Great to see "Z excitement" out there...keep it up!

Anyway, I just ordered 18" Racing Hart C4's for my ZR but struggled with the dilemma of NOT getting 19's; biggest factors were ride comfort/19" tire costs/and bent rim syndrome-paranoia!

Pros: Better handling and let's face it....LOOKS!

Looking for some support out there...anyone have some killer pictures of 18's or advise one way or the other?

Thanks, WorryWort

P.S.-I like to drive fast, but don't want to necessarily tune to race!

 

Sorry - but it has to be 19"









I think I've made my case

 

veilside z:

It's funny that you should be the first to reply...I just left your site with the new C4's...absolutely stunning! But, how is your ride? Do you ever come close to bending these pricey rims? What about the idea of 18's in fron and 19's in the rear? Thanks for your input!

 

The ride is slightly firmer, but the car feels more "planted" definitely more settled on the road - UK roads are absolutely the worse & I've run a Porsche with +1" fitment before & no problems, also the Z feels better than the Porsche

Just noticed your mod list includes Newcastle Brown Ale

 

i applaud you for not getting 19s. i would never get them bc

1 your gonna pay more for both rims and tires
2 no matter how lightweight they are they wont be as light as a lw 18
3 more choices of high performance tires and sizes in 18
4 sidewalls are your friend!

with that said im not hating on 19s, i think they look great just not my cup of tea. now 20" spinnaz on a z...

 

I'm all about the NewCastle - and I'm from TEXAS!

and I'm having the same dilemma as you with the 18" vs 19" decision - performance vs looks

and the problem with the G is that it makes wheels look even smaller than the Z does...

 

For me it has to be 18s. I went from the stock 18s to Nismo 18s. Someone with a "Z" bought my old 18s. My Nismos, IMO, are a beautiful wheel. They are light, and with my Dunlops, handle great. I'm not afraid of pot holes, and the ride really has not changed that much from stock, but, as I said, greatly improved handling.

Lou

 

hey fellas,
day by day i think which rims and what size... i am leaning toward 18's because i dont want to have to worry about pot holes or those construction steel plates... if i do what series tires should i get? 40's or 45's? anyway, the z is a sweet car. i am completely sold.

 

If you lower the car with 18's.. It still looks clean.

 

I like my 18s. I do kinda wish now Id gone with the nismo silver with the polished lip just as you see above. its eyecatching. maybe one day. but I have no qualms about the size.

19's have looks, thats all they have. and to me, the other factors outweighed that.

 

<=-- debating 18 vs 19 too...

I might get a very nice deal on 19's if I do I'll go for it , otherwise I will look for 18's and most likely will go with Nismo... very hard decision to make..

 

Thanks for the input on the 18 or 19 inch dilemma. I was noticing the nice pics of your new rims...Can you tell me if the lip is rolled...I thought they were but sometimes it looks as though its a 90 degree edge...I really like the look of the rolled/tapered edge on the lip. Also, how long did you wait for the rims and what did you do to pass the time away waiting for them...I'm going crazy looking at my stock 17's?

Mike

 

Some 18's here...

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=70891

 

Good points -- but as a 19" wheel owner my opinion is that if you're gonna pay out the booty for a set of wheels to improve the look, might as well make it look like you did. Just an opinion of mine, but to the non-enthusiast's eye, most 18's on the Z get mistaken for oem wheels.

However all the issues with 19's are true, rougher ride, heavier in some cases, expensive tires, etc. Definitely some sacrifice involved.

 

confusing how people talk about sidewall being a factor... just go one series up like i did. i have 19x8.5 and 19x9.5 245/275

i run 40/35 ...instead of 35/30. ...that's pretty tall of a sidewall. no problems, and im dropped 1.5" on tanabe GF springs. how would it perform better if i had 18s? ...would you want an even taller sidewall, so you have lots of body roll? doesnt make sense to me.

 

but how much do nice 18 inch toyos cost? less than $200 each? would you save a lot between 18 and 19?

 

Personally went with 19's because I think it fits the overall look of the car better. Do I care about performance? sure but I'll only track the car 3 to 4 times a year and the rest of the time it's a street car. And on the street (or track for that matter) I'm not going to stress the slight weight difference even if it's rolling mass. My point is for me it's not a race car so it made sense to make some small compromises to get the visual appeal I wanted.

 

I'm going to purchase 18" Volk GT-Cs, because 19" would only slow my car down. If you're planning on adding a turbo, PLEASE get 19's.

Some 19 inch rims(without a lip), look to big on the Z. Hell, even exotics like the 360 modena come with 18's. It's your choice, though, and I'm only stating my opinion--they are like a**holes yada yada yada.

 

i've made up my decision... 18's. 245/275/40's it should be pretty practical for everyday. KShep, checked out those pictures, thanks man. it helped with my decision.

 

Wow,
Thanks fellas...I thought my thread was done with open opinions! I too have made a choice...as 19's would undoubtedly look better, I could not bring myself to (again) always worry everytime I drove the car where the next potential wheel bender might be. I'm a little older(41) now so maybe I'm growing more conservative...back in the day, I had a sweet Celica All-Trac Turbo with 17's w/ 225/40/17's and had numerous occasions of bent rim syndrome...it's the worst feeling knowing you have a decent ride with "tore up" rims and that sidewall height was 3.5"! A 245/35/19 yields 3.37" which tells me my chances are moreso of bending an even more expensive rim on an even more expensive ride(NOT that it isn't worth it...on the contrary...this car f***ing rocks)! However, my Z stock rims are 17's and I must admit it is quite nice not even thinking for a second how my rims will handle the train tracks coming up at 50mph or when that freeway grade variation hits at 100+mph! If it were all track, no doubt I'd probably do 20's, regardless of cost, BUT, I T H O R O U G H L Y enjoy everyday driving to and from work and I decided the 18's were a nice compromise. I'll admit I still wonder what it would've looked like, but I know in the long run, 18" RacingHart C4's with a fat/phat polished lip is still gonna look hella shweet. Let's face it, if German engineers chose Porsche 911 turbos, BMW M's, Audi S's and MB AMG's to where 18" shoes...who am I to say 19's would be better, and with the extra money I save, you know I'll be buying top of the line rubber every year(the Nittos come with the package)!

I'll post pics when they come in...for those few who would be interested!

PLEASE! NO ROAD RAGE! THESE CARS DESERVE BETTER!