I recently put my wheel/snow package on - bought from Tire Rack with the TPMS. This is the second package I've bought from them with TPMS (the other was track tires for my other car). I've swapped the wheels on the other car numerous times since last spring, and have about 30 miles on the Z with the snows. The TPMS light has never triggered on either vehicle. I wonder why others are getting different results. :confused:

Very interesting. Which wheel/tire package did you get? You don't happen to remember which TPMS (company or item no) they used, do you?

Here's a cut/paste from my shipping confirmation. I don't have the paper invoice with me here at work, but I'll check it out when I get home and if there's a part no. for the TPMS I'll post it.

4 18x8 MSW Type 20 BDC In Stock
4 Required centering ring In Stock
20 Required lugnut for vehicle In Stock
4 225/50R-18 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 In Stock
4 Mount and Balance (No Charge)
4 315MHz Tire Pressure Sensor In Stock

The TPMS from the RX-8's tires was also listed as a "315MHz Tire Pressure Sensor," but it was obviously different insofar as it was much cheaper ($212 for all four vs. $360).

Anyone find the correct locking lugs yet? My winter wheels are going on in the next week or two. Pics to follow!

Well, the shoe dropped on the way home last night. The TPMS warning light illuminated at about the 35 mile mark. No idea why the delay. Evidently my other car's system automatically learns its new sensors, while, per Tire Rack, "Currently, all Hyundais, Infinitis, Kias, Lexuses, Mitsubishis, Nissans, Subarus, Suzukis and Toyotas must have their new sensors registered at the dealership."

Oh well.

Yup, same thing for me. It took a day of driving before my TPMS light went on with the new wheels mounted. The dealer re-registered them for me at no charge (yay!). PITA to do this twice a year though, every time the season changes.

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and added the TPMS! :excited:

What? NO! :( oh well, looks like I have to make trips to dealers twice a year. Well, I went ahead and added the TPMS anyway because of my dads critical condition. I have to take him to the Emergency room(from time to time and) if his condition gets worse. I need to know if I have a slow leak so that I can fix it right away. Without TPMS, slow leaks will not be noticeable until the tire is flat.

ONLY 1 more week for the package to arrive! :happydance:

I feel really bad that you bought the TPMS! It was bizarre that I drove on the snows for a day and a half before it triggered. :icon14: Oh well, it sounds like the peace of mind may make it worthwhile for you. I'm bringing mine in tomorrow morning to get it done . . . . $48.

anxiously awaiting the OP's pics of his winter setup. I am considering the same for my black Z.

I was considering swapping them today but the temps are still in the 50s. Don't want to wear out the new rubber prematurely. One or two more weeks, then they'll be on. (Unless my wife convinces me to do it tomorrow).


Edit: Will have them on the car tomorrow. Pics to follow.

Sounds good..Looking forward to it

Alright, rims and tires on the car. The overall look is pretty darn nice. I'm happy with the setup. I did realize one issue though. These tires/rims are only 8.5" wide all around. In the front, the offset looks perfect. In the back, they are way too sunken into the wheel well. I don't want to start with different offsets for the rear since this will kill my ability to rotate the tires (want to get the most life out of the winter rubber). Looks like I'll have to investigate spacers.

It's a balmy 60F tonight and the tires were moaning and groaning all the way home. The winter tires are really soft when it's this warm. Hopefully it cools off quickly before I burn off all the rubber! I'm driving like a grandma now.

To my surprise after taking off the summer wheels/tires, I had a nail in EACH of my rear tires. Those wide tires are just $hit magnets.

A crappy iPhone pic is included below, taken in the dying afternoon light. More pics from my DSLR to come tomorrow.

wow looks great! Thanks for posting. I was wondering how the skinny wheel would look in the rear. Post up some side profile pics when you can.

Bummer about the nails in the tires.. hopefully they not in the sidewall and can be repaired!

New pics added to OP.

Couple things I've noticed. 1) the rears are WAY too far inboard. I'm buying 25mm spacers now and that should help. Hopefully they'll look good with the summer sport rims as well. The front rims look just fine in terms of flushness (to my eye).
2) inset rims may be somewhat beneficial from a winter standpoint. The more inboard they are, the less crap you'll have thrown all over the car when you're driving.
3) If one goes with 4 identical wheels, you can rotate front for rear to get more life out of the winter tires (Blizzaks are rotational so you can't swap left and right, just front and back). Playing with offsets can fix the flushness problem but you won't be able to rotate wheels then.

