I have a 2005 SE with the stock Goodyear RSA 18" tires. So far I have 12k miles on them and had them rotated once. No real visible wear or cracks on them but I am not real pleased with the ride quality. Never been a big goodyear fan myself. Anyhow in an effort to get a little better ride quality, I am in the process of selecting new replacement tires for my car. So far based on reviews at tirerack and other sites, it appears the the Michellin Pilot A/S tires are pretty decent. However at $259.00 a piece I would like to be sure it is a good tire for our cars. I was wondering if anyone here has these on their Max or if they have any suggestions on other brands that are good.

My personal desire for the tires are:

Better ride quality over bumps (willing to sacrifice some performance for it)

Good Tire Integrity a must. (Must not get flat spots overnight and hold their balance)

Wet Traction as high as possible. (I live in the rainshine state)

Decent Wear Life (I know performance tires have shorter tread life in general but 30k at least is my goal)

Of course I would like low noise and other factors but hey I now there is no one tire with all good attributes so the above listed are my main factors in selecting a replacment tire for my Maxima.

Any feedback out there is appreciated.

 

Hey Atomic,
Pilot sport A/S for sure!! I have had them on mine from about 6K miles (have 23K now) and they are FAR superior to the RSA's that came on the car. With the 6spd the traction on these are excellent, they have some road noise, but much less than the RSA's . Just my opinion though

 

Thanks for the feedback. I thought these sounded like really good tires and it is nice to hear from someone that has them on a Maxima. Did you also notice better ride comfort over bumps with these over the RSAs? I know the wet traction tests are light years ahead of the RSAs on the pilots.

Also did you get them for a good price compared to the $259 each I am seeing or is this the going rate for these beauties?

Thanks again.

 

yes the ride is much better, and the traction is SSSSOOOOOOO much better. I was lucky, mine were put on by Nissan to attempt to correct the vibration that I have in my car. 259 is a pretty good price, I run a tire store and that is what they cost me. Glad to be able to help

 

needed to know i am a 3rd gen max owner, however really like the 6th gen rims, wanted to know what is the rim size? believe it is 18X7.5 or 8? let me know if you could? what tire size comes OEM on the rims? i wanted to know if it will be dueable on my year? thanks!!

 

I think your correct ont he rim size and the tires that came stock with me 2005 SE are 245/45/18. They are Goodyear RSA tires but I would highly not recommend them to you.
I am looking at replacing them with either Michelin Pilots or possibly Avon brand they are selling over at Tirerack.com. I am leaning towards the Michelins and everyone that has them has given me positive marks on them. There just so darned expensive though. I am going to try and sell off my stock RSA's and see if I can recoup any $ on them. They have like zero wear on the at 12k miles and maybe ebay will net me a few bucks.

 

I just bought some Pilot Sport A/S for my 02. I haven't installed them yet but will be doing it when I reach 50K miles. They cost $198 each at Tirerack.com. I expect to pay anywhere from $12.50-$20.00 per tire for mounting and balancing.

 

I had the Michelin Pilot A/S on my 2003 SE.
They are very noisy on most road surfaces. They are too stiff and the ride sucks. The older they got - the worse they became. At 20k miles on them, they were 50% gone and the road noise was way too much. Handling in REAL rain was scary with them. I've driven enough in rain and snow to know how a tire should behave at 60mph in the wet. The Pilots were so-so. I sold them. They are NOT worth the $200/each, IMO. Way over priced for what they offer. There are better, cheaper tires out there, for sure. I would not buy them again, and it is not because of the price.

I can definetely recommend the Avon 500 for their QUIET ride and GREAT wet/dry handling. Safe choise. However - Avon tires tend to be very heavy. Not so good.

Currently i have the Bridgestone Turanza LS-V and i love them. I drive aggressively and with these tires i do NOT miss the Pilots A/S even for a second. They handle great, especially in not so perfect weather. There is no road noise!!!They cost $50 less and i bet that they will last longer than a set of Pilot A/S.