I know this question has been shot out left and right but I am on the verge of ordering new tires from tirerack.com, and need final support! I am looking at the new Bridgestone Potenza RE-11. I have an 08 nismo, so the front is a 18 inch rim, and the backs 19, respectively. Stock tires are 245/40 front, and 265/35 rear. I believe the front wheel width is 9 inches?? The back is 10 inches, I believe. I am trying to go slightly wider, as I have mods planned for the near future to make it faster, and would like to have more rubber to compensate. Could I do 255/40 front, and 285/35 rear. They dont have a 275/35 rear otherwise id get that. My MAIN question/concern is, WILL these tire sizes, combinations work with no problems. Again, my car is an 08 nismo, so it just has the traction control, no VDC or anything. Thanks for any support!!!!

 

Rear tire is 20.9 mm taller than front. I would prefer to see 10.0 to 20.0 mm.

 

is the .9 mm gonna make a substantial difference or cause a problem?

 

You will be fine. Just wanted you to know the overall height difference.

 

davidv, thanks so much. I know you are temperamental of other members plans and stuff , so to hear you say that I will be fine is a great compliment, indeed haha. Im not looking to make the car look weird with wider tires, I just want more tread for my mods and plus these tires, based on every site that reviews them, are getting beautiful marks all across the spectrum. Once i get them I will report back once I put some miles on them and let you know they are. Thanks for the help davidv

 

davidv, one last question if you don't mind. I was looking at another thread, and saw that a tire size of 265/40/18 for the front will fit fine. Is this true? Cause my uncle, who is a performance shop owner says that he feels that a "closer" correlation between the two tire sizes in the front and back would be more optimal and allow your handling to stay the same or even perform better. What do you think? 265/40/18 front, and 285/35/19 rear?

 

The NISMO wheel- tire choice has always perplexed me. 10.0 inch wheel with a 265 mm tire. Remember the NISMO wheel for the 350Z? 9.5 inch wheel with recommended 275 mm tire. So a 285 or 295 mm tire on a 10.0 inch wheel is good.

 

A 265 mm tire on a 9.0 inch wheel is good. What I cannot guarantee is the tire will clear the suspension and fender in turns and bumps.

 

yeah that is a good point, didnt think of that. Havent countless others put 265 on their wheels, with no problems? I mean i know the tires on it now are pretty close to the wishbone, I believe it is (from what I can see looking at that area).

 

Since the front wheels turn (and therefore go outside the wheel well), it is overall diameter that makes the difference and not the tire’s width. 225’s or even 265’s (some guys mount 275's on the front) with stock overall diameter will work fine on the front. That’s true even with a very aggressive offset. Notice that you don’t hear much about doing fender rolling on the front.

I suppose if you went with a really high offset (maybe 40, 50, or more), you could have trouble with scraping against suspension components, but that would happen with 225 or 265 tires.

--Spike

 

Spike, so if i DO put 265's on the front wheels, I shouldnt have any problems whatsoever? And from your opinion, I shouldnt have problems putting on 285's in the back, correct? Thanks for your further input

 

265mm wide tires will be fine on your front. In fact, many members here report using 275’’ wide tires on the front with no problems. Personally, I would say 255 on the front is plenty wide, but that's an entirely new discussion.

285mm wide fits the rear, but depending upon the brand of tire, your suspension components, and the wheel’s offset; you may need to roll your rear fenders to prevent rubbing during maximum suspension travel.

Of course you need to mount these wider tires on aftermarket wheels (OEM wheels are too narrow). 265mm wide tires need a 9-10.5” wheel, and 285mm tires need a 9.5-11” wheel.

You also need to consider the wheel’s offset.

A 30mm offset is safe (you may not even need to roll your ear fenders with this offset), but many here would consider this too conservative and not providing a “flush look.” Something like a 40 offset looks awful (way too-tucked); and as davidv suggests, could even interfere with lock-to-lock turning by interfering with suspension components in the front.

22mm offset is “safe on the more aggressive side,” but may require rolling the rear fenders for the 285mm tires.

Many members here would advise going with even a more aggressive offset (maybe 18), but then you definitely will need to roll the rear fenders.

Hope this helps,

--Spike

 

For the RE-11s, go with 265/35/18 and either 265/35/19 or 285/35/19 in the rear.

 

spike, Thanks for the input, as far as evrything else you said, everything on my car is COMEPLETELY stock. Its an 08 nismo, so it is what it is from the factory. The car is not lowered, and I dont plan on it. It seems the fenders are plenty "far" from contact with the wheel/tire. The suspension is the factory nismos. All in all, the tires are 9 inches in the front, and 10 (i believe) in the rear, and its the stock gunmetal RAYS nismo wheels.

 

Do u mean that I should run the same profile in the front and back, with the 35's? I thought that wasnt good. Do u mean, perhaps, run 265/40/18 front and 285/35/19 in the back?

 

Now, since Im trying to research nd look around, what do you guys think of spacers. Im looking at the Ichiba spacers, the Version II. What width do u guys feel I could go, even before and after the tires go on the car. 20 mm? I dont want the tires to potrude too much cause i think that would look tacky. I onl ask because I dont want the tires to touch the suspension parts within the wheelhouse. Any opinions? Thanks!

 

If your wheels are 9" front and 10" rear, you're good with 265mm tires on the front and 285mm tires on the rear. If everything is stock and Nismo, you're lowered no more than 1/2", and the wheels have a 30mm offset. That means the 265's will work perfectly on the front, and the rear 10" wheels accomodate 285's without the need to roll your fenders.

You're good to go. The setup will look great and handle wonderfully.

--Spike

 

Are you sure that front to rear delta in OD will work with the VDC?

 

Typically see 255/35-19 F and 285/35-19 R.

 

OP has the 18/19 combo.