can a 215/45R17 be used to replace a 225/65-17 tire

Totally disagree. This is what I have on an '03 SE and they rock. As far as road noise, unless you're filling them to 39lbs psi, they're whisper quiet.

I recently had the infamous "coil" problem with my 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE, and I had it replaced at Firestone, which charged me over $400, which was for the engine diagnostic, labor, and the #5 coil, oh.. and they got me for plugs and wires. A little note to everyone... I have been ripped off by Firestone one too many times. Labor costs alone will drain your bank account, and they will insist on you getting other parts and services that could be found somewhere else, much cheaper.

Should I be worried about the other 5 coils going?

yes, all coils should have been replaced. \

To replace a coil, you unplug a wire and take out two screws. A free beer is about right for the labor.

Plugs and wires? That car doesn't have traditional spark plug wires and the plugs are good for at least 60,000 miles. I hope they at least put the correct NGK plugs in it, or you will probably have more problems in the not too distant future. Sounds like you got ripped off by Firestone again.

I have a 2004 Maxima SL. My wife has a portable Sirius receiver (Audiovox SIRPNP2) which she uses in her car mostly, but on long trips lately, we put it in mine. We connect it using a tape-cassette adapter (tried the FM Modulation, but it was noisier than cassette).

With this set-up, I am very unimpressed with the sound quality on most of the stations. It's basically AM-quality to my ear, and grossly inferior to the normal FM radio reception of my Maxima. I am extremely happy with the sound-system of the Maxima, and CD's sound superb, but Sirius, using this receiver, and cassette connection, is quite unsatisfying.

I am considering getting one of the factory units installed, but only if the sound quality would be significantly better. My Maxima is an early model, without the harness built-in, so it'll probably run me $500 or so for the whole set-up, and I'd hate to go through this expense and still have AM-quality Sirius sound. I'm just trying to sort out how much of the poor sound is inherent to Sirius, and how much from the portable Audiovox receiver and connection.

(And I understand that compression and bandwidth issues are limiting factors with sound quality, so even though XM and Sirius are "digital" that doesn't automatically translate to high quality sound.)

For those who have the factory installed Sirius systems, how would you compare the sound quality to your good FM radio stations?

Anybody in my situation, who had a portable unit, and then switched to built-in?

Thanks in advance.

I have an aftermarket (Kenwood) Sirius setup and I think it sounds good. Not quite CD quality, but better than FM. Maybe it's the implementation.

-jim

D> I have a 2004 Maxima SL. My wife has a portable Sirius receiver (Audiovox

The tape cassette adapter is the weak link. Both the FM adapter and cassette type adapters are methods of convenience which sacrifice a significant amount of sound quality. You are not hearing what you can or should be. The factory unit will sound a whole lot better because of it's direct connection.

CD

yes and no, I installed a subwoofer (12" rockford) and just ran a line level converer from the factory stereo. if your installing the works (headunit, speakers and or sub) ya don't want to use the factory amp, I believe it's made pretty much for the factory speakers. you be better suited just taking it out and putting in a new amp.

I have RE950 on both of my cars and they are directional, and they are much better than the non-directional RE92 or Goodyear Eagle RS-A I had before.

And to the original poster, I'm pretty sure directional pattern is there to better expel water from underneath the tire to avoid hydroplaning.

Yea I'm sure you'd write up a service order (and deal with the customer), test drive the car, figure out which coil is bad (and that the coil WAS the problem), talk to the customer again to OK the repair, go get the part, install it, test drive the car, finish the paper work, process their visa card (including having the facility to do the work, the employees to do the work and the paper work, pay for the insurance required to operate a shop, buying all the tools etc) for $1.50? I'm sure you'd do this for $1.50 where you work..

I love how everyone boils it down to the time the mechanic is actually replacing the bad part and expects the labor to NOT include anything other than the mechanics salary, which of course should be at minimum wage!

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reply.

What are the specifics of your setup? Is it a built-in unit, or outboard? If outboard, how is it connected to your radio?

Thanks for the reply.

Do you have a factory installed unit yourself? If so, this is encouraging. If not, I agree with you in theory, it's a question of my finding out if "real world" experience supports this conclusion.

Also, if you do have one, how are the ergonomics of using the factory Sirius radio, in terms of presets, display of channel/programming information, scanning, etc.? The Audiovox isn't half-bad in this regard, and I was wondering how sophisticated the built-in unit is in these terms. (I have the GPS option, so have the full LCD screen, which may effect how this works.)

No $1.50 beer around here - at least $4.00 at the corner bar. The part I was really commenting on was that they charged him for replacing plug wires on that car. I'll grant you the mechanic deserves a living wage, but there seems to be a little sleeze going on here as well. Would you pay $400 to replace one coil on your Maxima? How much to replace spark plug wires on a car that doesn't have any?

Nope, none myself. Just alot of experience with audio.

CD

I'm curious. How critical is cross rotation? I would think that it's just an old school way of doing things because directional tires are a relatively new tire design.

CD

My dealer charged about $450 to replace all coils, but said he had suggested I contact Nissan and they ended up paying part of it and giving me a "deal" since I am a steady customer.

As an aside, I have found that overall, a good dealer will come close to the price of the independent shop and is less likely to rip you off. I realize there are bad dealers out there, but in general I have had good luck staying with my dealership.

--------------------------------------------- "If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?" -Will Rogers

snipped-for-privacy@CarKB.com,

Woops!! I stand corrected, and agree that the RE950 is directional. I was thinking of its precursor, the RE930's that were on the car prior to my 950's:

"Features: - H-Speed rated, high performance tire designed to match the demands of sport cars and sedans. - Non-directional Variable Radius Groove (VRG) tread pattern delivers efficient high volume water channeling to resist hydroplaning."