I am currently debating between the Nismo 18" wheel or some 19" Volk wheels. While there is little argument from me that the 19" wheels look better on our Z, I am leaning towards the 18" wheels for slightly better performance and protection from potholes. Living in California, our potholes are very common and DEEP and will not be repaired soon because of our fiscal problems. Has anyone experienced any damage to their 19" rims because of potholes or is this an overblown worry?

 

If you are going for performance get the 18"s, no doubt. The larger the wheel the more rotating mass it takes to drive your vehicle.

 

Yeah, 19's aren't for driving on. They're for Garage Queens. A set of strong 18's will survive longer on bombed-out California roads. 30 or 35 series tires are so thin, you're begging for eggs and dings on your rims.

 

ive had my cheapo adr's on for about 8 months now w/ 35 series tires all the way around ... i drive on really shitty houston roads, hit a few potholes ... rims are still perfect.

 

One of my 19's got bent from a pothole. I cost me $120 to get it repaired.

 

Oh....I guess the 2000 trouble free miles I've had on my Volks and Toyos are a mistake.

 

If you get a good, well-made wheel like Volk then 19"s will hold up against most potholes.

 

quote:
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Originally posted by Blue Liquid
Yeah, 19's aren't for driving on.
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Oh....I guess the 2000 trouble free miles I've had on my Volks and Toyos are a mistake.


19's are not a problem at all to drive on ...
it's all about bieng careful when you drive. ive got about 10k miles on my 19's ... not a single problem.

 

For the two girls who got upset by my comment, here's a tissue, please wipe your tears.

TimZ was concerned about performance and pothole issues with 19's vs. 18's. The fact is, a 19 inch wheel runs a lower series tire, on average, than an 18. Therefore, if/when he hits a pothole, he will stand a greater chance of damaging the vastly more expensive 19 inch wheel. I am glad you guys have so far avoided any nasty potholes. I'd consider yourselves fortunate or lucky. I run 17's on my cars and even though I was running on a 50 series tire I still managed to slightly deform a wheel by hitting a huge pothole by accident in north Jersey, so it can happen on any wheel. The fact is, it's more likely to happen on a 19 than an 18 since you'll have lower series tires on. He also mentioned performance. 19's are for bling factor, nothing more. The tires available in 19 inch sizing are cheesy when it comes to performance. There aren't nearly as many decent 19 inch tires because few serious about sports car performance will run a 19 inch tire. He'll have a far superior tire selection going with an 18. Thats why I said that 19's arent for driving on.

 

I got all the tire selection i need in 19 inch between toyos and the bridgestone s-03's, and my new 19's are lighter than my old 18's. I don't see where i lose performance.

 

I'll tell you where. In the fact that you have a larger overall rotating mass. Without hikacking this guys thread, there are tons of other threads which beat that horse for you. 19 is always bad for performance, when compared to a smaller wheel. To argue the contrary is fruitless.

And I won't argue that the SO-3's are an ok tire. But dont try to say you have a good selection. This is interesting how all the 19 inch guys (many) are getting so worked up about this. Maybe you guys regret your decision???

 

I run 35 series on my 18" wheels due to large tire width (295). You want to be within 1.5 % of outside tire diameter of stock tire to have ABS etc work.

Remember, series tire is based upon a percent of tire width. In otherwords I got a 35 series 295 tire thus 35% of 295 is 103mm wall ht. If I had a narrower tire with the same series tire, the wall ht would be lower.

Yes, 18" wheels have less rotational mass. Remember every 6lbs of wt on a wheel = 1 hp loss and the wheel weighs a lot more than the rubber tire thus 19" equals less hp to wheels. Now some of you might understand why I went 18" rather than 19? I want a combination of looks and performance and 18 seemed like the best combo for my taste but if you like 19", I understand.

 

nothin wrong with 19", they look great, better than 18" IMO, but I still have 18"

if you get 19" just be aware that it is more about appearance, and an 18" rim would be faster. thats not to say a forged 19 wont be faster than stock... cause obviously it will.

 

to quote you earlier

"Yeah, 19's aren't for driving on. They're for Garage Queens."

Is a bad blanket statement to make. I drive my car very hard everyday... and I've not had problems because I am careful about slowing down and avoiding potholes when im driving on really bad roads.

Generally 18" in wheels will make your car a little faster, as will 17's, but im not really worried about loosing a few hp when im driving around town. - That extra 3-4 horsepower isnt going to make a bit of difference to me.

However, when im going out to TWS, I want to lower my lap times as much as possible ... so of course im going to go with a smaller diameter wheel and some r compound tires (it's also wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more cost efficient).

 

hey tim,
i'm also in norcal, so i know how crappy the road conditions are especially in downtown sf. i have 19s and so far have not had any problems. i guess your decision comes down to whether you want your for show or for go??? if you do decide to get 19s, you can always put the stocks on until the rainy season is over and all the potholes are filled. this way you don't have to worry so much. ggod luck.

 

I've seen several bent / cracked Volks, including two that I had on my Honda. Then again, the roads in DC are atrocious. Hell, even my OEM Rays have some serious balance weights on them (2.5 oz on one of the front wheels)...

From my experience driving in downtown SF, you all have it easy. You should be able to get around on 19s without a problem...

 

I'm not worked up calling people women and telling them to wipe their tears I love that line and say it to people all the time face to face, it's amusing, but i just don't see how lighter wheels plus lighter tires equal more rotating mass? Not too mention added traction from more rubber. I agree if i was worried about tracking my car i wouldn't have got 19's but i drive in the real world on real streets where it doesn't matter that my wheels are heavier or lighter by a couple of pounds. Too me the drastic improvement in appearance far outweighs any loss (if any) of performance. I drive in and around NYC and haven't had a problem with damage to my wheels but i am very careful to avoid construction and potholes, but also i haven't had them too long. As far as being called 'garage queen' I don't mind. I have another car for poor weather and such, I don't race and a big part of buying this car was aesthetics because as you are well aware there are better performing cars for the money out there.

 

My 20s and Toyo tires are perfect. I've hit some pretty messed up dips and potholes before too. Just depends on how strong the wheels are and how careful you drive through bad roads.

 

The farther the weight is from the axis of rotation the higher the moment of inertia of the wheel.

 

hello fellow Z drivers .......gosh i cant believe that you guys are debating about which wheel to buy or use.....well one thing to say about that....for people that is buying 18s is simple they cant afford to buy a nice *** 19s......and so what if the 18s perform better that a set of 19s it is still dayam good!! Anyways...God Speed peeps