So I was all set in getting Continental Extreme Contacts for my 2009 Altima Sedan 2.5S. Now I'm being told that they don't make that tire in my size (215/60/16). I double checked the Continental website and confirmed that it doesn't exist in that size.

What should I do now?

I was told by a few stores that the Michelin Defender is the best all season tire for snow that comes in my size. I've also heard that the Defenders are not much better in the snow than the Contipro Contacts that came with the car. I'm really not happy with the original tires when it comes to winter driving.

What are my options?

Do you want an all season tire or a winter tire? Where do you live? Do you see snow, ice, and temps below freezing often?
Winter tires can't be beat by Blizzaks.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... ar=2.5%20S

Really though, any of these would be just fine.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... =S&tab=All

To me, it sounds like a shop is trying to sell you really hard on those Defenders.

For all seasons, I had a good set of Yokohoma AVID's on my Trans Am in the winter and never had any real trouble with them in the snow at all. They're a pretty decent performance tire, too.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... ar=2.5%20S

I live in Naperville, IL. I've already gotten into one accident this season due to snow/ice. I love my Altima but this is absolutely the worst handling car in the snow that I've ever owned. I want an all season tire that handles snow much better than the tire that I got with the car (Contipro Contacts). Don't have the storage space to have two sets of tires.

Right now, I'm trying to decide between the Defenders or going with the Extreme Contact in a slightly different size (225/55/16). Don't really know what the risks involved with the latter scenario. After that accident and other close calls, I want the best tire I can get for the above criteria. As always, open to other suggestions.

For what its worth, you could use those tires, but they will be wider and have a shorter sidewall.
Generally speaking, snow tires are usually less narrow than stock tires to create a better 'plow path.' Granted, you're not talking about snow tires here.
Going up a bit in size shouldn't be a big deal, however being a new vehicle (and someone else may be able to chime in with regards to Altimas) changing the aspect ratio (the second number) may throw off your final drive ratio by a tiny bit, thus reducing some torque, but tough to notice. The larger contact patch might also increase your fuel usage a little bit, too. On the flip side, the car will handle better!

I'll have someone else check in on this to confirm.

You can always compare tire sizes on http://www.1010tires.com. There tire size calculator will break down every aspect and you always want to stay within 3% and if you don't it will give you a warning.

As far as All Seasons go, we are running the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 on our G37x and they are phenomenal in dry, snow, ice, rain and cold weather. Only downfall is they are more noisy than OEM, but there is no contest otherwise. The new hankook noble s1's are #1 in the category and if they are better than the Michelins and less noise, that is a bad a$$ tire, period.

lebewohl wrote:As always, open to other suggestions.

Conti Extreme DWS is a better all-season tire for snow performance.

And since it's a Conti it's available in the size you mentioned earlier - 225/55/16

I went with the Conti's. Absolutely love them. My mileage did get worse but they have been fantastic in the brutal weather we've been having in Chicago. Thanks again!