I rarely post but since I could not find the answer to my question...

I noticed the 2007 350z have a 18 x 9 front and 19 x 10 rear wheel set up. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to having this 18/19 set up? I'm dying to know =)

Thanks!

 

No advantage or disadvantage. It's purely cosmetic. Your wheel diameter doesn't have anything to do with handling, it's the tire width that matters.

 

Thanks! What is the advantage to having wider tires in the rear? I would imagine that would cause understeer..?

 

No. I think 10-inch wheels in the rear is overkill. Others might prefer to go bigger.

 

Yes, the "advantage" is more understeer. For safety reasons, cars are designed to understeer anyway.

Most people go with the wider wheel/tire in the rear for looks. It just doesn't look right when you have equal width tires all around.

 

It allows for more power to be put to the ground earlier.

Tire size affect mpg a lot too and will have affected the tire choice for our cars.

 

An excellent source of information on staggered wheel setups and how it affects handling is the NSX crowd, another car that comes from the factory with a staggered setup...another thing to keep in mind is that keeping the factory tire width in the rear, but changing the track width (distance between tires) via offsets will affect your handling as well. Slip angle can be a tricky topic, needless to say the OEM setup is very close to optimal.

 

Is adjusting the offsets via spacers a safe option as far as reliability/durability?

also regarding the prior posts about width, at what point does the wheel/tire become too wide that it takes away from our car's performance(acceleration) making it feel more slugish? With the stock 287 ~ 300hp I mean.

Thanks guys this is helping so much!

 

Wheel + tire weight is a significant factor.

A 17x8 forged wheel with tire = 37 pounds
A 19x10 cast wheel with tire = 47 pounds

You will notice a difference, but no on cares. Go for the bling: 19x10.