19s or fail massively!!

 

17 and under ftw............

oh wait wrong thread

 

I had 18's for awhile and then went to 19's cause the i got sick of looking at the 18's. They just do not fill up the fender enough. I think 19's are perfect since 20's look a bit large and 18's look really small. I say once you go 19's youll never downsize and if you ended up with 18's then you would get sick of them fast and want 19's for sure.
Example, my car with 18's

And with the current 19's. So much better

 

you mean wrong forum.. #sx forum is what you were looking for..

 

i had 19's and now i'm moving down to 18's. The 19's were fine but with the roads in my area, i think 18's will give me a little more peace of mind and i'm looking for a little more performance rather than just looks.

 

The only set of 18's that I personally have liked on the Z has been on Cheston's Z. He's got a set of matte black Volk RE30's (9.5/10.5 I believe) with like 255/35/18 (or wider) and 295/30/18. He did have to slam it to make it look right though. Also, this set up wouldn't work well with FDC equipped cars.

18's have the best selection of race/extreme performance tread designs and compounds while still allowing clearance for the largest of BBK's, but they don't make them in too many widths and sidewall aspects, so it's really best to ask yourself what your goal is with your car prior to buying anything. If you want to go fast and that is your only concern, research first, research some more, and when you think you have it all down, research some more. You'll find that tracking down the width, offset, and style of wheel needed, along with pairing the available race type compounds that are still DOT approved (615, NT-01, etc) is quite hard and frustrating. If you just want to look good, thats a bit easier given there are way more choices of tire sizes that can get you down the road, but still requires a lot of research (or a good company) so you select the correct width's and offsets. If you don't have proper sized wheels, your **** will never look right or may not work at all (i.e. severely hitting the fender, wheel design doesn't clear BBK, etc.)

 

The OP presents a good question. The answer isn’t simple.

Wheel size can make a big difference in your car’s appearance. I realize this is a personal preference, but I think 19” wheels look better on the Z (but not completely… more about this later).

For the Z, the common wheel sizes are 17”, 18”, 19”, and 20”.

From a practical standpoint (ride comfort and cost of tires): The less the wheel diameter, the less you pay for tires and wheels, and the more comfortable ride. It’s nearly a direct relationship (but rises wildly with 20” wheels).

From an esthetic standpoint: 19” wheels probably look best (but, certainly arguable), 17” wheels definitely have an off-road or “meaty” look that is fine on the track, 18” wheels are a great compromise, and 20” wheels look a little like “wagon wheels.”

A good compromise: A nice but conservative look is 18” wheels on the front, 19” wheels on the back, 8+” width on the front wheels and 9+” width on the back wheels, a ½” drop, wheels with somewhere around a +22 offset, and tires sized 245 front/275 rear. That’s a safe setup (won’t rub) that provides great handling, ride, and appearance.

Of course, all of this is very arguable.

--Spike

 

19's are the only way to go in my opinion

 

I currently am on 19s and downsizing to 18s. I think 19s are more cosmetic than a performance gain, though there are some light 19 in wheels out there. I however plan on lowering my car quite a bit along with running a meatier tire. Auto-x events are going to be in the near future, so I think this is a good choice for a downsize.

 

Other than looks, is there any reason to run 19s?

 

I went 19" for a couple reasons:

1) Looks better IMO. Bigger wheel and lower profile tire.
2) I couldn't care less about the marginal decrease in "true performance" as I'm not a real racer...

 

19s = Looks
18s = Performance
imo

 

I honestly don't think you can go wrong with both. If you get 18s, I think you'll need a good drop to pull them off.

 

18 front and 19 rear .. there you go or you can switch .. 18 on the left and 19 on the right .. whichever you prefer

 

I regret 19s. they look great.. they make the car feel sluggish. I have Rays at 26lbs. but, TE37s or LM4GT would have been a much better choice for me.

So.. I'd say lightweight 19 or reasonably weight 18s..

 

None at all.

 

I agree with terrasmak.

But… notice I gave the wimpy-compromise and safe response earlier (18” on the front and 19” on the rear). This way you have nearly the same sidewall height on fronts and rear tires (so it looks good but still provides nearly the same in ride comfort), and have less un-sprung wheel weight than with all 19” wheels (front and rear).

Of course with 19” wheels on the rear, you still have the acceleration problem from a standstill (overcoming inertia that is more difficult with a heavier wheel/tire setup). Although that may not be an important considertion for someone more interested in appearance than performance.

--Spike

 

If I had the chance to do it again, 18's

 

20s fawk 19s.

i have 19s they are boring and small. 18s are for hondas

 

18''s FTW...