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Wheel fitment question

Old Oct 30, 2018 | 07:46 PM
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Default Wheel fitment question

Hey guys new to this forum thing. Figured the best place to get advice about this would be from other z owners. I’m looking into buying wheels for my 04 350z and don’t know what specs will fit best. The specs options for the wheels I want are

17x8 +0 (probably not getting it but throwing out there anyway)
17x8.5 -6
17x9 -13
17x9.5 -19

im on stock suspension now but will be getting coil overs in the future. I would much rather run the most aggressive spec all around but don’t mind staggering. If it could fit all around or if you Any opinions on what specs to get for best fitment it’d be much appreciated. Haven’t a clue what tires to run either so input on that would also be greatly appreciated.

Last edited by @deathwya; Oct 31, 2018 at 04:42 AM.
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Old Oct 31, 2018 | 09:05 AM
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Lots of folks go to F18 X 9.5 +15, RR 18 X 10.5 +15 for street use. 1000s of posts to read here, do a little search work!
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Old Oct 31, 2018 | 09:25 AM
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Is there any particular reason behind running 17s?
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Old Oct 31, 2018 | 09:52 AM
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Originally Posted by @deathwya
Hey guys new to this forum thing. Figured the best place to get advice about this would be from other z owners. I’m looking into buying wheels for my 04 350z and don’t know what specs will fit best. The specs options for the wheels I want are

17x8 +0 (probably not getting it but throwing out there anyway)
17x8.5 -6
17x9 -13
17x9.5 -19

im on stock suspension now but will be getting coil overs in the future. I would much rather run the most aggressive spec all around but don’t mind staggering. If it could fit all around or if you Any opinions on what specs to get for best fitment it’d be much appreciated. Haven’t a clue what tires to run either so input on that would also be greatly appreciated.
^^^ What JHC said above (and what Heel is hinting at). Here's why...

No clue where those fitments are coming from but if you look carefully, as your widths go wider, so are your offsets, pushing the wheels that much further out. (Case in point: your hypothetical 17x9.5 -19 pushes the wheel out 2.5" (61mm). Clearance issues are highly probable. But if you have the room (you don't), no problem with that but while the offsets are aggressive, the wheel widths (and proper tire sizing to fit; being the more important part for true handling improvements) are pretty non-aggressive because you're limiting the tire sizes you can put underneath.

Your widest, 9.5" hypothetical wheel, is about the STARTING POINT for real rubber. You don't mention tire sizes and I'm going to say you're limiting your tire choices with "tiny" 17s. About the widest you're going to go on 17x9.5s before running into tire diameter issues is a 235/50-17, maybe a 245/45-17 but then, tire selection is limited.

As pointed out above, 18s are your best bet for proper fitment with "real" (that is, better selection of sizes and brands of) tires. Case in point: there are 7 performance tires in the 17" (245/45-17) cited. Conversely, there are 63 selections in 18" sizes. (Quick search for 245/45-17 and 255/40-18s on Tire Rack).

As mentioned, do more research in the Tire/Wheel section. Study pics and what others are running. You'll find that the suggestion above by jhc is about the most popular set up you're going to find. You can get more aggressive but figure on body mods (lip rolling at least) going more aggressive than +15 offsets, particularly where lowering.

If you're going to do a full set of wheels and tires, might as well start with a known working setup.
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Old Oct 31, 2018 | 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Heel Til I Die
Is there any particular reason behind running 17s?
For my build I want to pay homage to the original Datsun fairlady. The wheels themselves are watanabe RS it was either get the only 17s they have or run the 16 and below which I refuse to do
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Old Oct 31, 2018 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by MicVelo
^^^ What JHC said above (and what Heel is hinting at). Here's why...

No clue where those fitments are coming from but if you look carefully, as your widths go wider, so are your offsets, pushing the wheels that much further out. (Case in point: your hypothetical 17x9.5 -19 pushes the wheel out 2.5" (61mm). Clearance issues are highly probable. But if you have the room (you don't), no problem with that but while the offsets are aggressive, the wheel widths (and proper tire sizing to fit; being the more important part for true handling improvements) are pretty non-aggressive because you're limiting the tire sizes you can put underneath.

Your widest, 9.5" hypothetical wheel, is about the STARTING POINT for real rubber. You don't mention tire sizes and I'm going to say you're limiting your tire choices with "tiny" 17s. About the widest you're going to go on 17x9.5s before running into tire diameter issues is a 235/50-17, maybe a 245/45-17 but then, tire selection is limited.

As pointed out above, 18s are your best bet for proper fitment with "real" (that is, better selection of sizes and brands of) tires. Case in point: there are 7 performance tires in the 17" (245/45-17) cited. Conversely, there are 63 selections in 18" sizes. (Quick search for 245/45-17 and 255/40-18s on Tire Rack).

As mentioned, do more research in the Tire/Wheel section. Study pics and what others are running. You'll find that the suggestion above by jhc is about the most popular set up you're going to find. You can get more aggressive but figure on body mods (lip rolling at least) going more aggressive than +15 offsets, particularly where lowering.

If you're going to do a full set of wheels and tires, might as well start with a known working setup.
thank you for the input !! The reason the wheels are 17s is because they’re watanabe RS and watanabe almost exclusively make 16 and below diameter except for the R17 I want to use. The wheel specs I got from the dealer that orders through watanabe directly and were the only 4 available to purchase on their website. I understand the points you guys are making and will be do more research thanks again
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Old Oct 31, 2018 | 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted by @deathwya

thank you for the input !! The reason the wheels are 17s is because they’re watanabe RS and watanabe almost exclusively make 16 and below diameter except for the R17 I want to use. The wheel specs I got from the dealer that orders through watanabe directly and were the only 4 available to purchase on their website. I understand the points you guys are making and will be do more research thanks again
Ooooooo..... I get it now. I thought about that at one time - and would still love to run a banana wheel on my 33 - but I've NEVER seen a set of RS Watanabe in 5x114.3 (else I'd've probably bought 'em.). I think motiveJapan offers them custom drilled but not sure if they do a 4-5 bolt conversion. I ran across a set of F8Fs (also a Wat banana spoke wheel) in correct PCD and in 17s but they were only like 7" wide. Bought a set of RS-8s for one of my S30 projects - and sold them after I sold that car - and didn't want them for my current 99% original S30 project.

We're talkin' ultra light wheels here folks. My 15x8s were ~12#...

Would love to see a set of them on a 33 just for that throwback look!
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Old Nov 1, 2018 | 05:51 AM
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Originally Posted by MicVelo
Would love to see a set of them on a 33 just for that throwback look!
Check it out, Mic! It's also in your favorite color



Assuming google translate hasn't mucked up the numbers, I believe the specs are 17 x 7 +30 with 225/50/17 up front and 235/50/17 in the rear, which is pretty conservative.
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Old Nov 1, 2018 | 07:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Heel Til I Die
Check it out, Mic! It's also in your favorite color



Assuming google translate hasn't mucked up the numbers, I believe the specs are 17 x 7 +30 with 225/50/17 up front and 235/50/17 in the rear, which is pretty conservative.
Ooooo, jumbo mudder rally car style!!

Ummm, thanks, D, but no thanks. If they were in the proper size, maybe. Guess I'll be sticking with my existing cache of rollers. Hahahahaha.



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