What's considered safe?
 

I do some driving on the highway here and there, and every couple of months I drive down to Connecticut to visit family which is about 3 hours on the highway.

I've seen some posts here and there that mention blowouts and tires falling off, so I wanted to check because you guys seem knowledgeable enough that you might be able to give me some advice on what tire sizes would be safe.

I am planning on going with:

18x8.5 Front
18x9.5 Rear

255/35/18 Front
275/35/18 Rear

Would this be considered safe for highway speeds? Naturally, I want it to look good, but I also don't want to have to worry about my tire coming off or blowing out or something of that nature.

Tire sizes wouldn't have anything to do with the potential for a blowout - something that's rare anyway. If you buy a reputable name brand tire and maintain it properly (correct pressure, periodic inspections) you should be able to drive it for years without any chance of a blowout or other failure.

I would just get something like a Toyo T1R, it's speed rated for faster than you should be going anyways and is a relatively inexpensive tire for decent performance.

+1

The only time that we've had a blowout on any car was when my wife let her car's tire pressures get too low, then she hit a good-sized bump. Instant blowout.

I make sure that all the tires are checked on a weekly basis (on the Z it's easy -- just change to the tire pressure display).

Good to know, thanks guys.

The tires will be safe, but I would consider a 40 profile on your tire vs 35 on 18s, unless you plan on dropping your car quite a bit.

If you buy tires with the proper speed rating you will be fine.

I think what you are referring to is the "stretched look:" members will put, say, a 245 mm tire on a 9.5 inch wheel because it looks cool. Personally I do not want to be in the car if the tires fails at 80 MPH. But that's just me.

:+1: An aspect ratio of 40 would be better.

In fact the 255/35-18” front is too short if the car is VDC-equipped.

--Spike

So you think 255/40 front and 275/40 rear would look better? I'm open to suggestions as I still am not 100% on what to go with.

^^ Yes.

--Spike
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Edit: More importantly than looking better, the 40 aspect ratio tires will work much better.

245/40/18 and 275/40/18's would be a better fit for those wheels.