 50 17 on factory maxima wheels. Ziex 512 are great

 

I would go with hthe 225/50/17 and check discount tire there the best price ive found ballanced and mounted

 

The falken website http://www.falkentire.com/tires/512_sizes.htm only shows 225/50-17 or 235/45-17...

If they have a 235/50, that's news to me, but I would like to know if you have found that size in 512's!!

(235/50's can be mounted on a 7" rim, while 235/45's require a 7.5" rim.)

 

If they're of the same width, why does one require a wider wheel and the other does not? The truth is, they both will fit fine, and many people here have put 235/45/17 on their stock SE rims.


~limsandy

 

The lower profile, the wider rim... due to less flexible sidewall. C'mon that's basic!!
And check this site out: http://www.sds.dk/sider/omregnpv.html
It's in danish, but you still get the picture... Tire size, followed by circumference in mm, max load in kg. and finally approved (in EU) rim widths for that tire size

 

check tires.com

sears confirms

 

I just got the Falken Ziex ZE-512 225/50/17 tires mounted on my 17" wheels this morning at Amercia's Tire Co. for a bit under $500.

They are MUCH quieter than the Toyo Proxes T1-S 235/45/17 that I had on before, and I'll go with Consumer Reports that the Ziex ZE-512 is one of the best all-season tires you can buy (it actually got a #1 rating in a comparison last November).

If you go to America's Tire Co., make sure you print out a price quote from their website (www.tires.com) before you go there so they can match that price or else you'll probably end up paying a bit more. For me, I printed out a quote about a month ago and then I went back the other day to check and noticed the price had dropped, so I printed out a new quote and saved about $50.

Peace.

 

First of all, I dont understand danish, so I cant figure out anything they say in the wesbite. Secondly, I stand firm on my statement that I know a bunch of people who have or have had 235/45/17 on OEM 17x7 wheels. I even know 1 guy (can't remember his name) who had 245/45/17 on OEM wheels. Yes! 245!

edit: found him! Jasonb1982


~limsandy

 

No one ever said "most" of the people out in the world are the most informed or the smartest or the safest. The bottom line is that they are just taking a higher risk of failure. Maybe that's okay with them. Maybe they didn't know any better because they heard it from a buddy on the org. All things being equal drivers should at least be informed about the facts and they can make their own decisions from there. Better to be lucky than good!

Thanks 20V6... here's another related thread

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=279273

There's another one out there I came across that really hashes out all the tire/wheel fitment issues (can't seem to track it down...), but the jist of it is this:

Yes, you might get away with these wider/lower profiles on stock rims, but it isn't the "approved" safe mounting combo that the tire manufacturers state. People running those have to take extra precautions (i.e. run higher pressure and check that pressure OFTEN). Not only do rim sizes need to be considered, load rating (94V, 95W, etc.) is part of the safety issue as well.

Refer to the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S specs on Tire Rack. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...ot+Sport+A%2FS I used this tire because it has all the sizes in question, but 95% of other tires will have the same rim size info.

 

OK... just to clarify... I don't argue that people put 235 or 245 on their stock rims. There's probably a lot of people who do that! But, the thing is you didn't know that a lower profile tire (same width) needs a wider rim: You also put in the "BS" smiley to show us all how stupid we are.....
So my reply was just to help you out of your ignorance by giving you a useful piece of information!
Regarding the danish website... I actually gave you the translations! If you would look it up one more time and find the size 235/45-17, you can see on the bottom of that box it says: F8 - 9 1/2. So the approved rims for this tire (in the EU) is 8 - 9 1/2 inches. Now if you look up 255/50-16, you can use rims between 7 and 9 inches even if it's a wider tire!!! Why? Do to the higher more flexible sidewall! That was my point!

And I totally agree with what uscav8r wrote.

 

I'm sorry if you feel that I'm being rude, but I just want to clarify some things that you said were wrong. Tire width does not depend on the tire profile (the middle number). Instead, it depends on the first number (225, 235, 245, etc...) If you haven't figured this out already, you're probably a . Sorry, but that's just a fact.

