18's or 19's for track?
 

I'm looking for a new set of wheels and was thinking 19's. Anyone track with 19's? And 18's also? How do they compare.

What tires do you plan on running? And what size?

Look up Tire Rack and Toyo’s web site to find what’s available and get an idea of pricing. Decide on rim diameter and then look for wheels.

You don't want 19" for track use. Your question should be do I use 17" or 18" for track use? Unless you have plenty of cash to spend on 18" track tires or have a a 14" big brake kit then try to stay away from 18".

19 is too big. Start with your stock tires/ wheels and get used to them on the track first. Afterwards, start looking at 17 or 18 sizes. I have 17's for the track. Even better, go to some track days and talk with some instructors and see what they have to say. Mention 19's and they will look at you like you have a third eye or somehting. Many members on the forum here are isntructors/ regulars with great input also.

For starters, I would definitely recommend staying with the stocks and learning from there.
-Steve

Most people run 17" and 18" wheels simply for economical reasons.

From the car's dynamic/performance side, nothing prevents you from running 19" wheels.

I don't know about that statement. Well, in 99 percent of cases, it would be incorrect. You are correct, however, about the economical aspect of 17 and 18 inch sizes when compared to 19 inch sizes.

If you had a tire/ wheel combination in 19 that matched the weight of a 17 or 18 set you might have some argument, but then you factor in spinning a larger diameter and low end. On the track for the most part, I wouldn't want to sacrifice the bottom for the top end speed. Simply stated, it's much more difficult for your car to rotate heavy 19 wheels and tires than lighter and smaller diameter 17 or 18 inch sizes.

Maybe I'm wrong....but I think I am right.

-Steve

Again, economy.

Get a 19" full magnesium wheel and it won't weight much.

And you'll have a much better control of your contact patch with less un-dampenned spring effect from the tire.

Plus, you'd be able to run bigger brakes with 19" wheels.

Seconds are gained in the corners. Whatever helps there will be worth whatever trade-in you did in your top end.

OK...I can agree with that argument!!....but let's not lose sight of the conversation regarding a member just starting out at the track. I could think of lots of things better than 19 inch magnesium wheels for my first purchase to go to the track.

About the contact patch.....should we be loooking at wheel diameter or width here?? Tire aspect?
-Steve

I run 19" x 9.5" Nismo LMGT4s all the way around with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s for the track. The difference in grip compared to stock is phenomenal and the weight difference between the Nismo wheels and the stock track wheels is not significant.

In my opinion, if you can afford the tires (as mentioned above), 18s or 19s can be an option for you. It really is personal preference. Just my $0.02...

I'll bet those NISMO's are nice....my new ones arrive tomorrow!! in 18 inch, however :)

As far as niticing grip...again, are we looking at the right factor here?

We're on the same page then. The OP didn't say anything about budget, only "What's best"... So...

I run 17" wheels.

Contact patch: I'm assuming we're keeping the same diameter and playing with tire/rim width only. Of course, the suspension geometry would have to be optimised to get the correct camber curves (more $$$). Tires with bigger side wall are more permissive to un-perfect camber.

You're right on this one. The fact that the wheels I have are 19" doesn't increase the grip - the fact that they're 9.5" wide is the key. I personnaly went with the 19s because I just think they look great. :) But I could have achieved the same grip with 18" x 9.5" wheels.

More the reason to just stick with stocks and learn from there. Less factors to hassle with.

It's funny...I think we get more excited about this stuff than the poor guy that initially asked for advice!!

Tire availability is a big thing here, and there VERY few R-comp tires available in 19" sizes. MPSC is the only one I know of now, and I'm not even sure they have it in the sizes that work for the Z. Another thing to think about is that a lot of the track tires available in 17" and 18" fitment with 265 or 275 widths allow you to run a slightly smaller diameter tire without ending up with rubber-band-like tire wall height. I like a little protection if I drop a wheel off the pavement.

Hoosier makes 19s... nothing smaller than a 315 as they are really for the vett...

Yeah, kind of over doing it a tad… :D

wow! I wasn't expecting this many responses. I have a 14" stoptech BBK (4 wheels) i will be putting on when i get these new wheels. Otherwise I would have stuck with 17's for track and gotten 19's for cosmetics/ street use.

I think 19's look a lot better on the Z but I've heard that there are certain physics of the 19" versus and 18" that affect lower speed cornering. Anyone have experience tracking with 19's? Oh btw dnguyent, the point about rcompound tires being very limited for 19's is a good point to consider also...
The wheel I'm 90% set on buying is the volk gt-s :icon38:

go 18's like nismo or te37 with something like RA1's in 245/35 & 275/35. you won't look back.

I have a set of lightweight 19" Volk CE28N's that I regret buying a couple years ago. They cost a pretty penny, but I think they look absolutely stunning! But, they got curb rashed once, and dinged up by gravel from going four-wheels off at the track several times. Plus, now that I converted to r-comps, I don't use these Volk rims on the track anymore. They are purely a street set now, and they could get ripped off any day or night if I park outside for any length of time. Be aware that some volks (like mine) are anodized. They need to be re-anodized to get rid of curb rash.

If I had to do it all over again, I would stick with stock 18" rims for the street. I bought some 18" Enkei NT03+ with pirelli corsa for the track and love them. If I didn't buy those 19" rims and tires, I'd probably be on a really nice suspension system by now. Instead, I have pretty rims and crappy stock suspension. :icon14:

I'm more focused on track performance than looks now, but that wasn't the case two years ago; when I first bought the car.

Oh, and I got the 14" stoptech, but I kind of wished I bought the 13". I was afraid that I'd have to buy the 14" later on if and when I get faster, but I don't think I'll ever need the 14" now. If GT3's can get by with 13" rotors, I don't see why I need anything bigger. These 14" rotors weigh a ton! Wow, what a learning experiece this has been.

so the 13" rotors fit over 17" wheels? And yeah.. those 14" rotors weigh a ton.. it's like holding a brick lol. I think i might get a set of 19's and run some cheap 18's on the track lol.