I;ve been going back and forth between getting a beater and buying winter tires. I know either way is gonan cost me. But what I haven;t been able to find while doing a serch is the smallest rim size you can buy. Obviously the smaller they are the cheaper the winter tires will be. I have found an alomst new set of winters that were on a police cruiser. But they are 16 inch wheels, will those clear the break, or do i have to use 17 inch? I have the 03 touring model with the stock 18 right now, i'd rather not buy a 18 inch winter tire...

any help woudl be much appriciated.

 

Yeah brake clearance might be an issue. Worst case you might need to get some spacers to push the wheels out. I just bought, from Tire Rack, a set of SSR Comp-H wheels 17" x 8.5" wide, +31mm offset with 225/50/R17 front tires and 235/50/R17 rear tires. The tires I bought are Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22's which I understand to be pretty good in the snow. The SSR Comp's were listed by Tire Rack as a wheel that fits a 2006 350z enthusiast, so I am assuming that there will not be a problem clearing the stock brakes (although I have not test fit them first-hand yet).

I went through the same dilemma: buy a beater or spend some real money on a set of winter wheels/tires? The solution I came to is this: Considering the climate here in southern Pennsylvania, I will probably only run these wheels/tires for 3-4 months of the year. At about 1300 miles that I drive each month, I will rack up 5200 miles per year. I figure I can get about 25,000 miles out of a set of tires so that means every 5 years I need to put out 600 or so for new tires. The wheel and tire package I bought set me back $1450.00 USD which gets me through 5 winters per the above logic.

The other option is to buy a beater for at least $1450.00 USD then pay a little more each month to insure it, pay to maintatin it, find a place to keep it during the warmer months (which is an inconvenience for me personally) and some other reasons. The way I looked at the beater concept is that I would be basically buying a set of winter wheels and tires with a car attached to it, and consequently I would be committing myself to take care of the car, when all I really wanted to do was purchase something that allowed me to get from point A to point B in snowy conditions, i.e. winter wheels & tires.

So that is the choice I made. Now I only have to store a stack of wheels/tires instead of an entire car. And I do believe that in the long-term it will be more expensive to own and maintain a winter beater than to have a set of winter wheels and have to replace tires every 5 years or so.

 

Oh and to focus in closer to your question, I decided not to go below 17" wheels because while saving money would be nice, part of the reason I bought this car was because it looks so damn good and I didn't want to completely sacrifice its appearance just to save a few bucks on the winter wheel package. I think 16" might look pretty tiny, and those tires are going to look like doughnuts on there. If you are looking at wheels/tires vs. beater, I think price wise you can make out a lot better on a set of 17" wheels and tires....maybe even 18", depending on the age and quality of the beater you are looking at.

 

well i'm from the east coast of canada, and we get ALOT of snow.. so i'm not really in the same situation as you.
And i can get a nice reliable 10 year old honda for 2000 bucks, canadian. Parts are a dime a dozen, easy to find, easy to fix, and the engines are buletproof. easy on gas....

I didn't think 16 inch wheels woudl fit, and In the winter iu'm not worried about looks/performance, it;s always snow, dirty, sandy ont he roads...
so... while yo may pay to fix your beater, I won;t have to worry abotu exposing my Z to the salt and sand for 5 months.... it;s a trade off for sure. But if i want my Z to last... i think i'm actuly leaning the other way.
cheers

 

I recommend 17x7 inch wheels with the proper offset.

 

Yep I understand that also. If I had a garage or some place to store a spare car I may have gone that route, if only to protect my black Z's paint from hundreds of little rock chips.

 

exactly, i'll have the Z in a nice heated garage, away fromt he elements

found and old volvo for 500 bones