17X9 or 9.5 should be plenty 17in tires are cheaper and easier to find and some of them can clear some brake kits. I have 17 on my brembo's with a little space left. As for tire sizes i run 275 all way round but its a personal prefrence thing. depends on the set up.

 

Can anybody explain the pros/cons of going with a staggered setup vs same tire all the way around?

Jarred do you still have a wider wheel in the rear? Or same width too?

 

Go with a square setup, which is the most ideal setup for track and/or street. For track, I have 17x9 rims on all four corners with 275/40s. Square setup gives you neutral handling. In addition, you have more tire rotation flexibility. And if you get "non-directional" tires (I think the term is assymetrical), that would give you even additional flexibility in rotating tires.

 

staggered - helps to reduce oversteer. This is usually more of a concern for track / high speed corners.

square - very neutral handling, easier to swap wheels/tires around to get even wear. I love this set up for autoX.

17's are cheaper for tires...I only went w/ 18's this yr b/c I couldn't find the right rim/tire combo I was looking for (I had very specific requirements)

IMO, I'd run a 17X9.5 w/ 275's all around. Plenty of grip and not too much rotational mass

 

We run Kumho V710 285/35-18 tires all the way around on Enkei 18x9 rims in the front and 18x10 rims in the rear.

-Rob

 

17x9 or 9.5 will allow you to fit 275s. thats what im running now

 

275/40/17s usually have more mass than a shorter 18" counter part. The tire itself is usually the heavy part of the rim/tire combo. I know my 18x10.5 rpf1s with 285/30 v710 (front and rear) is lighter than the old 17x10 FN01Rc w/275/40 hoosier a6 combo. And the 18 is overall shorter as well, so its rotational mass is kept more inward than before as well.

 

Hey, don't you have that backwards????

 

No, what he says makes sense. The 275/40/17 set-up is 25.66" tall, while the 285/30/18 set-up is 24.73" tall. The Enkei RPF is a lighter wheel than the FNO1R-Cs, so it's certainly possible that that 18" combo is lighter than the 17" combo. The 18" tires are certainly more expensive though.

 

so the 17" setup being heavier than an 18" setup just completely throws the performance reasoning out the window. Now the only thing is clearing a BBK and price?

 

I'm thinking about getting some track wheels maybe next month so I'll be watching this thread for you all with experience. I like the idea of 18s like Enkei's. Are there any other makes you guys would recommend?
I'm hoping to get my car ready for Sebring in September and my big old staggered 19s just won't do anymore

 

hmmm...... I may end up getting RPF1's cuz they're so light. I wanted to get Bridgestone RE050's but it seems like they don't make them in the 275/40 size

As for offsets, is +30 ok for a 17x9 all around?

edit: And the entire time I'm talking about HPDE type driving, not auto-x.

 

You will have to evaluate each wheel/tire combo individually. Different tires have different weights, same for wheels.

But generally speaking, if you compare a like-for-like wheel/tire combo, one that is 17" and one that is 18", the 17" wheel/tire combo will be lighter....you must compare apples-to-apples...

 

Yep, I mis-read his post....the 285/30/18 tire may be shorter than the 275/40/17.............my error!

But a 275/30/17 would be shorter than a 285/30/18, and for the same type/brand tire it would be lighter

 

And who makes a 275/30/17?

 

I don't know, I just used this as an illustration of the sizing relationships...

 

If you look at alot of the track 350z's in Japan... they run a the same width front and rear, either 9.5 or 10s seem to be most common running either 265s or 275s. my setup will be 18x10+22 with 5mm spacer 265/35 front and 275/35 rear, hoping to get a well balanced setup.

 

If you run 10s all-around, you could/should run a 295 tire at each corner.

 

Hoosier recommends running a rim width the same width as the tire...10"=254mm...

 

Ok so I killed a tire at the track yesterday. Looking to get a whole set of wheels/tires. This will be mostly for weekend road course use but it will be my dd setup as well, so it has to be a streetable tire.

I'm probably going with Rota Torque's in a 18x9.5 +20 all around. Looking for a 275/40/18 tire all around as well. (this will fit a stock Z right?)

Currently looking at Bridgestone RE050's Pole Position cuz a lot of my co-workers like them. Any other recommendations? Price range $200-300 per tire please.

Thanks!!