I am considering selling my Track Rays and getting 18' TE37's. The only reason I would do this is because I would like a wider tire. I want the best handling tires and wheels. Wider is better. Do you guys think it's a good idea or a waste of $$$?

 

How much for the TRACK WHEELS...

 

I'll give you $1,500.00 for your wheels.

Eric

 

Well, I'm not 100% sure I'd want to sell them yet. And if I did it would be with the tires. Also I would wait untill I got the new wheels. I real don't know what to do though.

 

do you NEED better traction? do you track the car?

for a street driven car, they are plenty wide for any turns you should ever consider making. if your going to track the car, or race it, 245 just isnt enough for a car of this size.

if you like the appearance of the track rims and dont NEED the extra traction, dont waste your money, but if you will be racing, then wider tires could almost be a nesessity.

 

Nope, I don't really plan on tracking. I just really love the way a wider tire looks. Also, I do like to take turns pretty hard and the extra rubber could help. Would it be Ok if I went a little bigger in the back with 255? This way I could keep my Rays and get a bigger width

 

yes, you could put 255 on the back without too much problem.

to get a set of rays for a tad over 2grand, +1000 for tires of the right size to fit them, your right around 3000-3200 by the time their on the car, you sell what you have for 15-1800$, thats like 1500$ to have wider tires... pretty steep.

 

or you could just get longer stud bolts and 10mm spacers front and rear and push the stock wheels out to the edges for a great look.

 

Yeah, the more I think about it I guess it is unnecessary to spend the kind of money on new wheels just so I can have a bigger tire.
2003z
I'm going to look into that. That might work nice.

 

And this statement is based on what, how much track experience you've had? PLENTY of members here have tracked their Zs on the 245s without complaint. Several have years of track time under their belts, raceboy, Audito350Z and Hedonist to name just a few.

A 245 is plenty for track events up to anything short of competition with the likes of dwnshift and his crew in the Grand Am Cup Grand Sport II class.

You do make some valuable contributions to the board, but don't pontificate on subjects you clearly don't have experience with just because you've got 275s on your 18s.

 

You can easily do a 255 in the rear on the 8.5" rim. The stock diameters are 25.9" front and 26.7" rear. A couple of options available are:

1. 245/40 - 25.6" and 255/40 26.1"
2. 245/40 - 25.6" and 255/45 27.0"

A 245 in the front will give you a sharper turn-in and more rubber making contact with the asphalt when the fronts reach their cornering traction limit and begin to slide.

Just FYI, here's the difference in width between an RE040 245/45 and an S-03 255/45... It's the actual tread width you're most concerned about. The S-03 has a much wider contact patch even though the section width is only 10MM larger.

 

last I heard the track rays were 8" not 8.5, but I suppose I havent pulled out a ruler on them.

and I have drag raced my Z, so might want to get your facts straight first.

I didnt say you needed 275s to race, I said there was no reason to have 275s on the street. perhaps you missed that or didnt understand.

ok? good.

 

ya heard wrong. the rays are 8" front and 8.5" rear. don't comment unless you know for sure

 

Drag racing? Uhhh, yeah. That's what I consider track time. Going in straight lines. WOO HOO! I'm talking about tracking the Z, you know, on a road course with turns?

You specifically said:
if your going to track the car, or race it, 245 just isnt enough for a car of this size.

I'm sorry, but track or race doesn't mean drag strip to me. Furthermore, why do you think you need a 275 for a 287 HP car? This isn't a 1000HP Supra. You'd be much better off running a 235/50 in the rear and dropping the pressure if you want to really hook up.

 

ok. sounds good, we should all race with 235s, thats the best way. your 10mm too big tho.

 

wtf does that mean?

 

he said to use 235/50, but hes running 245/45. if the 235 is better why isnt he using it?

 

Because I don't go to the drag strip, sport. A 235/50 on the rear at the drag strip only would give you a more flexible sidewall, one that could compress on launch, flatten the contact patch and hook up.

 

Does anyone have a picture of a track wheel (the 8.5" rear ) running a 255/45 tire? I would like to see what it looks like. Probably pretty bad ***!

 

droideka
Thanks for the Pic. The S-03's look wide enough for me in 255. If I go with 255 in the rear would it be ok to go with 235 in the Front? Keep the same set up as stock just a little wider.