If I have a 215/50/17 tire size, I'd put them on 17x7 wheels. If I have 215/40/17, I'd also put them on 17x7 wheels.

Bottomline is lower profile tire DOES NOT need wider rims.


~limsandy

 

You're right! Sort of. You mentioned tire width, but nothing about rim width. Tire width alone does not determine a proper RIM width. Profile does play a part as well.

You really should say: lower profile tire MAY or MAY NOT need wider rims. It just depends!

Why else would the tire manufacturers have different approved rim sizes for the same tire width and different profiles?

Jeep, sorry to steal this thread, but it's taken on a life of its own!

BTW, Sears out here in California (and Tires.com) are clueless about the 235/50-17 Falken. You have a part number I can have them reference?

 

First of all, I don't think you're rude, I'm probably not the nicest person either when it comes to these chat-forums...
I know TIRE width doesn't depend on the profile. A 235/75 and a 235/30 are both 235 mm wide.
The RIM width is somewhat related to the profile because of the stiffness in a low profile tire. If I wanted to, I could probably fit a 295/75 tire on my stock rim, but it would look like a hot air-balloon and be ripped off in the first turn. A 295/30 tire would never fit the stock rim because the sidewall is so stiff you wouldn't be able to bend the sidewall inwards that much! The reason is obvious: The sidewall on the 295/75 tire is 221 mm tall (8,7 inches) while on the 295/30 tire it's only 88,5 mm tall (3,5 inches). Seriously... which one do you think is more flexible and less dependant on rim width???

Yes, I'm a on this forum. However I've been working with cars/engines/tires for the last 8 yrs so I know what I'm talking about!

And again to document what I'm saying, from Tire-rack this time: Specs on GoodYear F1 GS-D3: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...Eagle+F1+GS-D3
As you can easily see the 235/40-17 needs a 8' rim, while the 235/45-17 only needs a 7.5' rim!
So even if you don't believe me... Don't you believe the US' biggest tire company either?

Anyway, we're pretty far off from the original subject of this tread. So to you, jeepik, I recommend the Falken 512 over Kuhmo 712. Our customers are more satisfied with Falken when it comes to treadwear, noise and wet-grip. And go with 225/50-17! As you can see from the Falken website: http://www.falkentire.com/tires/512_sizes.htm they are recommended on rim width 6' - 8', while 235/45-17 are recommended on rim width 7,5' - 9'. 235/50-17 which you mentioned is not listed...

 

Just to inject here:

Discounttiredirect.com and (I believe) tirerack.com both recommend 235/45/17 tires on their offerred 17" wheels for a 4th Gen Max.

I just ordered some Falken 512s from Discounttiredirect.com mounted on their Rage wheels.
1) I asked them about safety and being out of spec and they said it would be fine.
2) They publicly recommend on their website the 235s AND mounted the tires for me. That the tire is out of spec leaves them wide open to lawsuits should fatal failures happen.

Both points made me think that the possibilty of failure is very very low (especially the lawsuit point).

That still does not take away the manufacturers specifications which should be regarded as good information as well.

Mr. P

 

I've had 712 and 512. The 712 would suit you well in La Jolla (I went to UCSD). Get the 512 if you plan on going snowboarding/skiing. Otherwise, wet traction on 712 is as expected. Performance wise, 512 feels "slick". I slide around on them. Braking felt like there was no "bite". Also, when hard accelerating off a light, the 512 would spin over the white crosswalk stripes... the 712 was unaffected.

Jae

 

The Falken 512 have no bite? I am getting ready to install these on my car today. Hope I am not dissapointed.

 

512 are all seasons, but I compared them to Summer tires. They're good all-around tires, just don't expect to do anything crazy with them.

For those looking at 512, consider the new Kumho ASX. A google search will yield favorable reviews.

Jae

 

With more sidewall to flex and move, you can generally fit a tire of the same width with a taller sidewall on a skinnier wheel than a shorter sidewall. It's very common to see that in manufacturers specs and recommended wheel widths.