Got my Winter Wheels put on today!
 

All I can say is that I had nothing but the most pleasant experience purchasing the wheels and having them installed.

I purchased the set from TireRack with everything including the TPMS sensors. Had them shipped to the local Tires Plus here in Waldorf MD where David, the owner, took the absolute upmost care of my Z as he personally installed the wheels, cleaned up the calipers, and programmed the new TPMS sensors.

The customer service from both TireRack and David and his associates at Tires Plus in Waldorf get an A+++! I am thoroughly satisfied and to boot the wheels look great on a black 2013!!

So here you are, finally for the first time (as far as I could tell) pictures of the acclaimed 225/50 Bridgestone Blizzak LM60's mounted on 18" Sport Edition A7's on a 370!

Enjoy!

http://www.the370z.com/members/vicst...ure58022-a.jpg

You can find a few more pics in my album: 225/50 Bridgestone Blizzak LM60's mounted on 18" Sport Edition A7's

Also, David at Tires Plus told me that Bridgestone had him out for an event where they put them in cars with helmets and what not that were equipped with Blizzaks and let them go nuts on an ice. He said the performance was absolutely amazing. Just an interesting little side note.. :P

Thanks to everyone on this forum who helped me in the decision making process; you know who you are!

Let me know if anyone has an specific questions for me!

Are you really going to drive that in bad weather ?

Why not? Rwd+snow&ice= fun.

Looks good Vicster. You'll be blown away how much traction you get with these. Can't figure out why it's such a big deal to drive our cars in the snow. :confused:

nice i have the same exact winter wheel and tire set up :tup:

i didnt like the sunken in look of the rear wheels last winter, so this year i got a set of 25mm spacers for them.

ill probably install them and the wheels this week

Island Z - Hopefully not, but sometimes we get surprise snow here in MD and I would rather be safe than sorry. All this was discussed in depth in our thread in the Mid-Atlantic forums. :)

TreeSemdyZee - Thanks! I know man! I'm excited, that's what I keep hearing. Like I said, hopefully I don't have to get stuck in much snow but I'm confident when it does happen (and it will) that I will be safe.

Drex - Honestly, they don't look too sunken to me but I agree, I will probably snab a set of spacers next year. Love this setup though.

Some people like to preserve there sport cars (Z especially) keeping it out of the winter elements to keep it from excessive rusting, other idiots driving in the slippery weather, harsh salt deteriorating the under body, spinning out into a hydro/light pole, and the list goes on I could list more for you guys..........:ugh2:

There is enough of them to go around, go buy a new one if it wears out

http://imageshack.us/a/img850/8773/dsc6054h.jpg

I go with even bigger ones :)

Or keep the one you like/love and then you can save the money for more important things.........like other toys or things for the house.

I come from a family that loves to keep there cars and keep them in good shape! My dad still toys with his old 88 volvo and my uncle (his brother) still owns his 1970 240Z he has owned from new! So maybe that's why I see the value in keeping and maintaing a car rather then driving it till it breaks. Beaters on the other hand, I drive the sh!t out of them and don't give two sh!ts about them

Buying a $30K car to keep it in the garage? That doesn't sound like good financial plans to me to start with.

lol here in Canada it's around $50K! So that's a little different.

also keeping a car in the garage to keep it in better shape sounds like great financial planning IMO. Means yo don't have to replace a sports car every 5-10 years

Honestly man, different strokes for different folks. Really no need to be mean about it... Personally, this is my DD and I would rather be safe driving it to and from work. Secondly, I agree this is a sports car, but it's no GTR or Porsche. One day, when I get a GTR, I will take it out to play and then put it away clean and protected in a garage. But not the Z, I bought it to drive it and I drive it everyday.

With that being said, I'm hoping that within the next year or two I will be purchasing my own house and have ample garage space to put the Z in. At which time I will also get some sort of AWD car for the winter. But as it stands, I'm still saving for all of that.

Lastly, I'm in MD man, you're in Canada right? I'm willing to bet your winters are much harsher on average that what we get here in MD. Winter's aren't all that crazy down here man...

