:iagree:

A nice set of forged 18" will be lighter and give you better ride AND better handling in the appropriate widths. 19" is ALL about looks. Check out what the track guys are running.

he is talking stock to stock. the stock Enkei 18's are heavier and not as strong as the stock 19" Forged RAYS wheels.

They also look 10x better on the Z then the 18" Enkei's that come stock on the base model. There is a reason many people are spending extra money to import the 19" Rays into Australia out of the US since they didn't even get the option to have the 19" wheels.

At first they felt lumpier, heavier and the steering didn't feel as accurate. But now that I've had them on for nearly 3 years I don't notice any of that.

Do 18" wheels fit on the sport package big brakes?

our Australian members report that they do. I have a set of 18" Rays 350z wheels being widened right now to fit my needs, and Enkei RPF1's cleared on diameter, but not on depth.

It was a preference for me, I like the 18's over the sport 19's.

Both are nice, so you really can't go wrong!

This an Australian sports/touring with 18's which are standard here. no problems clearing the breaks.

you also have to take into consideration that with bigger wheels, more rotational mass. Thats why draggers/auto x'ers usually go with 17/18's, less work for the car to do, frees up TQ. If you plan to do either, get you some 17" Gram Lites. Then put your streets on afterwards.

Mind you, the Sport pkg weighs 40 lbs more than base, so lighter 19" rims dont make much difference to me! The tires are better though, which is why im rockin 285/35 NT05s, yaaaayuh!

Agreed... if its worth the same amount of money in euros as it is here.
Anything over 5000 american value would not be worth it at all. You can get a good aftermarket set up if they are worth that much in europe.
Asian companies tend to rape the europeans. Like the genesis coupe is way overpriced in europe. They pay 7k more than us here. Terrble

That's a true statement.
Right now, you have to pay something about 40K EUR or slightly more for a fully equipped Z in Germany. Due to current exchange rate, that's at least 57K $. :icon14:
These guys really rip us off!

Same goes with consumer electronics. You get shocked when you see the US-prices at amazon.com, sometimes we have to pay twice that amount in Europe.

Same in Australia, we get a fully loaded Z minus the 19's for U$60,000

I haven´t found out yet what brakes the German 370ies are getting since there is no such thing as a "sports package" here and the brochures don´t mention brake differences between our two available versions.

As far as I understand it, in North America there are a "base" and a "touring" version and there is an optional "sports package" of which I don´t know if it can be added to both or to the touring alone. That sports package adds the larger brakes and the 19" wheels. All those combinations have 6MT or 7AT, navi and paint as main options.

In Germany, we have a "370Z" and a "370Z Pack". Both have the stock rear spoiler, so an exterior apprearance like the US "base" version is not available here.
"Pack" adds Bose, leather interior, cruise control, seat heating and SyncRev (for 6MT).
The 19" RAYS are optional here for an extra €1.100.- list price but only available for a "Pack". Otherwise our options are as above.
So far I haven´t found any info on the brakes for the German models, if there are different brakes or not, if not: what size is standard, etc.

Pricing here in Germany really hurts if you read those American prices all over the forum.
Last Friday I bought my new Z, and the math looked like this:
List prices:
2009 370Z Pack 6MT €41.190.-
+ Black Pearl (AS)/G41 Paint €790.-
+ RAYS 19" Wheels, Summer Tires €1.100.-
That´s €43.080.- or today $61.613.- :eek:

Luckily I got near invoice price, with €37.100.- that´s almost €6K off, but still $53.060.-

And:
Add a set of standard 18" wheels with Yokohama Winter Tires for €2.539.-
+ Parking Sensors front & rear incl. installation for €940.-
+ Accessories (Kickplates, Mats etc.) for €700.-
+ Destination charge and registration for €790.-

So altogether I´m still paying €42.069.- equals $60.167.-
One must not forget that there is a 19% V.A.T. here in Germany but basically that means that not only the car manufacturers are milking us but the state as well...

Nevertheless, I´m really looking forward to getting my Z on Friday next week when the park sensors and kickplates are installed.
Yay!

I saw go with 18's just to me 19 is to big.

Oh, another user from Germany :tiphat:
Of course, I will stick to write in English as this is an English forum.

Why do you get your car that soon? I bought mine 3 weeks ago and were told that you have to wait for 12 weeks at the moment, because the car actually is not yet really available in stock in Germany and must be ordered from abroad.

I bought the same version as you (Pack-edition, black, 19", Navi), but was told to wait until Oktober/November when the car arrives. :excited:

Grüße nach Bayern! ;)

Short answer: because I bought a showcar.
-------------------------------------------------

Full Story:

I learned about the 370Z in June and started collecting information on the car.

By the end of July I was sure I wanted and could afford one and started to check it out live.

Dealer No.1 had no 370Z inhouse (but a GT-R) but had just received the german brochure and official price list. I took one and left my phone number to call me when he had a Z for test driving.

Dealer No.2 had a black manual "Pack" that I checked out in his showroom but that wasn´t available for test driving since it had already been sold.

Dealer No.3 I called ahead if it was worth the drive and it was, and he had a white manual "Pack" with black colored 19" and lowered by 40mm that I test-drove. We had a very friendly and open business talk where I learned that the current dealer invoice price was around 14% below MSRP. His offer was a 8% discount for a custom ordered car that would have taken the same 3 months until delivery that you are waiting now. Since I initially hadn´t planned to get winter tires and drive it next winter anyways, he also was friendly enough to advise to wait with the purchase until Nov./Dec. for a delivery in March. He had heard rumors that Nissan Germany would extend the dealer´s discretion pricing percentage and is thinking about some special deals. He promised to call me once he could make a better offer.

At the beginning of last week, I was in the vicinity of Dealer No.1 for other reasons. He hadn´t called yet for a testdrive date so I stopped by if he at least finally had a showcar. He had, a black manual "Pack" without navi. It was not available for test driving but he promised to call in one or two weeks when he could organize a testdrive. We chatted for half an hour about accessories like e.g. pricing of park sensors incl. installation, winter tires on standard 18" rims, etc. No actual negotiation on a car, rather gathering information, also about financing conditions.

Two days later, last Thursday, I sent him an e-mail, saying I had decided to spontaneously buy his unused showcar. I offered him near-invoice price (-13,9% off MSRP) and listed what additional accessories (including winter wheels) I wanted. He called me on the phone after having received my mail and asked if I was serious about this and where I got this price idea from. I just said that I was dead serious and that I had done some research. Then I told him that I was going to be a faithful maintenance customer, and he said he had to ask his boss and would call me right back. He called back and we had a deal. He never even pitched an other price...

The next day, last Friday, I was at Dealer No.1 again and signed.
Delivery will be next week on Friday since they asked for two weeks time to order and install the park sensors and the kickplates. It´s still summer holiday here and their shop was understaffed due to vacation.

I´m really looking forward to my new car and I´m a little proud of myself that I got the exact car I wanted, at near-invoice, saving €6.000.-, with less than one minute of negotiation, and almost no waiting time.

A large part of my success is owed to this community here, where in the last few weeks I learned tons of useful info about the car itself and the circumstances of other peoples purchase experiences.

Right now I am digging into clear bra, aftermarket stuff like oil and air filters and the correct way to brake-in my new ride.

Knowledge is power and you just gotta love the internet!
Example: after reading about clear bra here it took less than two minutes snooping around on film-manufacturer pages like VentureShield and 3M to find a TrimLine specialist in a neighbour village less than five minutes from my home. Will contact him tomorrow for a quote.
Awesome!

That is, in short - errr - long, the story of my 370Z purchase...

Grüße aus Bayern!