Hi everyone,
My parents recently gave me a used 2002 Nissan Maxima SE. The car presumably came with the original tires on it, but my parents immediately changed the tires, thinking they were doing me a favor. The factory-installed Nissan tires are P225/50/VR17. They cost $200 apiece. Instead, my parents put $70 tires from Pep Boys on the car that are size 225/55/R17, which Pep Boys claimed are an acceptable substitute tire for this car.
I recently took the car to a Nissan dealer to fix the alignment. The dealer insisted that my alignment is off because I have the wrong size tires on the car and refused to align the wheels until I change the tires to the 225/50/17 tires, which they sell for over $200 each! I brought the car to another mechanic who also told me that the current tires are wrong and that there is only one correct size tires for my car.
I am unclear as to whether Nissan Maximas are made in a way that does not allow changes to tire size, or if this is just what I am being told by people who want to sell me expensive tires. I want to know if I can put a different size tire on my car (that costs less than $200!) without hurting the car in the long run.
Thanks.