That's a bit to tall of a tire, you will want a 285-35-18 or 275/37-18

Semi-related.....

They still make those BFG KDW tires?? Word of warning to you.... HORRIBLE HORRIBLE NOISE AND VIBRATION.

When I picked up my Track V.1s, the seller had a 6/32nd set of these on them. They were SO bad that even though I tried to live with them, I took 'em off within a week and GAVE THEM AWAY. Put on a set of new HTRZ-IIIs and everything was good with the world again.

Just passing along my experience with 'em.

Mic

I'm on Eibach springs and the 40s cover the minor gap just right. I also wanna be able to rotate them hense why I wanna do all 4 corners the same.

Oh wow... well I did some research on them and just like everything else there was alot of mix reviews about the noise, people stating that there is and then others stating that there isnt or its not that bad. I guess I'll look into a bit more and some other tires.

Thanks for the heads up!

Lots of good rubber available.

I run Bridgestone S-04s and they're OK, not the greatest but I've never had any handling issues with them. But if you like BFG, I hear nothing but good things about the Sport Comp IIs as an excellent street tire. Haven't checked but I'd tend to believe they have them in your desired sizes.

Don't rule out the inexpensive Sumitomo HTR Z3s. I still have that set mounted on my Track V.1s and actually find them more responsive, lively, and as grippy as my current two sets of S-04s.

Good luck!

I'll make sure to look into those.

But before I start looking any further, just wanna know if 285 40 18 would be an issue all around ?

Well, it IS a whole INCH taller than reference FRONT tire (And a third taller than the stock rears) so yes, I'd say it's an issue; particularly if you have VDC, which generally does not like even height setups (square) as it's expecting the ~0.25" bias F to R.

Speed sensors detect the wheel speed as equal (when they should be higher in front) and could conceivably cause erratic behavior of the stability system. Not always, but in theory, that's how it works.

Here's available 18" sizes and note the colors indicating compromise fits for square setup if you insist upon going that route..

Reference OEM 18s:
225 45% 18 25.97
245 45% 18 26.68

18" Sizes

245 40% 18 25.72
255 35% 18 25.03
255 40% 18 26.03
255 45% 18 27.04
265 35% 18 25.30
265 40% 18 26.35
275 35% 18 25.58
275 40% 18 26.66
285 30% 18 24.73
285 35% 18 25.85
285 40% 18 26.98
295 30% 18 24.97
295 35% 18 26.13 Width may be an issue but I've run 295 on a set of conservative wheels for a bit (a set of NON-OPTIMUM for width 9.5s with a "stockish" offset close to OEM +30) - lowered, no fender mods. Not saying it's a good fit but it never affected traction control or scraped.
295 40% 18 27.29

Yes they will be an issue up front, the 285/35-18 all around is a much better combo.

If in buying my first set of wheels doe my brand new to me 2007 350z would this be a good starting point? My z is metallic black and I live on the island of Kauai. (No track and potentially rough roads) I don't want to roll the fenders and not sure if I'd need spacers.

Good starting point for....???

In any event, you can rock a set of RPF1s but if you go with the square 285 setup as mentioned here, there's about a 95% probability you'll need to roll the rear fender lips and cut down the panel bolt in the front - particularly if you lower the car.

Honestly, for the roads on Kauai, I would go a bit more conservative (meaning I probably wouldn't even lower the car); or maybe go down a little in width and tire size from your considering 285s.

Here's the OEM sizes for a Z33 (for comparison):

225 45% 18 25.97 OEM Reference Size-F
245 45% 18 26.68 OEM Reference Size-R

Here's the approximate range of 18s (my recommendations in bold type):

245 40% 18 25.72 F
255 35% 18 25.03
255 40% 18 26.03 F
255 45% 18 27.04
265 35% 18 25.30
265 40% 18 26.35
275 35% 18 25.58
275 40% 18 26.66 R
285 30% 18 24.73
285 35% 18 25.85 R

If you want to upsize from OEM, I would consider the 245/40 and 275/40 sizes, perhaps the most widely used alternate to OE MAINLY due to the proper heights of the tires.

