I have to stay with either a 17" or move up to a 19" wheels due to Stop tech big brake kit on my roadster. I know 19's have a better appearance factor going for them but I am wondering if going to a 245/45/17 F and 245/50/17 R will work just as well if not better than 245/35/19 F 275/35/19 R from a performance stand point ?
I am also in process of adding Hotchkis sway bars and did not necessarily want to replace springs to lower it but I assume I will need to go that direction or look like a SUV Roadster if I go to 19's. Is the added cost worth it, very confusing ...help

 

lightness and grippy-ness will improve handling.

you can have heavy, low quality 17's or lighter, more expensive 19's. and vice versa.

grippy-ness depends on the tire you buy.

shorter sidewalls will improve responsiveness but it's not worth it if your wheel and tire combo ends up being heavier.

a smaller overall outer diameter will also effectively shorten your gearing but throw off your speedo and odo. (like getting lower profile tires on 17" rims)

 

keep in mind 19" tires are going to cost a lot more, and you'll have less to choose from

there are 18" wheels that will clear a 14" stoptech bbk

 

It depends. You will get better traction and handling from wider tires. To get what you want, you would need a light 19 wheel which wouldn't be cheap. 18's might be a good choice if you find some that will clear stoptech. I dont know much about what wheels clear those.

 

Unfortunately and lesson learned for others was I went with a 13" (332m) big brake kit and didnt realize at the time that I just eliminated going to 18 in wheels. I verifed this through Stoptech spec's. I am very happy with the kit even though im still trying to figure out a clunking noise in the front when I hit a bump. (sounds like a new thread)

Going to a lighter wheel with greater width seems like the way to go. I was looking at Work meister SP3 or SSR professors for wheels not sure about tires and offset. I would like to save some money and go withwider light 17" wheels and tires but I quess im still considering 19's with 285 in back and 255 in front maybe the way to go. Had I not installed the BBK above I would have switched to 18's and wide as possible without rolling fenders.

Still trying to work through this so appreciate all the input so far.

 

From 17, if you want to catch both rabbits, I'd recommend 18's. 19's do look damn better, especially in front of BBK's, but even though you get lightweight forged 19' wheels that ain't cheap, weight is not the only factor that affects the performance. Overall diameter of the rim also matters. ( I guess spinning mass? I'm not sure how to put this. Someone with better insight can comment on it) Stock OEM track wheels do clear 14" stoptech BBK so try to find similar offset with wider rims. I think if you search through this forum you will come up with bunch of wheels that clears BBK. If you are going with 13" bbk, then you'd have even more choices. As ttsupra said, 19' tires aren't cheap and we only have limited choices to get the proper staggered setup, so 18 might be the way to go. Lightweight forged 18' rims with some sticky tires (Kumho MX, can't beat the price) would be most suitable for both nice looks and performance.

But damn, 19's just look too good on a Z!

 

i don't get it. you have the 13" brake kit on now but you're on 17's? what do you mean you "eliminated 18's"?? won't 18's clear if 17's clear?

 

You sound as surprised as I was that 18's will not work with the Stoptech 13" big brake kit, its for 17's or 19's and verified it from two different sources. It will hit 18 inch rims, even reviewed stoptechs spec's. I believe it has to do with how the caliper mount not the rotors.....The 14" BBK works fine on 18's

 

if you are looking to find out which tires offer the best performace i would check out tire rack. they do a whole lot of research that you can read about on the site and there is a ratings board for each category. I personally put bridgestone potensa S-03's on the rear and just recently put BFG T/A-KDW's on the front. the SO-3's cut down greatly on wheel spin during launch and the BFG's have made a huge improvement to handling tight curves. FOR ME, the issue is price vs. performance vs. treadwear. both sets last double over stock (140) and were cheaper. i kept the stock alloy 18"s

 

Whaaaa .... that makes no sense at all. Depending on spoke design -- virtually any 18" rim will clear 13" Stoptechs (and many 17s will as well). I know for a fact that 18" Track Model Rays clear 13" kit (as do the stock 17's). Call Jeff Ritter at Stoptech -- he will set you straight.

If you want max performance -- get a light 17" wheel (like SSR Comp-H).

OH -- and I would reccomend Kuhmo MX tires (they are cheap and extremely sticky).

 

Good advice just still doing my homework before spending 2- 4k on wheels and tires.

Geez now you've got me doubting it as well so I have PM'd Jeff as you suggested and also gave him the link to this post. Agree he should be the final word on this issue.

 

this is leemik's car, 18" te-37's w/ 13" stoptech kit



this is skrill's car, 18" SSR comps w/ 14" stoptech kit

 

Wow, the way that bbk fills up an 18" wheel looks amazing. I say go with 18" 19" is too large.

 

This is absolutely not true. There are plenty of 18" wheels that will clear the Stoptech 332mm kit. I have the Nismo wheels 18x8.5 in front with 245/40 Bridgestone S-03's. There is about 0.75" between the outer caliper surface and the inner side of the wheel spokes

 

Your absolutley right and thanks to both Durobred and Leemik for putting me on the right track. I should have posted what I found out late last week to close this out but just got to busy.

So here's the twist, I confirmed with reps from both Work and SSR that the 18 " Workmeister 3pc and 18" SSR professors will not clear the 13" BBK from Stoptech (sold for 17in wheels) but would clear the 14" BBK (sold for 18 in wheels).
That doesn't mean that all 18 in wheels wont work with the Stoptech 13 in. BBK but if you have a certain set of wheels in mind you need to do your homework before buying a 13" kit and assume it will clear all 18 in wheels.
Stoptech puts it this way "More important than the diameter is the clearance between the face of the caliper and the inside of the wheel spokes. Wheel width and offset have nothing to do with this clearance area; it is strictly a function of the spoke design."
So bottomline is spoke design on the two specific wheels I am interested in won't work . Just my luck
So for those of you that may have been following this thread, I have decided I want the SSR professors (black with polished rim) and I am keeping my 13 in BBk from Stoptech. Tranlated I will upgrade to 19 in wheels instead of changing my choice of wheels.

Again thanks to all who contibuted

Dunc

For Reference here's the link for the spec : http://www.stoptech.com/wheelfitchart/nissan.htm

 

Whew...sorry I missed this post. Thanks to all of the StopTech customers who set this gent straight!

Our wheel fitment guidelines mean that you need AT LEAST X sized wheel to clear the brakes:

13" rotor= need at least a 17" wheel
14" rotor= need at least an 18" wheel
15" rotor= need at least a 19" wheel

Again, sorry for not catching this one sooner Dunc!