Here they are, just need some tires now. They are stock 1993 FD 16x8" wheels. Lets here some opinions!!

The dates on my camera aren't correct, oh well...

 

Ummm... nice shade of gray.








J/K - what do those weigh? What size tires are you running?

 

13lbs I think. I know they are alot lighter than stock. The tires on there now are a 245/50 16. When I get my Auto-X tires I will be running 225/50 16. Hopefully they will work. I am new to this Auto-X thing. I am doing my second event the 22nd of this month. I'm excited!!

 

Why would to go with a 225 width tire for autocross? I would look for atleast a 265.

 

I'm with Tony - you need to squeeze something wider that 225 on there. Hell, OEM tires are 225/245 on 8" wheels. I've got some 265s on 8" wheels now for autox. Not sure what your choices are in 16" diams though.

I assume you run in BSP - what's your local competition like in that class?

 

I'm not too sure about your rim & tire selections. IMHO, I would have gone with 17" rims at a minimum, which would have given you wider selection on tires (245s at a minimum, 265/275 as optimum).

 

what's the driving impressions on the 16" wheels?

 

man, that probably feels like mush with those big *** sidewalls

 

That should work well. The lugs nuts are easily accessible. Too much sidewall? Hell add 5 pounds. That will keep you off of the sidewall. This is only your second time out. You have plenty of time to experiment with bigger wheels and tires.

 

Back in the day when the RX7tt was hot stuff in SS everyone ran 245-45-16s on those wheels. Do keep an eye on them as the early, lighter version, of that wheel did crack.

As far as a 265, a lot of the F body guys in T2 and FS run the 265 V710 on a 16X8 in wheel, it fits fine.

 

The SCCA T-2 F body guys are required to run that 8 x 16" wheel, its in the rules. A 16" wheel on the Z car seems very inadequate, especially when you can run 18" and have a huge selection of tires.

 

A 265/45-16 Kumho V700 Victoracer will fit that rim and is a good handling, lower priced, long lasting tire. It will help you go a long way to learning the sport. Right now the performance limitation is your skill and ability so don't worry about having the best or the fastest on your car.

 

If I go wider on the front the tire will rub the upper control arm. I had to use spacers on the front. I'm thinking if I go to a 225 in the front I will not have to use the spacers.

The BSP competition isn't too great up here. Not alot of cars in that class. I am still running Novice and doing pretty good. I am running faster laps than Vettes and Mustang GTs. Which to me isn't that impresive. My first time out I placed 10th out of 15 and 70th out of 89 over all.... And didn't hit a single cone.

Any advice would be great. I need brakes next but don't have alot of money.... Thought about stoptech slotted rotors and hawk hps pads with the stock calipers... I am new to all of this so don't be too hard on me...

 

Brakes are not a factor in autocrossing, unless of course you have none at all.

 

That would only be because the wheel you chose does not have the right offset for a 350z. Spacers are ok, but hubcentric, like the Eibachs, are best.
If you aren't hitting cones as a novice, you aren't using enough of the course.
If you upgrade the brakes to a larger rotor, you may need new wheels anyway. Even the OEM Brembos don't fit under some 16" wheels.

I would have grabbed 16x8.5 Z32 wheels for all around, and ran a 265/35 at all four corners. They can be had for little investment.

 

I may attempt to find some of those. I went with the stock FD wheels because they were so cheap. Unfortunately I don't have alot of money to spend right now. I'm a noob at this auto-x stuff, especially in a rwd car. But it is something I would like to start doing on a regular basis. I fugured getting the FD wheels was a start...

 

Have you ran on the FD wheels yet? How are they working out? I have a pair sitting in my garage from my old car(93 FD) and wasn't aware that they would even fit on my 06 Z. I suppose I could buy 2 more and do the same thing you did if they do work well. It would save me from buying a full set of new wheels for autocross.

 

I'd use those on the front, and two other wheels (I have seen super deals on CL for just two wheels) for the rear. Lots of Z32ers sell the TT 16x8.5" wheels for about $50/wheel. Note for anyone else considering: The Z32 wheels do NOT fit over Brembos. Some 16s may, but the 90-96 300ZX wheel does not.