Bday350z

I think I am going to buy a set of Wedssport SA-70's for my PPW Z but don't know what to do about the sizing. I want them to look beefy, not stupid beefy but maybe someone could show some pictures of what I mean (18"s that look nice and beefy like track wheels). So I think I am going to go with a 18x10 in the rear and 18x8 in the front, I would like to do 18x9 in the front but i dont think they offer 9. So my question is would that work okay? And what would you do with the tire set up to get them the beefy look. And if anyone had any pictures of how their idea should look please show, thanks for your help, I'm sorta new to choosing tires and wheels and want to make the right choice while on a tight budget.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Before choosing wheels and tires, become an expert with a offset calculator, and a tire size calculator. That way you can make your own choices instead of duplicating what someone else has done.

Bday350z

Here are a couple of examples, not quite as good as what I'm looking for..but you sort of get the idea. I couldn't seem to find the ones I loved.

MR_X

iTrader: (5)

I was going for the same set up as the second car but not as a tall tire. I believe he is running 275/40-18. I was going to get 285/35-18 but the rims are in back order so I settle for something different. but I like the top one a lot better though.

redlude97

iTrader: (11)

To get the "beefy" aka "meaty" tires look, you want to run tires that are slightly wider than recommended for that width to get some of that bulge. On a 10" wheel, thats going to require at least a 295 width, which on a budget won't really work because those tires aren't cheap. YOu are better off trying to fiond a set of rims that are slightly narrower, so you can run the more conventional 255/285 combo and have some bulge, so look for a set of 8.5F/9.5R wheels or even 8F/9R wheels.

Bday350z

Thanks for the help guys, and yeah even if it's not that low cost I would rather go with the 10"s because if I'm going to spend the money to buy this i shouldnt waste my time cheaping out on the narrower.

Bday350z

What brand tire would you suggest? Looking for good performance but not too bad in the rain my current nitto 555's suck in the rain.

redlude97

iTrader: (11)

BFG KDW2's are one of the meatier tires, look into those

Bday350z

So would this set up be good...

18x10 with 295/40 in the rear and 18x8 with 265/35 in the front

Alberto

iTrader: (14)

A KDW in 295 may do it, a 295 on a 9.5"wide would def give you just enough pudge. The 265 on the 8" will look awesome.

Bday350z

So do you think maybe even a 305?

Forest

I'm surprised you guys are suggesting using tires that exceed the recommended width for a given wheel. Going that route is potentially dangerous, but at the very least will reduce the tire's performance.

To get a meaty look out of your wheel and tire package, why don't you use small spacers to move the wheel out a bit. It may take a bit of trial and error to figure out what works best. Or search to see what other people have used. That and the correct drop will give you a nice racer look without reducing performance.

You may also want to think twice about putting an only 8" wide rim on the front with a 10" out back. With that combination, you're sure to increase understeer. I realize many people just go for looks (biggest possible tire out back) without a thought to performance, but I figured I'd say it anyway.

Bday350z

No I want to know all of this because I'm only going with a set of 18" wheels for performance reasons. So any other info you have would be great.

Forest

Sorry I can't be of help with setups on the Z. I only recently joined the forum to learn more about the car as I'm interested in buying one.

When you say performance, I assume you mean cornering. Going for all around performance on this type of car (front engine, rear wheel drive with a front weight bias), you'll want to stay as close in sizing as possible front to rear. As far as tire size, use manufacturer web site spec sheets or TireRack to check for rim width range.

For example a 275/40-18 tire has a rim width range of 9-11". That tire will perform better on a 10" rim than it will on a 9" rim as the wider rim gives the sidewall more support when cornering. Try to stay away from the bottom of the range if possible, and do not go below.

If you can not match sizes front to rear, then you can usually take care of some of the understeer very easily by adding a stiffer rear sway bar. Again, I don't know much about this car, so you'll have to look around.

Racing or track sections (not drag racing though) within forums are generally good reads for this type of information.

Good luck.