As some of you may know, i sold my bronze 19" TE37's for some wheels and tires for racing. I ended up getting 18x9.5 +22 front and rear 5Zigen FN01R-C's in HyperBlack. Tires are 275/40/18 Kumho Ecsta MX front and rear. Front tires do rub occasionally and I'm either going to raise the car up some more in the front or see if my alignment guy can give me some more negative camber.

 

Thanks.! You should be able to get everything mounted and installed for around $1800.

 

275/40 in the front huh? wow thats alot of meat. Why arent you doing the staggered approach.

 

For racing...having the same width front and rear improves vehicle balance. I can also rotate my tires. The car also understeers and tends to plow from loss of traction in the front...I'm hoping maximum traction at the front corrects or reduces the understeer.

 

Actually, the most current SCC mag did the same thing on their project 350Z. They have a 275/40/18 all around as well, and they pulled over 1.0G on the skidpad. However they also added an LSD and sway bars.

 

Can you post more pictures from different angles? More of the side shot. Very nice wheels.

 

Sorry...thats pretty much all of them. Have to say the 40 profile makes the wheels look like 17's but next to a car with 15's looks monstrous.

 

I read that article as well. Were they also implying that the rear Nismo 9.5" 30mm offset rim also fits on the front? If so, why doesn't Nismo offer 9.5" width front and rear? I can't believe VDC is their answer b/c my VDC works fine with equal sized winter tires front and back.

 

dang! that is a TALL tire.... for me, I would have gone 265/35-18 all around, maybe using Michelin Pilot Sport Cup or Pirelli Corsa.

The wheels look very good...

Let us know how those Kumho MX tires work on the track.

PeteH

 

Normally I would go with a 275/35 but I wanted the extra sidewall flex for autocross. A lot of this had to do with compromises between street and racing...for full race I probably would've gone 17" with 275/40.

 

The 40 profile is what is recomended for a 18 inch wheel and a 275 width. 35 could cause problems with TCS/VDC on the 18 inch wheel.

 

Took the new wheels and tires to the Streets of Willow Springs road course for yesterday's Z and SER-CA event.

When I had them installed the fronts did rub. I am lowered with Tein flex coilovers. We raised the car up a little but still lowered vs. stock and it rubbed.

So on Thursday, took my car to the shop. We flared the front fenders with a metal pipe. Basically took the handle of a floor jack and wrapped it with masking tape. My friend inserted the pipe and i drove slowly back and forth letting the tire pull the pipe up and under the fender. The flare is gentle...not really noticeable to the naked eye. On one fender, the screw connected to the fender lining pushed out creating a small dimple...paintless dent removal for $75 should take care of that...still better than the $700 the body shop quoted me for a custom flare job.

It was a ghetto job but i bought the car for racing and took the "do whatever it takes" approach to be prepared for yesterday's event. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone but luckily my friends are experienced drivers and mechanics so it worked out wonderfully.

The rub is gone except for the 20 degree banked bowl on the track but the rubbing is on the fenderwell plastic lining at the extreme corner of the sidewall. You won't find a 20 degree bank on the street especially at high RPM's in 3rd gear.

So for those of you who want to race in autocross or roadcourses and are considering the front 275/40/18 approach, I recommend it highly. I wouldn't go with any offset above a +28 as I don't believe there is enough clearance to the upper control arm. By the way, the car stuck like glue with predictable response. I was completely happy on the track...nice rubber marbling with even shaving.

 

I just had Khumo ECSTA 700 installed for Autocross. Took them up into the Santa Cruze mountians to heat cycle them. WOW what a difference with balance tire sizes and the EVO adjustable sway bar in the front. The car tracks like on a rail. The old push is gonneee!!!! I am still waiting for the Konis to get rid of the bounce on uneven pavment under hard corning.

I am going to my first Autocross this year Sunday. SCCA Round III in the SF Bay area.