Juanfe355

Hey guys I have an 2008 350. Its the San Marino blue (dark blue). So I've gotten to the point where im pretty much done working on the interior (for now ;p). I stayed with the dark blue theme and added some black carbon fiber wrap here and there. Now im moving on to the outside! First I want to invest in some new rims and upgrade the calipers.
What color rims/calipers do you guys think would look good with the San Marino blue???
It currently has the stock hyper silver finish 18" rims and stock calipers.

Its my first z and first car I put any work into, all your suggestions are welcome !

The pic attached is one I got off of google but its basically the same exact thing.

turboed350z

Volks te37. Mag blue.

Red caliper with blue "brembo" words.

If youre gonna go with carbon fiber theme, a vented carbon hood is a must.

Just my .2

n0smoke

iTrader: (1)

Nice looking ride.

The prior owner painted mine a gold color. I kinda like it so I'm gonna keep it. Even purchased some ricey gold anodized aluminum valve caps for good measure.

Juanfe355

I like the caliper idea, Ive been looking at some brembo's. Ill see if I can find some like that. Yeah Ive been considering a new hood down the line, for now the wheels and calipers should be enough damage to the wallet >.<

Juanfe355

I looked at some gold calipers but Im not to big on it, I kinda liked a more yellowish color with the blue, kinda like a rrari

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

OEM Brembo monoblocks in the factory gold color would be my suggestion. It offers a nice functional contrast to that beautiful San Marino blue paint. Wheels are a personal choice, but no matter the style, a beautiful polished silver finish still does it for me.

dSpaceman

iTrader: (2)

I like where he's going with it, but if you're worried about your wallet (TE's are not cheap ), I'd go with the replicas Varrstoen ES2. You can get those with various colours as they do powder coating as well.

NoQuestionZ

iTrader: (93)

I would suggest upgrading to the Brembo brakes (on my list for the future) as they look good and perform better than the basic brakes. Wheels depend on your budget and what you want to do with the car. If you like the look of the OEM 5 spokes, just throw some 20 and 25 mm spacers (front/rear respectively) to make the stance of the car look more aggressive.

I would look into an aftermarket exhaust and do a bumper tuck to show it off. Coilovers or springs and shocks would also be visual/performance upgrades. Just make sure you get camber adjusting parts if you go lower than 1".

It's hard to comment on what you want your car to look like.

Steelcyclone

iTrader: (1)

I ended up putting akebono front and rear calipers with nismo 370z wheel on. Picture not the greatest, was super bright out that day and my cell camera couldn't do any better. I know I need to wash her.

Zmandriving

I got the enkei rpf1 in silver from tire rack along with tires. Looks pretty good on my 07 carbon silver Z

bith8791

I have to agree with dkmura here, OEM Brembo's look the absolute best IMO on any color z.
As far as wheels go, I love the look of the v1, v2 and v3 Track/Nismo wheels, if I were you I'd try to find a nice set of these for sale.
I'm also partial to BBS, their RG wheels in Diamond Silver or Diamond Black look amazing but they're not cheap.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Thanks- it sounds like we have similar tastes. Here is a photo of my '03 track model with BBS RG-Rs which were purchased off an ad on this board back in '04. They've been one of the best buys I've ever made and still look and perform fabulously:

bith8791

We certainly do, I think I asked your opinion of the RG-R before.
They're definitely going to be the wheels I put on my z whenever I get around to it.
Great looking z by the way.

Phenom

iTrader: (4)

Fellow San Marino Blue owner.

For wheels, you can't go wrong with any of the typical finishes:any shade of silver/gunmetal, bronze, gold, black.

Brakes can be a variety of colors: dark blue, red, gold, silver/gray, black

I personally went with dark silver wheels and red brake calipers on mine.

Blu Hvn

iTrader: (1)

+1 on the gold calipers.

A simple and cheap "mod" that I think enhances the look of the Z of any color is to replace the orange side markers up front with clear. I have a Daytona Blue and it really makes a difference.

Juanfe355

Do you remember what brand / price your rotors are? they look nice.

Juanfe355

I really want the brembo's but them prices >.<. I think Ima go with some wheels first, rotors, then the calipers.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

A used set of Brembos is certainly less than a good set of forged alloy wheels. Forget about getting new rotors until you get the Brembos THEN decide on which set of wheels to buy.

Steelcyclone

iTrader: (1)

The front are Z1 2 piece akebono rotors ($500), the rear are just standard akebono rotors drilled and slotted (not very expensive).

Phenom

iTrader: (4)

Feel any difference with the 2-pc fronts? Handling, acceleration, or otherwise?

I've thought about getting the Z1 2pc front and rears but couldn't decide if it was worth the money.