Looks pretty good!! I think mainly because its all blacked out. :tup:

My set should be here next week, different wheels though. I want to get spacers but it's like why bother when you only will have them on for a few bits... I dunno.

My wife's beater SUV cost more than 50K, so it's all relative. The value of selling a car in mint condition vs normal condition is a few thousands at best. As long as the car runs, there is always a buyer.

I am on sports car #7 or 8, I have no problem trading in any of them even though they have all been abused one way or another. Even if they were mint, I am sure I won't get more than $1-$3K more for them. The difference is barely enough to buy a beater. Plus, do I want to drive around a beater when I have a new car that works?

The sooner you realize cars are passions and not an investment, you will enjoy your car even more.

To each his own. Modern cars will hold up to the elements just fine, especially if you clean them periodically. Insurance will take care of any mishaps. As someone else said RWD + snow = FUN as long as you have the right tires. :tup: :driving:

Nice setup, OP. :tup:

i love replacing my car every few years,would get bored to ***** if i had to keep the same car for more then 3 years,drive it in all weathers,its not a lambo,you bought it for 50k but its worth 30k now,20 k in about 4 years

The Cayman has snow tires ready to go. Cars are tools for life use and meant to be driven. Kudos to you for properly outfitting the Z. I would but I have the subaru for the really bad weather, and the Cayman as needed so the Z sleeps during the white season.

- b

Nice. I recently did my winter setup, garaged and covered LOL. I understand not everyone can afford to have two cars but I could never drive my Z in the winter.

I don't believe it's about affording to garage the car or not, I think it's just that some people view their cars differently and won't hesitate to equip it for winter driving and have at it. I totally understand both sides.

Yea true, but I car that never sees winter will always look better then a car that sees it. My Altima was 3 years old when I got rid of it and the underside/wheel wells looked like they did the day I bought the car. I don't know about you guys but to me winter is the most damaging thing your car deals with.

:iagree: cars are passions not investments and I enjoy/drive the sh!t out of mine! But like OP have said 1.) the winters are harsher up here and 2.) It all depends on your personal preference on weather you want to drive it in the winter or not, like red6spd said a car that doesn't see the winter will look much better then one that does see the elements. Because I have a garage and other vehicles I can put my Z away for the winter and not have to worry. If I didn't have other cars and couldn't afford more then one, then I wouldn't have bought such an impracticable car for a DD. The Z is clearly not a practicable vehicle.

In no way do I see my Z as an investment, I see it as my toy that I want to have for a very long time! I also would take the Z over a GTR and most Porsches(unless its a 911). I love driving stick (so no Godzilla for me they need to make a manual version available).

By beater I also mean a car that I don't care about not a piece of sh!t. The Z I wash, polish and wax regularly keep it in the garage ect.... The wifes lancer and my pathfinder just get regular maintenance and a wash when they are really dirty so it comes down to caring about the car I guess........

:iagree: just got rid of my 05 altima not long ago and it was getting rough on the under body and wheel wells. It was my all season/everyday car while I was enjoying the nice days may1st-nov1st in my Z32.

:iagree:with you and I can see both sides to this, but when guys say there's no point in garaging the Z I strongly disagree with that. But all the power to them. Some people I guess just like switching/buying different cars all the time. I would rather keep one car for a long time and switch my DD every few years until I find one I really like. Should note that in the summer my Z pretty much is my DD as long as it's a nice day and I am not working somewhere that has a shitty parking lot (like gravel or dirt roads up to it).

:iagree:

The key is that we continue to enjoy our cars. I know there are many people that believe you couldn't possibly enjoy your car if it was garaged for a few months, but I'd be willing to bet that most of us have spent lots of time just staring at our cars while parked in the garage. I don't store my cars, but I sure have spent countless hours staring at them while they slept in the garage... and it was fun because I'm a car guy. :tup:

I see both sides. I have a beater Civic Si but playing devil's advocate...

I'd understand if you were going to keep your Altima forever. You kept it pristine.... for the new owner, who is probably driving this winter anyway.

