2009 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV Long Term Update 4

"I had the Maxima for the July 4 weekend and decided to escape the confines of Los Angeles and make the 7500-foot climb up Highway 330 to beautiful Big Bear Lake," says video producer Mike Suggett.

So how did Mad Max do? "The stiffer suspension and heavier steering (which can be taxing on crowded L.A. streets) actually made tackling the twisty mountain roads quite a bit of fun. And the 290-horsepower V-6 managed to haul four passengers and a trunkful of luggage and groceries up the 18-mile pass without a sweat.

"In fact, the drive up was so rewarding, I couldn't wait to see how she'd do going down the hill." As things turned out, Suggett would have to wait a bit longer than he expected.

"Unfortunately, some rocky debris on the mountain roads intervened, and I put a puncture in the sidewall of the front driver-side tire. After phoning around for hours, we were unable to find anyone who could replace the summer Bridgestone RE050A -- most places didn't carry the specialty tire, while others were simply closed up for the holiday. In the end, I crawled down the mountain on the spare doughnut, dreaming of what could have been."

Since the remaining three Bridgestones were close to visiting the rubber recycling bin -- 2/32-inch of remaining tread depth meant about 3000 more miles -- we replaced the full set. We also didn't want one brand-new tire mixed with three worn tires to upset the dynamics of the car. A call to the Tire Rack rendered a set of Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires. Similar to the Bridgestones, the Dunlops are maximum performance summer rubber, but sport a higher speed rating and promise longer tread life and improved wet traction.

In the meantime, Suggett is planning to take another trip to Big Bear, if only to experience the downhill thrills the Maxima has to offer on a fresh set of sticky shoes.