18 inch wheels on a sport

debueller

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.

shirokenkami

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.

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Ghostvette

IMHO, I'd invest in a set of all seasons. (dons flame suit)..... My logic is thus, you live in Washington state, a place not known for sunshine. The stock 18" tires (Advans) don't do well in rain, so unless you like driving a skateboard in the rain, all seasons are the answer. Save the 19" tires & wheels for when you want to carve some canyons and have the time to swap wheels before & after.

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debueller

My thoughts exactly. I haven't been shopping long for used wheels so I am not familiar with pricing.

How does these look for $700? Seem to me that is a bit high, even if I worked him down a hundred bucks or so and got them for $600.

Set of Factory OEM Used Nissan 370Z Wheels

What say the collective????

POS VETT

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

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.

debueller

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.........