I am trying to find a good set-up for my Z with aftermarket 17's. 18's will only be more more for the wheels and tires and technically 17" wheels should be faster. technically, which is the justification I'm telling myself by cheaping out deciding to stay with 17's hah.

There isn't much about 17's considering most people go with 18's or bigger. I basically just want a 17" set-up that can run a lower profile wheel set-up than stock such as 245/45R17 in the front and 255/45R17 in the back while making the wheels line-up with the fenders pretty good.

What depth rims would i be looking for. would 17x9 be good in both front and back? I assume so since I have seen that set-up before.

Thanks a lot, and yes i did search but 17" set-ups are hard to find

 

17's are too small for a Z imo but you need at least a 9.5 front and 10.5 in the back with a low offset and so that wheels look flush if I were you I would go for 18's, but good luck finding some wheels...

 

18's wheels i could afford but low-profile 18" tires are so expensive for my budget. Decent 18's 265/40/18's are 230 a tire. ouch!

I was looking to spend about 1300 on wheels and tires max.

 

that would be a fine setup. I am actually selling a set of 17x9 +20 (pretty flush in the front) with lower profile than stock tires (255/40/17) and can offer a rear set up as well.

I loved it, and I have a thread with details (and a for sale thread for the rims).

they are Weds Sport SA70. check them out. the rears would need a spacer to sit really flush, probably a 10 mil or 15 mil.


just to note two things:

- 17 inch tires are not always cheaper. certain sizes are more than a comparable 18 inch size

- they won't always be lighter, and the rotational weight will not always be as good.

- going lower profile throws off your odometer (reads higher) and your speedo (ditto).

 

What would you recommend to get 18's pretty flush with the fenders? I would rather not spend too much really. As long as they are known to be pretty durable, and weigh comparable or lighter to stock that's fine with me. I only weigh 135 pounds anyway and I'm not gaining anytime soon lol.

 

enkie RPF01 are inexpensive and awesome wheels. Gruppe-S is holding a group buy for 18 inch Wedsport SA70s and they look awesome.

offsets don't change for diameter, only width. I would say a 18x9-9.5 +15 / 18x10-10.5 +15 is a great fitment. will need rear camber and toe arms. front will be fine.

minimum for a decent set of rims is going to be 1100-1200 and that is on sale. tires you can get the Sumitomo HTRZIII or the Vredestiens for 600-800 respectively. they are both great summer Hi Po tires. to step up to nicer tires than those would be Michelin PS2s and they will run you 1000-1200.

so 2k is a budget that I would say you can stay within if you include mount/balance (100), tax and shipping (70).

 

there are cheap tires in 18's like the Nexen N3000 $335 for the 4 tires...that is a good deal, I bought a set a couple of years ago and for my sentra and they worked out real good...
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/?_...2F18&_osacat=0

 

I have never seen a single guy in a Z run those tires. seem extremely hard.

 

Nexxen Tires are good for daily driving cars. I heard they have excellent wet and dry traction however they arent high performance tires either. I was looking at Nitto tires and I have heard good things about them. Will a set of the stock 18 size tires work ok with 18x9 if I decide to go with them or will I need to get either wider tires or cut back on the rims?

I have read reviews and for daily driving (since i don't track my car and probably never will) that the MB weapon which are re branded A-tech are fine for the Z. I guess they weigh less than stock 18's which is fine with me. I would rather get low profile tires sometime this summer but I'm not exactly sure what my budget will be like by then.

 

I agree with your comments except this one: “going lower profile throws off your odometer (reads higher) and your speedo (ditto).”

That isn’t really correct since a lower profile value does not mean the tire has a shorter sidewall height or less diameter.

For example: The tires he suggests (245/45-17” front and 255/45-17” rear) differ from stock OD by 0.66% and 0.84% respectively. That means his speedometer/odometer error is well within specifications, and the difference is negligible (less than 1%)

--Spike

 

I didn't really read his comment. when he said lower profile than stock on a 17 I assumed he meant stepping down in rolling diameter. to go from a 45 to a 40 sidewall on a 255 is about a half inch less in rolling diameter.

you are correct though that lower profile isn't a sure hit on skewing the instruments, but it's something to keep in mind and check. too many people get hung up on the rolling diameter front to rear that they overlook it.

 

That's such a low budget for wheels and tires...

 

i.e. undoable for a rim that won't look like ****. even getting the deal I did on my rims it's impossible almost. I have a set up for sale that fits his budget but that is with two front used rims and two new rims in the back. all new it would be 3-400 more.

stay stock for right now. seriously. if your car isn't lowered either it will look stupid with more aggressive wheels, or a lower profile.

don't do it.

 

17-inch wheels may not be popular but sure that will work.

 

Lots of meat FTW!!1!

A lot of folks have 17's...and they actually use the Z for what it was designed for

 

All you need is to get rid of the wheel gap, and it would look good.