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Please use the link above to purchase Winter Rims and Tires. By doing this, you'll be supporting The370z.com.
Last winter, when I had only 300 miles on my Z, I drove my Z in the snow(bad decision). The End result was NOT very pretty (car got stuck in snow and ended up being buried in 16"+ snow). You can read more about it here:
Just Picked up my Monterey Blue 370Z **Pics Inside**
This winter I HAD TO get some Winter rims and tires. Thanks to spearfish for making the "
Cheap winter rims/tires" thread, I ended up ordering nice package from Tirerack.
I got the
Light Grey Painted TRMotorsports C2 with
Blizzak LM-25. I liked the way these rims looked (Kinda looks like Volks TE-37) and they are also super lightweight. As for tires, the Blizzaks are on
CLOSEOUT price! I had to get them for the money they were asking
.
Installation:
Tools Needed:
a. Torque wrench
b. Car Jack.
c. 12 mm wrench.
d. Help from another friend or a long metal or aluminum pipe to loose the OEM lugnuts.
Installation was very straight forward. The lugnuts on the OEM rims were very tight. I had a friend hold the wrench as I was literally jumping on it! I did notice that some wheels were more tighter than the other.
Once the wheels are off, you'll notice a 12 mm bolt on both front lug area.
You MUST remove this bolt. You will not need this bolt again (not even for the OEM rims/tires).
Make sure you use the PROPER jack points. Front jack points are NOT right next the front wheel but they are a little further back. Look for these jack points if you don't want any damage to your Z.
The tires ARE directional so please make sure you mount the rims on right wheels. This is something very easy to overlook (even we almost overlooked it).
Tirerack will provide you new set of lugnuts. You CAN NOT use the oem lugnuts or locks. As for locks, I plan on stopping by the nearest AUTOZONE to pick up a generic wheel locks.
YOU MUST tight the rims with 80 ft/lbs of torque with a torque wrench. I picked this Torque wrench from ebay couple months ago for less than $35 (shipped). It def did a fantastic job today. This wrench ranged from 5 ft/lbs to 150 ft/lbs.
Before driving off, check the tire pressures. 3 of my tires were 32 PSI and the 4th one had 42 PSI. I changed the 4th to 32 PSI so that they are all even. I was told by a base member
bluzman that base OEM rims are usually 35 PSI. So, I think I may bring them up to 35 PSI (not 100% sure. I will probably give tirerack a call before I do so). Though I am aware of the benefit of lower tire pressure in driving in snow. But the TPMS are set from factory to go off below 33 PSI (I'm not sure if the value is changeable during calibration). I'll keep you guys posted. The TPMS hasn't went off yet (takes 30+ miles of driving as most members posted here)
I have to re-torque the rims after 100 miles. This is necessary because as the wheels are breaking in they may compress slightly allowing their lugs to lose some of their torque.
Weight:
18" TRMotorsports C2 (18 x 8.5) with Blizzak LM-25 (225/50R18) = 50 lbs
19" OEM super light FORGED Rays with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (275/35ZR19) REAR rims/tires = 56 lbs
19" OEM super light FORGED Rays with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (245/40ZR19) Front rims/tires = 52 lbs
The weight of the new winter rims/tires are 50 lbs. I was able to snap 1 last picture before my camera battery died. Here's a picture:
These new rims/tires are 6 lbs lighter than the 19" rays! That's a significant weight reduction. They are also 2 lbs lighter than the front wheels.
Pictures:
I'll clean the tires and post better pictures tomorrow but here are some I took today.
They don't look too bad for a winter setup, do they?
Impression:
My very first impression was, "Holy sh*t, the car feels lighter!"
Shredding 6 lbs from each rear wheels and 2 lbs from the fronts, makes the car feel a lot lighter. That was a big selling point for these rims. Also, MANY SCCA and BMW guys use this exact rims as a track rims due to their lightweight and build quality. So, in near future when I do go to the track, I can simply put on some sticky tires and head to the nearest ThunderBolt track
. Money well spent.
The ride was def a lot softer and less bumpy. The reason could be the softer tire compound of the Blizzak's and thinner wheel size 18x8.5 (vs 19x9 or 19x10). I suppose to hear more noises from these winter tires due to their thread pattern/compound but so far driving, I can barely tell.
Overall I'm very happy with the rims/tires and looking forward to test these in snow
. I'm waiting for the TPMS to throw the warning so that I can go to the dealer and get them recalibrated. Any questions, feel free to ask. Let me hear your story (i.e. how your winter setup feels, weights etc)
If I missed any info, I'll add them later.
Thanks.
UPDATE as of January 31st 2010
Finally drove the Z in snow. Take a look at the video.
Watch it on YouTube (slightly bigger screen):
YouTube - Nissan 370Z driving in snow on Blizzak and TR Motorsports C2 .wmv