I have two friends that lease Bimmers and Mercs. They lease them for 2-3 years, put Stoneguard on just about every surface, buy wheels and exhausts and crap, and one of them doesn't even drive the car but for Sunny days. WTF is the point to that? Great for the next owner but enjoy that car now.

Spot on, I got sick of maintaining the car for the next owner. Stoneguard? F that, the next owner can deal with the chips. Missing spare tools, keys, owners' manual, that's their problem. I paid all the extra money for a new car, I should get something out of it. If the next owner can find such a great deal in a used car, he/she should have enough money saved to get everything perfect.

You are absolutely right that winter is probably the second worst thing behind accidents. My two years old car from down south has less salt damage than my Z after just two winter storms.

I don't know why you talk like people choose to drive their Z in the winter because we can't afford another car. Has it occurred to you that some people just want to drive it and don't care about anything else? My Z lived in the garage for three years, it was recently pushed out because my wife's beater is simply worth more (25K vs 50K) . Plus after all the years of not driving my car through the winter, I am just going to bite the bullet and enjoy the car.

Oh yeah, the Z was designed partly as a performance machine. Since cars get dirty at the track, are you going to tell people not to go to the track? :shakes head:

I am not saying that, I am saying that if they care a little more for it they will get much more (life) out of the car, if they plan to keep it long term. But all the power to you drive your Z, I want to drive mine everyday but CHOOSE not to so it stays in better shape and out of harms way. Enjoy driving it :tup:

As for the track, hell no!(the track doesn't get it that dirty, I don't consider bug guts an issue) Go to the track I don't care if my car gets dirty I drive it on rain days ect....just means I get to clean it and probably put another coat of wax on it.... just not on gravel/dirt roads they tend to be less maintained if maintained at all up here! The point of the car is to drive it but up here in Canada most of us put our "summer"(sport cars) away for the winter. With the car being lowered I would be plowing the snow if we got a good snow storm.

I am sure most people who are on here now won't have the same car 10 years from now, let the 18 years old worry about keeping it running when they buy it used. I have three mild winters on my car, I don't see anything falling apart related to the winter yet. Some corrosion yes, but nothing that will turn it into mother earth.

Good luck cleaning these track/autox scars. You can do just as much damage on the track as driving it in the winter. They are just different

http://imageshack.us/a/img20/579/dsc5805p.th.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img11/5647/lipwe.th.jpg

LOL I really am starting to hate you! JK just different points of view.....

Those are scars and when I had tracked my Z32 I never had any issues like that:ugh2:

Also the winter rusts out the under body that is what I am concerned about. Those scars are a different story, if you get that in the winter then you probably hit a snow bank:rofl2:

If a modern car rust in 10 years, you might want to consider a better car.

This is from last year, everything still attached...

http://imageshack.us/a/img40/554/dscf2425y.jpg

Looks worse then mine but hey to each there own.

If a car is driven 10years all year round I 100% guaranty you that it will be rusted all to sh!t on the under body! No way around it there is going to be more rust issues then with a car that was only summer (april or may till november) driven.

In 10 years your car will be worth 10k,what was achieved by not driving the crap out of it,50K to 10K...but only driven on nice days :)

:icon18: and yet I will still own the car...........so it's resale value is irrelevant to me :tiphat:

Very much doubt that, my friend's kid still has my 90 RX-7 GXL with 280K miles on it. I drove that through seven winters. Also going by your math, basically most cars older than 2002 are rustbox? Maybe you guys get super salt that we don't get here

:inoutroflpuke:

some pics with the spacers and wheels installed

http://i.imgur.com/sVtcz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pgjbf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DaALI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZXcYO.jpg

Spacers helped A LOT.

What size spacers? 20mm I'm guessing? Front and rear or just rear?

25mm rear only

Cool thanks! And just curious cause I went with a different wheel, but were those 40mm offset as well?

Damn that looks good! You could've probably picked up some 09-12 Sport Rays and made those your winter wheels as well.