I tell you this mainly because of the roads you mention. A 35 aspect tire has so little sidewall that every nook and cranny on the road will find it's way up your spine. Even here in CA where the "good roads" are very good (and the bad roads are "at least OK"), running 35s can be a teeth bangin' hazard.

So I advise you to consider this carefully. Look at other threads on wheels (particularly the Enkei thread) which shows a lot of different perspectives and views.

Just for comparison sake, I'll throw my car in....

On my "conservative" 9.5 +15 RPF1 all around with the 245/275 I mentioned:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....973c48cdb2.jpg
These wheels made me HAVE TO roll even though I've run 10s and 11s before. Difference is the offset. The wider ones were all in the 22-30mm range.

And to illustrate that, 9.5/10.5 +22 (that 7mm makes a fair difference):
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....d8703db2a9.jpg
The difference is that I'm on 255/285 in this photo, taking up the "gain" in offset with 10mm more tire - hence, they both look about the same size in relation to the fender.

EDIT: These are all run "natural" - no spacers.

Good luck!

So my take from all of this is use the 255/285 ratio and do not lower my car and I won't have to roll my fenders or use spacers? Also will I notice a huge difference in ride quality, acceleration, or handling with this setup over stock? Or is this just a visual thing?

This is my first real car and I've always thought wheels were a waste of money but I'm here because every guide says that wheels is the biggest upgrade. Would the Michelin sport 2s work with this setup? Or what tire should I be aiming for since the weather is always 70s and 80s here?

Aloha! Just as a guide, the stock 18" rims with the 225/245 stagger has been working well for me here on the east side. I'd be sketch to go much lower. Potholes are everywhere here. Right now you got decent road out west but east side's turn is coming.

And I'm kinda digging these Vietnamese tires too (iMove gen2) - I mean I wouldn't buy them myself but they're not so bad..basically a Bridgestone clone. I'll wear them down a bit and get some Michelins or something. I even like these stock 18" rims. For some reason I don't see many z cars with them when I look at google images.
Oh - this is fun.
Google images of 350z coupe vs convertible. Pretty much 100% of the coupes have massive mods and almost 100% of the roadsters are stock. Must be a demographic thing. ;-)

Short answer, this is not for you. Front requires added camber from aftermarket arms and the rear requires a roll.

No, note what I said...

"...there's about a 95% probability you'll need to roll the rear fender lips and cut down the panel bolt in the front - particularly if you lower the car."

There's no guarantee you won't have to roll the lips. Lowered or NOT. 285s are fat and even a stock height Z may still bump the bottom of the lip particularly if you run +15 offsets. If you run +25-30mm offset wheels, 9.5 or maybe even 10.5, you run less risk of running afoul of the fender.

FWIW, my rears are rolled and sealed nearly all the way up in the pics in above post.

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I'm tending to agree with 1800 here because of the condition of the roads on your island. The extra "cushioning" of the 45 aspect sidewalls will help reject damage and maintain some ride comfort from potholes. (Gee, feel old..... I remember saying that about 60-series tires compared to 50s... :icon17:)

Another suggestion would be, if you want more performance and a bit more in the looks department, run a set of RPF1s (or whatever you choose from the million wheels available) in the more than acceptable 8.5F/9.5R configuration. I also have a set in those sizes with reasonable offsets in the mid-20s and it looks juuuuuust fine. And coupled with a set of my reference tires, handles very well.

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Listen to terrasmak, he knows his stuff and has BTDT!

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About spacers: NO spacers required for anything under +30mm offset. Keep your offsets sane. +15 at the most extreme but preferably in the mid-20mm range.

About tires: Can't go wrong with Michelin PS2, PSS. Great tires. For the weather conditions, I'd ALMOST say you can stick with Max Performance or Ultra High performance graded tires but given the high incidence of rain, make sure whatever you get has a good wet weather rating, be it either of these categories or even an Ultra High Perf All Season. The tradeoff on performance isn't that big of a deal for the roads there.

But just for reference, I run Max Perf on all my tires (California) and they're respectable wet tires. But then again, I don't drive on them in rain much. I have my other cars with UHP A/S on those since they're "Basic Transport" vehicles, not canyon carvers.