I am looking to change out the tires on My 02 Max SE. The stock tires suck bad in rain, I could only imagine what they will be like in winter! Recommendation on decent dry weather handling tires which can also maintain traction in rain and snow?

BTW - My Max is not modified or used for racing etc...keep that in mind with your selection.

 

Check in the wheel/tire forum area.

And true, the stock potenzas suck in rain.

 

dont even think of driving with the potenzas in the snow...I had them on for the first snowfall last year and lets just say i was slipping down a hill!!! Needless to say, i got winter tires the very next day.

 

The Potenzas have got to be the biggest joke over at Nissan... not sure what they were thinking.

My friend still can't believe they only have a 160 treadwear rating - truely pathetic.

 

I know they cost more (about $200/tire), but I have been very happy with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. There wasn't a lot of choice in that size. I have about 20K miles on these with very minimal if any observable wear. Great on dry ground, awesome on wet...trust me.

 

For winter driving, get winter tires, for fall/spring/summer driving, get good summer tires.

I've just ordered Kumho KW-19's (studded) cause I'm in Canada. I run Toyo Proxes TPT during our non-snow season but I'm thinking about upgrading to Proxie T1-S. BTW - you should be able to fit 235/45ZR17's T1-s on your stock rims.

 

I have the Pilot Sports on my Benz CLK430...It is 100% better in the rain than the Max with Potenza's. I wouldn't imagine that they would be good in the snow. I live in VA and snow does fall here, not a lot, but a few times a year... I am trying to find a happy medium for all weather.

 

Do they make the Dunlop SP Sport 9000 in your size? I'm running them now, and they're the best tires I've ever had so far, especially noticeable in the rain...

 

The KH11 is a summer tire, not intended for snow.

It sucks that there are so few tires offered in the OEM size (225/50-17). There are definitely more out now than there were a year ago, but the selection is very limited...

I'm going to make sure to check out the available replacement selection when I get my next car. I just need to find something cheap and roadworthy to last until March 2006 when my lease is up.

 

Check out the Touranza LS-V on Tirerack.com. You won't hear a lot about them here because they are classified as grand touring tires instead of high performance and many people understandably don't want another Bridgstone tire.

I haven't had mine long enough to drive them in snow yet. But their performance in the rain is so much better than the Potenzas that they can't even be compared. Last week I got caught in rain heavy enough that I couldn't see if I drove faster than about 45mph and I had no problems with hydroplaning. Dry performance is also very good. Check out the test results on Tirerack, they are one of the best all-season tires in the 225/50/17 size. I considered the Falken since they are so highly recommended. But the supply problems and the frequent balancing problems scared me off.

 

I agree the board demographic is biased but there has actually been a significant number of posts here supporting the LS-V. If I were in the market for a touring tire I would research this option as well.

 

I was scared of the balancing stories I was hearing about the Falken 512s too.

And I agree, based on the reviews I've read, the Turanza LS-Vs seem to be great tires. The only problem is that they're on backorder at TireRack until (at the earliest) mid-november. After a LOT of calling around though, I found a place that had 8 in stock, for less than TireRack!

 

Continental ContiExtreme Contact or Falken Ziex-512.