Hi everyone, as the title states, I have an 06 base and i'm considering going from the OE 18" to the OE 17" from earlier year models. I think the earlier stockers are still 17x8 and 17x8.5? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Anyways, I want to drop down in size because tire prices for 17's are so much less, and there are more options of performance tires because I plan on autox'ing my car. I'm wondering if you guys see any problem with this plan? Also, should I keep the overall diameter of my wheels the same as when I was running the 18" wheels? Because then I would have to run with a higher profile tire which allows for more crappy wheel rollover during hard cornering.

Lastly, if I want to keep the OE 18" rolling diameter with the 17's, then I would probably be wanting to run 245/45/17 front, and 255/50/17 or 265/45/17 rear? But those are some weird sizes... anyways, thanks for any input!

ChiShi

 

Keep the 18's or sell them to me

 

The 17" OEM wheels were 7½" front, 8" rear. They were wrapped in 225/50 and 235/50 tires. Yes, you want to keep the OD of the tires the same as your current setup to retain speedo/odometer accuracy.

You can go wider on the tires and lower profile to keep the OD the same, but yes, you have to have a taller sidewall.

Are the 17" wheels going to be your daily drive wheels or just for autox? If just for autox, they don't worry about the OD issue. Go for the widest, lowest profile tires you can fit on the wheel.

 

As crazy as this sounds, if you change to 17" wheels (even stock) you will technically have to run BSP. If you sell your stock 18's, just get some aftermarket 17's that are wide and light. Since you have a base model, you don't have to keep the OD the same (speedo will be off though) or maintain stagger.

 

If you want to run 17-inch wheels fine. For proper sizes see: http://www.350zmotoring.com/modules....ex&name=Wheels.

 

You are welcome.

 

btw...PM me if you are looking for a very nice set of oem 17" wheels/tires. 224/50/17 stock bridgestone(F) and 255/45/17 contisportcontactII (R)....over 85% treads remaining through out 4 sale. Wheels are painted dark gunmetal. asking 450$ plus shipping.

 

So I just switched to 18's from my current 17's, is my speedo and all that the same ?? The 18's I went to are 350z rims also, the touring rims.

 

Wheel size has nothing to do with your speedometer or the rest of the car's electronics. It is the overall diameter of the tire mounted on the wheel that you need to maintain. Stock sizes for your new 18's are 225/45-18 front and 245/45-18 rear.

--Spike