Josch0034

Thank you in advance for reading.

I recently purchased a 03 350z and will be doing some cosmetic things to make it how I want. Currently it has 19" wheels and I'm not a fan of the design and the way they ride.

I'm looking at a set of wheels
The sizes are
Front 18x9 +25
Rear 18x10 +20
Car has stock height.
My question first off is will these wheels work without any type of modification and also what would be the correct tires to get for this set up ? I know the oem spec is 18x8 up front and 18x8.5 in the rear.

I have no idea about wheels or offsets so any help would be greatly appreciated. And again thank you!

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

That size should work just fine... 255/40/18 front 275/40/18 rears you shouldn't have any issues.

Josch0034

Awesome man! I appreciate it a bunch!

MicVelo

dboyz is on spot with the tire sizes.

Couple of caveats....

- Just make sure that wheels you get are center holed to fit Z hubs (66.1mm). Or, if you get wheels with larger centers (most 5x114.3 wheels seem to have 73.1 or 72mm hub holes to fit larger variety of cars), make sure you pick up a set of hub ring adapters (usually 73.1 to 66.1 hubs).

- If you are coming from OEM wheels (or wheels that use OEM lug nuts), make sure you can still use them and/or purchase the appropriate tuner lugs for new wheels. OEM lugs use 21mm heads, tuners usually have 19mm and that 2mm makes a big diff when trying to install the wheels with OEMs that are too large for wheel holes.

And if you do go with tuner lugs, make sure you have the appropriate ratchet/socket or lug wrench in the car in the event of a flat after you've swapped over.

-Finally, if you have a Track version Z, check clearance over Brembo brake calipers.

Otherwise, good to go. (Might be a good idea to post up the specific wheels you're looking at so others can tell you if you'll be OK with clearance and lugs.)


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EDIT: If you're interested in understanding the how & whys of offset: https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...t-novices.html

travlee

iTrader: (8)

(driving school)

Josch0034

Micvello that was very informative and I didn't know that a out the hub centric.
I never thought getting wheels came with so much lol but it's good that I'm learning.

The two types of wheels I'm looking at are the enkei rp03 and the cosmos racing xt 005r



https://conceptzperformance.com/cosmis-racing-xt-005r-wheel-set-18-crw-xt005r-18x_p_25247.php

Josch0034

Just checked out the bore size and you were absolutely correct they were 73.1 so I'll pick up the 73.1 to 63.1 adapter rings as well.

MicVelo

Just to make sure before you pull any triggers..... hub adapter/rings should be 73.1 to 66.1, not 63.1. (Figuring a typo but just in case.)

There's a thread on Cosmis wheels here:

https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...ls-thread.html

Just to warn you, there will be those who will tell you that Cosmis are "cheap replicas" and that the Enkei RP03 is the one to go with.

Do your own research on these brands and go from there. I personally would go with Enkei for the possible weight advantage (20.5/22.5 F-R respectively) and the "known quality". (I say "possible" because I don't know the weight of the set you want but seem to recall that they weren't terribly light but I could be wrong, hence suggesting doing a little research on your own.)

From my own "research" (laffing over my own thread) on cheap wheels, I've found that unless I'm headed to the track, the better reps do just fine on the street.

Josch0034

Yea sorry about that typo.

And really you've been a great help man I really appreciate it.

The website I was going to order from has the sized 18x8.5(rp03) as the largest would this be a problem?i know it's taking it back to stock siZe but would the square set up mess with the car performance ? I read that I'd have to just have thicker/larger tires in the back correct ? ( for the rp03)

and awesome thread about the cosmis I was actually skimming through it a few days ago when I first saw the wheels because I have never heard of them before.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

18x9.5 +15 front, 18x10.5 +23 . You dont want narrow wheels

Josch0034

Correction *

For Enkei rp03

18x9 +18 front
18x10 + 22 rear

travlee

iTrader: (8)

wouldn't be bad, i think you would be pretty happy with those

MicVelo

Yeah, I just looked on the Enkei site and see that the 18x9.5 only comes in a +38 offset, too high without a spacer. And if you can avoid them, do so. Yes, I use them to fit my 370 wheels on my 350 but if you can get the right offset wheels at the outset, do so.

