WetDry

My Maxima 04's OE tires were ContiTouringContact CV95. I don't know about anyone else, but I did not like these tires. Wet traction was horrible. My tires always slipped under. And ride comfort was not pleasant either -- ever pothole was a major bang.

So, I checked on the internet for any reviews on my tire. And sure enough, these tires rated extremely poor and the consumer reviews all ranted about it's lackluster quality. At recommendations from TireRack and Epinions, I bought the ContiPremierContact. Talking about a major difference. WOW! Nissan should have had these tires for OE. Tread wear is better. Although the CV95 are "Permance Tires" vs. my new ContiPremierContact's being "Touring Tires," the performance says it all.

Definitely recommend anyone who has the crappy CV95's to change to these.

lightonthehill

I would bet the 'ContiPremierContact' costs more than the 'ContiTouringContact'. Auto manufacturers are notorious for putting the cheapest 'name rubber' on cars, except for special/limited production vehicles. I would mention the SE's Goodyear RSAs as another example, but that might conjure up bad memories for our SE friends.

I am getting very good service from my 'ContiTouringContacts', but am probably much easier on them than most drivers. I will definitely look first at the 'ContiPremierContact' when it comes time to replace my rubber.

Thanks for the input, WetDry.

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Depends what you are looking for in a tire. When my tires go, Im thinknig about Yokohamas or Michelin Pilots because I love performance and these tires deliver performance. I figure my traction control will help if it rains.

WetDry

I thought about the michelins and the yokohamas also, and the michelin pilots did not come close to the contipremiercontacts. The Yokohama Avid H4S was the only tire that came very close to beating the ContiPremierContacts. Three things caused me to choose the Conti's over the Yoko's.
1. Mileage. Yoko's are Performance with 60,000 treadware. The Conti's are Touring with 80,000.
2. Wet Traction. Conti's were rated better than the Yoko's.
3. Snow Traction. Where I am at, this is important. The Yoko Avid H4S were rated lower than the Contis.

But, Yoko beat Conti on Ride comfort and noise level. So it depends on what you're needs are.

As for price, my Contis were $125/tire. Online, they were $112, so the price difference of getting online versus at a local tire shop was negligible. The Yokos, if I went with those were $111 online and $120 at the shop.

As for the Michelin Pilot, I never looked twice on it after seeing the poor rating and reviews on the sites. Check em out and do some research before you by.

peace...

WetDry

As for good service on the ContiTouringContacts, have you gone past the 15K-20K mileage? When checking the reviews, I heard horror stories about them after the 15K-20K mileage -- about how rapid the performance shot down. Two reviewers talked about some hairy situations due to the suddenly performance drop. I was at 12K and didn't want to take the risk. While I couldn't complain too badly about these tires, they were mediocre. And like I said, already, I felt a little worried with them on highway and on wet roads.

But after the Premiers... oh baby! talking about hugging the road... It rained last night on my way home. And once, when my TouringContacts would slip under when I put a little gas at stop lights, no problem with any spinning whatsoever with these babies...

Now, I know... they're still brand new and it may be too early to tell. but I just bought the car 4 months ago, and I remember the feeling of the car when i drove it off the lot 4 months ago and the new tires i have on now: and trust me, my car feels so much better on the wet roads now then it did 4 months ago with THOSE set of "new tires."

PETZUK

I have Conti Premiers on a Leagacy and a Taurus. They are terrific in wet and snow conditions.... Very comfortable on dry roads too.

Highly recommended. They'll be on my Max when the Goodyears die.

jackconly

Our Maxima came with Contis, and one developed a blister after 6,000 miles, so we went to Consumer Reports and, with Consumer's highest rating, got the Potenzas -- couldn't be happier.

Mike_TX

You must not be aware the RSA's on our SE's list for close to $400 a pop. They can be had for around $275 apiece at most Goodyear dealers, since they don't really expect anyone to really pay 400 bucks for them, but even at $275 a tire, that's big money ... well over a grand for a set of four!

Ain't exactly what I'd call the "cheapest 'name rubber'"!

Mike

lightonthehill

WOW, Mike_TX; I had no idea the RSAs were so expensive! For that kind of cash, I would have expected fewer complaints about them.

That is very disappointing to me. The name 'Goodyear' used to stand for something. For that price, Goodyear should have been able to come up with a very solid tire. I certainly hope the ContiTouringContacts on the SL are not quite as costly. I wonder what the ContiPremierContacts cost per tire?

