hello foces, I am planing to put a set of winter tire on my oem(18') rims, I went a local tire dealer they told me I can put same size tire all the way around(235/45/18, my stock tire is F:225/45/18,B:245/45/18), I just want know can I do that? Is there any problem in the further?

 

^^ Yes, you can go all-square 235/45-18” for your winter tires. Your speedo will be slightly off, but very close. The advantage with this all-square setup is you can rotate your winter tires.

--Spike

 

thx, btw is there any problem when i drive?

 

What model Z do you have? Do you have VDC or TCS?

 

You won’t have any trouble driving on a 235/45-18” setup (even if your car has VDC). In fact if you were going to select an all-square setup, you won’t get a compromise closer to stock sizes than running with 235/45-18” on all corners. Your tire dealer is smart.

235/45-18” is 1.33% taller than stock fronts and 1.35% shorter than stock rears (for a combined difference of only 2.68% using an additive up/down scaling calculation).

I run 225/55-17” all-square studless snow tires on my VDC-equipped 200s Z and have no issues. My setup is 2.88% too tall in the front, and 0.23% too tall in the rear (for a combined difference of 2.65% using a subtractive up/down scaling calculation). Your setup is better since it more closely approximates the stock tire sizes (front and rear)

I’m assuming your wheels are 18x8” all around. If so, you can rotate your winter tires without dismounting the tire from the wheel. You will need to remove the reference bolt on the front to swap your stock wheels. That’s no big deal. Buying winter tires is no fun. The all-square setup that your tire dealer recommends allows rotating the tires, and that will give you at least an extra season on your winter tires and save$.

BTW: You will be surprised at how well the Z drives in snow and on ice with the proper winter tires. I’m not sure where in Canada you are located, but if you are in the central Provinces where it can get very cold, I would go with studless snow tires. If you are near either coast where temperatures are warmer, winter performance tires will work well.

--Spike

 

How about this idea? Find some 17 inch OEM wheels or Ford wheels for snow tires. Sell your 18 inch wheels.

 

David, I suspect your advice for 17” wheels is based in the better availability and pricing for snow tires on this size (17”) wheel?

But… Maybe slappy1986 has a plan for his car that goes beyond just winter tires?

I’m guessing here, but I wonder if his plan is using the OEM 18x8” wheels he already owns as a dedicated winter tire/wheel setup, and then buying new and wider aftermarket wheels and summer performance tires for a summer tire/wheel setup.

I'm beginning to regret not doing this myself.

Just a thought…

--Spike

 

ye, im not using the oem wheel at summer. i am going to get a Volk te37sl for the summer thats why I am thinking to get a winter tire. I never drove in the winter since i bought my car in 2005, lol

 

^^ You have a good plan and you are wise going with your winter setup on your OEM 18x8" wheels. It will work perfectly, and you will enjoy driving your Z in the winter months.

Buying new and better wheels for your summer performace tires will make your driving experience much better when there is no snow falling. Please post pics when you get your new wheels installed.

-- Spike