Wheel Upgrade to 20s...Need advice
 

Hi guys, I'm a relatively new owner looking to upgrade my stock (touring) 18s.

I live in downtown Denver and use my car as a daily driver. Downtown streets are often old and rough and there are tons of speed bumps and speed dips which I'm constantly taking at an angle.

For those of you with 20s, did it lower your road clearance to the point where you have to be *extremely* careful with any and all bumps or dips. If so, would you recommend just going with 19s or is the tire sidewall going to wash out the size difference?

* By "extremely careful", I mean am I going to hate life if I put on 20s?

Thanks! :icon17:

I have 20s on my car and love them. I live in Atlanta. You just have to be more careful driving.

Road clearance will depend if you lower your car and the sidewall you pick for the 20s.

Just by putting on 20s will not affect the clearance that much, but you will feel every bump on the road...

size of wheel doesnt effect road clearance unless you go too thin of a side wall or too big (too big = more clearance)

But with a 20's the car will feel harder as the tire cant absorb some of the bumps. This also has the effect where too hard of a bump can damage the wheel, where as on the 18's the massive sidewall would have absorbed the bump.

So if you get 20's, as James said, you just have to be more careful and slower.

The terms "upgrade" and "20's" don't belong in the same sentence. It's a sports car not a donk. Stick with 19's. They will be lighter and look a hell of a lot better in that fender than 20's will. Unless you don't plan to track your car and want to achieve that hellaflush look for whatever reason and don't give a damn about unsprung weight affecting whp. But that's just me ;)

Why buy a Z for that?

Why not buy a Z for that?

No, moving to 20" wheels didn't lower the clearance. It did however, make the ride rougher. The smaller (and stiffer) sidewall on the tires and the fact that I went wider than OEM, made the ride rougher. I don't really mind. But when I do drive the Z, I find myself avoiding bumpy areas more than I used to.

You won't "hate" the 20's. Have a look at my pics of the Volks that I chose. If you do the offset correctly, the look is much better than 19's. Good luck!

I agree 100%, but some people buy the 370Z because they like how it looks and could care less about performance, and to THEM, a 20" rim looks good. :ugh2:

:iagree: 20's are too big for the Z

:icon18::bowrofl:

This is all great info, guys. Much appreciated, and definitely helping me make my decision.

You can find better places to put your money performance wise. If this is all for looks, go for it.

If you have 18" rims and are going to 19" or 20", that will increase the car's bottom clearance.

:facepalm:

:iagree: Roll with the 20's :tup:. You should ALWAYS becareful driving with expensive rims anyway...a pot-hole that is large enough to wreck a 20" will most likely do the same to the 19" with low-profile tires.

:wtf2:

Hey listen I'm not saying you can't. I mean people are gonna do what people are gonna do and I'm the last one to tell them to do with their money. I'm merely suggesting that there are other options for a blingy cruiser rather than transforming a sport car born for another purpose.

It's like visiting the DUB booth at a car show and seeing their assortment of supercar "cruisers". :facepalm:

If I was going to be more careful and slower, I could just get a used Camry for the price of a nice set of 20's and the rubber to go on them.

Since when did driving slower and carefully become a bad thing on the streets of denver? Would you guys prefer he race his car around town cus its a sports car?

I hope both of you always redline your cars, hit turns fast, power out and go hard on the brakes. Cus its a sports car, why drive it any different. I mean if you arent gonna drive it like i said above in the city of denver, go buy a camry.

Id be careful myself with any wheels i have. I sold my sports rays after 7 k miles no cub rash on em. I always go over bumps slowly even though im not lowered. Should i trade my car for a camry too? Or is it possible i wanna take care of the car and then when i go to a track or mountain cruise (just got back from one) i can drive it "like a sports car". P.s people throw that phrase around alot and i bet they dont even really think about what they are implying.

I hate when I forget to add the "don't-take-this-comment-so-seriously-laughing-out-loud-emoticon".
That said, I drive my Z like a sports car and I drive my beater truck like a Camry, so your hopes are realized, at least on my end.

how about you not take this comment seriously!!

I drive my Versa faster than I drive my Z on the streets. Actually im serious. I do

So the extra 1"-2" between the axle and the ground doesn't slightly raise the bottom of the car as well? What does it do, just compress the springs extra? Seriously, please explain.

When the diameter of the wheel is increased, the aspect ratio of the tire is reduced. The aspect ratio is a number that describes the height of the tire's sidewall relative to the width of the tire.
The goal is to end up with the outer diameter of the tire being the same as what it came with from the factory regardless of what diameter rim you put on the car.

in simpler words, where your adding 1-2" of wheel, your removing 1-2" of tire. if you go with a large side wall, while still going up 1-2" of wheel, then yes it will increase ground clearance, throw off your speedometer/odometer, lower your acceleration, throw off the handling, etc. Generally a bad idea so best deal is always try to make sure that Wheel + tire = same overall diameter as the original wheel + tire. Gotta look at them as a package and not individually.

Gotcha, but actually I was assuming that only the rim size was being increased. So it is assumed that you always decrease tire profile (aspect ratio) to match the original wheel diameter when you increase the rim diameter? I've seen a lot cars where it appears that the tire profile wasn't decreased enough to make up the increase in rim diameter.

generally yes. Some rare occasions people will change the side profile as well but its generally for a specific purpose and they do it on purpose vs just happened.

Thanks for the info guys! The facepalm and wtf emoticons weren't nearly as informative! :)

Bigger rim=shorter sidewall. That way all these people driving donk'ed out Z's don't exactly LOOK like they gave up all that traction, braking, and ride-quality.

because wheel size is the only thing that determiens those. Not the make/model of tire, the suspension modifications, or any brake mods. Just the wheels.

in that case is 19" the universal best grip/braking/ride quality wheel? Or is it any 18" wheel?

P.S do explain how someone going from base 18's with advan sports to maybe a 20" wider wheel with better tires is "giving up braking/traction"