Mystery

Yeah the good year's cost alot. When i went to get mine replaced i was shocked at the 1200 quote i recieved. I actually chose to go with contiextremecontact tires. Wow what a difference. I no longer fear the rain, and on top of that they are great on snow. Still costed a grand but, they were well worth it for sure.

NIKV69

For my money Michelin makes the best tire. I had the XGTs on my last car and in rain and snow the traction was unreal and I got over 50,000 on them. I am surprised the Goodyears are so pricey I have to say I drove out west with them and encountered every road condition and they were great. I have not had any of the issues discussed here but I will not buy them when I need tires.

Mike_TX

I generally agree with you. Michelins are among my favorites, too, but you have to get the right ones. My Beemer has MXM4 Pilot HX's, and they aren't real great in the wet. When there's lots of water on the road, I have to slow down more than most of the prevailing traffic because they start skating all over the road. They're probably the worst Michelins I've had when it comes to hydroplaning. Other Michelins I've had, though, were fine.

I will turn some heads saying this, but my Maxima's Goodyear RSA's are a lot better in the rain than those Michelins. It's hard to get the RSA's to hydro at all.

And as for the splitting problem, my wife's CTS has RSA's, as do the two Jeep Liberty's a friend owns, and all those tires have been flawless and trouble-free.

Mike

lightonthehill

Mike_TX - glad to hear some folks (like you) have had good performance with the RSAs. Makes me feel a little better about Goodyear.

I now recall several posters here last year who took their problem RSAs to Goodyear dealers and were treated very very well pricewise in getting them replaced.

If I recall correctly, you have been running your RSAs well over a year, and carrying only 30 pounds in them pretty much from the start. That would result in the sidewalls being flexed slightly more than those carrying the 'specs' 32 pounds, yet you have no cracks. And the 30 pounds would ride better than 32.

It might be time for some posters with rough RSA rides to try 30 and see what happens.

Mike_TX

Yeah, light, I was one of those who got their RSA's replaced last year at 21,000 miles. And Goodyear did me right.

The Goodyear people actually told me they recommend 28-30psi for these tires (the 245/45-18's), and that the 32psi in the owner's manual is Nissan's rec, not theirs. And sidewalls are designed to flex, so any extra extra flex from running 30psi certainly isn't the cause of the splitting ... it was either inadequate curing or an error in the "recipe" for that batch of tires.

As I stated, I have found a really surprising difference in ride quality between 30psi and 32-33. It's worth repeating that tire pressure should be checked and adjusted when the tire are cold ... first thing in the morning or when the car has been driven less than a mile or two.

Mike

NIKV69

Mike,

You are right, the RSA's were quite awesome on my drive cross country. I caught very bad weather in the middle of the country and Flagstaff was a mess with ice and snow. My car hugged the road and those tires kicked *ss!!

I am glad you posted that Goodyear recos a less tire pressure. I have kept 33Psi in mine but now I will change it!

Thanks!

As for Michelin, I had XGTs and those were awesome as well.

Memphoman

I recently moved from Memphis to Las Vegas. Did the 1650 miles in 2 days, avg speed of 79 mph. As soon as I arrived in LV, with 20K on the odometer, I canned those worthless, noisy, slippery RSA's and put on a set of Goodyear F1 GS-D3's. What a great tire it has turned out to be. Cheap? nah, I paid about $278 per, but, I think they R well worth every penny. Quiet and excellent traction, both, wet/dry. I can't comment on traction in the snow, but... and not a hint of vibration in the frontend.

As always, IMHO...

NIKV69

Hey Memphoman, part time NV resident here!

In Laughlin now, coming up to LV next week. Taking my car to Desert Nissan on Sahara. You have any experience with them?

As for Goodyear, used to like them but I would not buy them. I like The Michelin man too much!

originalstarlit

I have 5500 on my CV's and to be honest I was reasonably pleased with them in dry and rainy conditions. I am not a "spirited" driver, leaning more towards the cautious. The winter in PA has been quite mild so far and the couple of times in the snow proved adequate at best. An inch or two of snow on my inclined driveway proved challenging.
With that in mind, I just pulled the trigger at Tirerack.com and my Dunlap M2's on new wheels are in the FedEx truck. The reviews indicate that I will barely notice any dry performance loss (remember I am not spirited) and the gains in snow, ice, and rain will be considerable. Was not cheap but will make the season much safer.

