Nissan 370Z Forum - 18 inch wheels on a sport

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- - 18 inch wheels on a sport (http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-general-discussions/117736-18-inch-wheels-sport.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by debueller (Post 3573023)

Anyway my first question is: will a stock set of 18 inch wheels fit on a sport? I understand the brakes are different (bigger?) on a sport and would like to know if the set of used, stock, 18" wheels I have found on craigslist will fit our new (to us) Z.

Thanks in advance.

As others have already said, yes. They do fit as I found out a couple weeks ago when I traded my 2016 18" wheels for a set of Nismo wheels off of a Sport... Pic below. Kind of hard to see, but they're there!

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s7/...37420460-4.jpg

Jerry

Quote:

Originally Posted by shirokenkami (Post 3573098)

In terms of aesthetics, sure it's a downgrade but in terms of performance an 18" wheel is right where you wanna be. It allows you to keep the weight to a minimum(more weight=more rotational inertia required) while allowing for larger brake packages.

Not necessarily.

The stock 18's weigh around 24 lbs or so each, as do the 19" Sport Rays. However, the 19" Nismo's weigh around 20 lbs to 21 lbs.

Switching over from the base 18's to the Nismo 19's, right away I noticed the car easier and more eager to accelerate at low speeds. Likewise was true moving to the Continental ExtremeContact DW tires, as they have been said to be a few lbs lighter, even though they are larger/wider. This was also somewhat noticeable. Even better, the lighter wheel/tire combination allows the suspension to do its job better as well

Quote:

Originally Posted by debueller (Post 3573080)

I'm gonna hijack my own thread here:

I realize 18's would be a downgrade but how much more affordable are 18's vs 19's tires? My wife is going to use our Z as a commuter for now and I'm concerned about the cost of tires.

I am amazed how well our Z sticks to the road. I'm used to Wranglers, pickups, and cheap commuters. This sports car thing is new to me. A little less tire would probably be OK with us if there was a substantial cost benefit.

My wife and yours are alike in terms of their daily drivers :driving:

For ours, I install a set of 18" wheels from a 350Z and winter tires for cold-temperature driving. Snow and ice are present during winter here, but at limited amount on average, so the car is equipped with the cheapest winter tires available (no expensive or fast-wearing dual-compound winter tires needed). This scenario reduces the wear on the expensive summer tires and, in turn, lessens the tire cost. I don't know about winter precipitation pattern is like in your area, but this might work in your situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by POS VETT (Post 3573456)

I like your strategy managing tire cost and winter driving.

We live at a slightly higher elevation than the lower Puget Sound region and have to sometimes deal with snowy/icy hills in the winter.

My experience with high powered, rear wheel drive cars on snow/ice, even with studs, has shown that they pretty much suck.

We each still have our cheap commuters with winter studs and I got my Jeep Rubicon, too. Our Z has new 19" summer tires so it may sit in it's heated garage a bit this winter while I explore our options.

The challenge is going to keep me and my wife from wanting to drive it, no matter the weather.........