I noticed that a lot of the wheel and tire packages for 18's come with 245/40/18's all the way around. Is this bad? Is it better to run staggered sizes as far as performance and off the line acceleration? If it doesn't make a big difference I would prefer to get all the same size as I could then rotate the tires and get more life out of them. Also, the non-staggered wheel packages are much cheaper which is a plus. Any input is appreciated thanks, and sorry if something similar to this has been posted I didn't see anything.

 

well the stock wheels on a Z are staggered, meaning the rear wheels are wider than the fronts..

Front = 8.0"
Rear = 8.5"

A square setup is favored, but that's usually for people who are dedicated autox/track racers. Someone like me who has never been to a track, doesn't really care for a square setup. BTW the stock sizes are 225/45/18 and 245/45/18.

But hey if you get aftermarket wheels that are the same size back and front, then go for a square-tire setup. And yes then it would be possible to do a rotation of the tires, just like my brother's RX8, he run's 225/45/18 all around.

 

Interesting that members will give a nod to 4-square while ignoring proper operation of VDC.

 

There has been many different wheel options available for the Z, but not all have been staggered. The '03 to '05 Performance and Touring model wheels were all 18x8 +30. Also, I believe the optional OEM Chrome wheels were identical.

A street driven 350z requires the front tires to be around 26 inches and the rear tires to be around 26.5 inches in diameter. Of course there is some leeway in there for tire wear. However, I think it's important to keep the factory stagger. First of all, I think it looks stupid when people run too small diameter of a tire in the rear. Second, there's speed sensors in each wheel and it might make your VDC, TCS, or ABS get inaccurate readings. Finally, it could cause your speedometer to be off.

I have two sets of wheels. One set is 18x9.5 all around, and the other is 18x9 front and 18x10 rear. I always use 245/40 front and 245/45 rear. It handles like a dream.

If your worried about rotating your tires, trade your Z in for an Altima coupe. This isn't the car for you.

 

I'm surprise that you're misinformed regarding the operation of VDC. As long as all four tires are the same height (or rear tires are taller), the VDC should be fine. The VDC only acts up if the rear tires are shorter than the front tires.

 

Actually you will get a slip light really quick with a square setup if you have the system on , it can happen even under hard accell without slip. Been there done that.

 

This discussion becomes more interesting.

I have a 2003 Performance model (and thus VDC), and in the winter I run all-square (225/55-17”) studless snow tires. I’ve never experienced a problem with this setup. However, I did have a problem with an all-square winter tire setup that was 225/50-17”.

I can’t comment on all-square summer performance tires since I run 245/40-18” Front with 245/45-18” Rear.

I read a problem report posted here by one member running all-square 245/40-18" summer performance tires with VDC.

--Spike

 

When i first bought my Z the tires were shot and i got a cheap set of tires to hold me over and they were 245/45/18 all around and i never had a problem

 

Thanks for posting this information.
Hmm…

• There is a problem report with 245/40-18” all-square on a VDC-equipped Z.
• I’ve run 225/55-17” with no problem, but had problems with VDC running 225/50-17”.
• You report running 245/45-18” all-square (I’m assuming you meant with a VDC-equipped car).

So it appears that VDC-equipped Z’s work best with an all-square setup if you stay close to the stock rear tire overall diameter (26.7") instead of the stock front overall diameter (25.9").

I hope other members can confirm or dispute this, or add more comments to the discussion.

--Spike

 

Haha, It seems as if there isn't any sure answer, but I appreciate the comments...I'll probably just end up going staggered to avoid any problems.