WetDry

Well, it's been dry (snowless) up until recently. I had the opportunity to test out my new ContiPremierContacts on the snow. And all I can say is WOW!!! It plows through snow like dry road.

I still remember the horrors of my old Yokohama YK420's on snowy days. If anyone out there has the YK420's still, ditch it FAST. Also, check out TireRack or Epinion reviews on the YK420's. The reviews weren't available at the time I did buy the YK's, but about 6 months after I had bought it, the reviews were up. And the YK420's are great on dry and rain, but is 0 out of 10 on snow.

WetDry

Well, the snow here in the northeast got a little thicker this weekend. And I am extremely fortunately to have purchased my new ContiPremierContacts just a few days prior to the snows. These tires are GREAT. They're no winter tires, but while other cars were driving very slowly due to road conditions being icy and snowy, I plowed through very nicely. Once snow got to 2 inches (such as when parking to the side), tire traction began to lose out alot.

kenttz

Anyone have BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2? A few friends of mine have them and they really like how they handle around the canyons. I myself might get these for the Max, I am just checking if someone on here has them.

WetDry

Well, you can go to TireRack.com and check out it's review. It's a stellar 9/10 tire on most of the areas (dry/wet/cornering/steering) but is 0/10 for snow. These are ultra-performance summer tires so that explains its poor snow traction. If you got the $$$ and plan to change them out with winter tires or all-season tires during the non-summer months, that's your money.

P.S. You probably also know that being Ultra-performance tires, the tread wear is very fast.

P.P.S. Unless you modified your wheel size, they don't make this in the OE tire size for Maxima 04.

MaxMus

Yeah, the OEM Conti's are mediocre at best, but my VDC and TC compensates for the lack of grip.

x X CLoud X x

iTrader: (2)

kenttz, i had the Gforce KD for my mk4T, best tire i put on so far.. awesome traction, extremely sticky, and holds 500rwhp + , currently using Continental Conti SPort2 dry.. pretty good tires also, alot better then i expected.. awesome in the rain as well

jrod1014

iTrader: (2)

Poor ratings for the Pilots?!... Link!... I was looking and the Pilot Sport A/S and/or PS2 to replace my sh!tanzas and both have insanely high reviews on tire rack.

You can all say what you want about the Continentals but the Bridgestone Potenza RE92 & Turanza EL45 are the absolute worst Nissan has ever put on a car. I don't drive my car in the rain as a result of the RE92s. =(

WetDry

I was not looking at the Ultra High Performance tires, but only within the Grand Touring. The only downside to the Pilot Sport A/S is the no warranty for treadwear lifespan. Do you currently own these tires? And if so, what's your experience about the treadwear?

SFkid

I've ordered the contipremiercontacts and will be delivered to and installed by goodyear.

Wish me luck. Ditto on the lousy Bridgestone Potenzas OEMs.

Cheezwiz

I recommend either Yokohama AS430s or Yokohama Avid V4S, they're pretty much the same tire except the AS430s might be unique to my area. I sell tires and my customers seem to be happy with them. I know I am.

I hate to say it but my customers are also extremely pleased with Goodyear Assurance Tripletreads. I dislike Goodyear (Mostly due to their high defect rate) but it looks like they made a winner. Oh, and I haven't seen any Assurance tires with defects. Just the Eagles and Wranglers, Generals, and Continentals.

Cheezwiz

Ack, Continentals! They're made by Goodyear btw.

Cheezwiz

If you guys want an idea how long tires last:

Goodyear Eagle-RSA: Workmanship and Materials for the first 2/32nd inch of tread.
Goodyear Wrangler RT/S: Junk, no manufacturer warranty expressed or implied.
Goodyear Eagle GA: 45,000 mile treadlife warranty.
Goodyear Assurance Tripletread: 80,000 mile treadlife warranty.

Michelin Hydroedge: 90,000 treadlife warranty.
Michelin Pilot MXV4 Plus: 30,000 mile treadlife
Michelin Pilot MXM4: 30,000 mile treadlife

Yokohama AS430/Avid V4S: 60,000 mile treadlife exc. 40/45/50 series
Continental ContiTouringContact CV95: Workmanship and Material Defects first 2/32nd inch tread. After that you're on your own! Hello out of round tires and slipped belts!

limsandy

iTrader: (1)

This thread is 1.5 years old.

Cheezwiz

What, people don't buy tires anymore?