Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - Really liking my Cheap Winter Tires/Wheels

spearfish25 · 10-20-2009, 03:52 PM

For anyone contemplating winter tires for their 370:

After initially planning to swap rubber on the stock sport rims twice a year, I instead opted for a dedicated set of winter tires and rims. Tirerack recently expanded their list of what will fit the Sport pack on the 370 with many 18" options. They were very nice about taking back my 19" LM-25 Blizzaks (never used, still wrapped) in exchange for a complete setup. This was partly prompted due to the fact the LM-25s were on closeout (see important note below).

I went with the 18" MSW Type 11 wheels and Blizzak LM-60 winter tires. The rims were $143 each and the tires $186. Given that the TPMS sensors cost $360 for a set, I didn't buy any and will just enjoy my warning light all winter. Price with tax out the door was $1406 in comparison to $960 for the 19" LM-25 Blizzak tires alone that I initially bought. No road hazard insurance given the tires are relatively cheap anyway.

All in all, I'm much happier with the convenience of having my own set to swap out rather than scheduling with a shop twice a year. Also, I can switch right before the first snow rather than who knows how many weeks early.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO TIRE BUYERS: Tirerack has a number of winter tires on 'closeout'. While they are a nice deal, the key thing to know is that you can't get new ones if you damage a tire down the line. Road hazard insurance will only reimburse you, but you'll still be stuck with 3 original winter tires and one oddball replacement.

***Edit: After installing the wheels, it's evident that having the same offset for all four wheels makes the rears very sunken inboard. While having four identical rims allows one to rotate front and rear tires to prolong tire life, things look pretty crappy in the rear. The fronts look just fine with regard to flushness. Instead of playing with rims of different offsets, I'm ordering 25mm spacers for the rear. More pics once they are installed.