There's lots of people here that swear by square setups. I've not tried it (despite having had at least a dozen sets of wheels on my fleet of Z-cars) so I can't say. However, the theory doesn't sit well with me based on how the car is set-up for a particular steering attitude (over/under/neutral).

Theoretically speaking, a car with stock suspension and equal tire sizes F&R *should* oversteer given the rear tending to break loose first due to enhanced traction at the front end; hence why Nissan engineered the car with larger rear tire bias - that is, to keep the car closer to neutral and actually leaning towards understeer to keep them (Nissan) from getting sued for oversteer induced skid outs.

But everyone here that runs squared seems to like 'em that way - possibly because it is, in reality, fairly neutral; so who am I to judge?

I'm more from the school of thought of keeping the stagger - keeping the tires reasonably sized for good heat up - and altering steering attitude through mechanical means (that is increasing/decreasing roll stiffness to suit me via sway bars, shocks, springs, alignment).

But I'm sure someone will step in to counter this. (And I welcome it to learn more about what people like about square setup BESIDES tire rotation. )


Trav espouses some realistic and solid numbers.

However, interestingly, I don't care much for such a low front offset. It looks great and I'm clearly in the minority here as +15mm IS the hot set up and really pretty good for ultimate grip at the limit when combined with a good camber number set at the front & rear.

HOWEVER, I don't like it because of what it does to steering response. I will gladly trade off a little grip at the upper end in order to preserve how quickly the car reacts to turn-in and return. I ran my "test wheels" (in my "replicas" thread) at something like +17 or +19 and hated it. Ugh ugh ugh.

Took off the spacers and am now running the fronts at the wheel's natural offset of +34. Doesn't look as good but the car feels sharp and crisp again with no appreciable loss of ultimate grip. (Note: that would change if I had them on the track and I'd need every bit more grip I could find but this is not a track car.)

In any event, that's more than you asked about but figured a little history and explanation to my madness might give you some additional food for thought.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i ran a 9.5 +23 in the front with minimal camber and it looked good.

Josch0034

Trav what size tires would be reccomended for that enkei set up I had posted ? Y'all are life savers ! I'm digging through the forums now looking into it more and really I appreciate all the information.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

already been answered sir, could prob get away with a 245 up front

MicVelo

Same as what dboyz recommended way earlier.... 255/40 and 275/40-18


18" Sizes

225 45% 18 25.97 Stock Reference Size
245 45% 18 26.68 Stock Reference Size

245 40% 18 25.72 Front Alternate
255 35% 18 25.03
255 40% 18 26.03 Front Alternate
255 45% 18 27.04
265 35% 18 25.30
265 40% 18 26.35 Rear Alternate
275 35% 18 25.58
275 40% 18 26.66 Best Rear Alternate
285 30% 18 24.73
285 35% 18 25.85
285 40% 18 26.98 Rear Alternate
295 30% 18 24.97
295 35% 18 26.13
295 40% 18 27.29
305 35% 18 26.41
305 40% 18 27.61

Trav, beat me by 2 minutes.... dang you!! Hahahaha. I have an excuse.... new/diff computer with no Excel installed. (Until right now.)

Josch0034

Thanks guys had a idiot moment right there. I'll order them tonight and take pics after I get them installed. Again thank you guys

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

You should take your time and look into all your options for a day or 2... Those will work fine but theirs a million others that will work fine also... I have 18x9.5 +15 front and back...

245/40 front 265/40 rears... I am really happy with them... I spent at least a month going back and forth on what I wanted before I actually pulled the trigger on them...

You could get 4 18x9 +18 and run 245/40 front 265/40 rears and that might save you a lb or 2 in the back.

But im sure you will be happy with the staggered wheels.

Josch0034

Will do dboy. The rp03 is what I had on my z32 and I loved them I really like the 5 spoke look on any car. I'd love to get some more top dollar wheels but for now I'm fixing the car up cosmetically and wow does it cost ! PO had got into a small fender bender and the window motors are shot as well as the seat belt being locked from airbag deployment.. So for now I just really want to get these gold (yellow) wheels off lol. You guys really helped me on the tire sizes and giving me confidence on wheel size I def appreciate it !