Thanks for posting up the pics. I think they look great, and I would leave them just they way they are with out the spacers as this would be best for winter driving. It will just make you appreciate your summer wheel set that much more.

Thanks. I ordered the spacers, so we'll see how they look. I can always sell them on here...25mm should be fairly popular.

After a 30 mile drive today, it's clear that winter tires turn this car from a sports car into a safety car. On the highway at 60mph in 4th gear, moderate acceleration causes the VDC to engage. Those narrow snow tires just don't have nearly the grip of the summer ultrawide tires. We'll see them prove their worth in the snow shortly though.

I'm still can't decide on a set of rims. The selection in tirerack is not really jumping at me. I need something easy to clean. I have some money to spare from selling my winter and stock wheels from my RX-8. What do you guys think of the black OZ Chrono HT on a solid red?

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ee/Capture.png

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...8Summer007.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...g/IMG_1197.jpg

Very nice man. check out my thread: http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...cs-ak370z.html

Oh btw, I had a nail in of my rims too :shakes head:

Hey Spear, how are your tires handling the nasty white stuff that has been coming down the past few days?

It's been very very manageable. I wasn't in any truly deep snow, but I did go through some slush and some icy patches. I never felt scared or concerned I'd spin, there was never any fish-tailing, and overall I think it's a really sure-footed setup. I did have a touch of wheel spin off the line if I wasn't careful and gentle. I think the only issue I'll have is with deep stuff since our clearance is so low.

It's hard seeing my Z caked in white road salt though. Painful to see it dirty and think of the salt slowly eating away at my girl.

Thanks for the feedback! I still hope I can find some stock 18" rims for my winter set up, as I would like to keep the stock staggerd set-up. But if that wont work I might go for your or AK370's seup

I'm really liking my not so cheap winter tires/wheels. Because of my procrastination, tirerack only had 8" wide winter tires left, and the only 8" wide rims available at the time are the +35 mm OZ Ultraleggera's and the Blizzak lm-25. I was kicking myself for waiting too long because I had the notion that they'll add more rims the longer I waited, but that didn't happen. I basically had no choice but to go with this setup with the very limited selection.

It arrived a day before the NE snowstorm. My 25 mm spacers didn't arrive in time so I had no choice but to mount them on the Z. I also decided to pinstripe the lips red.

Drove great during the snow. Almost got stuck a few times Saturday night during the blizzard, but I got out of it. Reversing is practically almost useless since they are one directional tires. Hopefully my rear spacers arrive soon because the rear offset are ugly. The rear wheels are too sunken in.

Well here are some pictures

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/IMG_0618.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/IMG_0620.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/IMG_2587.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...IMG_2589-1.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/IMG_2590.jpg

look good man! NJ here too and I had NO issue driving on the snow. Of course I have years of RWD driving experience and I know how to drive on snow but these tires makes my life a lot easier.

AK

I too was going to put 25mm spacers on my rear rims but decided not to since they'd be too wide for the summer rims.

The tucked rear is going to make it more oversteer happy, so you should notice an improvement once you correct the rear track.

You could use type 2 spacers and they'll come off easy when it's time to swap wheels. Just make sure and use anti-sieze.

Im looking into a 370z, and winter rim and tire set up is a must. My 335i with winter tires and rims drove like a tank!

I did have HR rear spacers in,, and they wore frozen solid to the hub. Had to take it to a shop for them to break it lose.

What type of anit sieze are you using? And how much do you apply.

I really really recommend anyone using spacer to use some sort of anti seize grease.

Side note,,, how much snow have you driven in? I only got stuck, high centered once when we had 10 inches of snow on unplowed streets. I also had about 120lbs of salt in the trunk.

I really like driving in the snow with the 335i winter tire set up. I drifted every corner I came too. Pretty much turned the car with the gas pedal. I love driving in the snow with dedicated snow tires!

Did you ever get and install the 25mm spacers? Did installing the spacers require any mods?

I did, I used Ichiba 25mm Type 2 spacers with lots of anti seize. I had no problem taking them of when I put my summer tires back on this spring.

Here some pictures with and without spacers. Wheels and tires are the same as AK's:

Without spacers:
http://www.the370z.com/members/jb1-a...ntertires2.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/jb1-a...ntertires1.jpg

With spacers:

http://www.the370z.com/members/jb1-a...8-spacers2.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/jb1-a...7-spacers1.jpg

Thanks for the update; I am ordering my winter tires, wheels, and spacers this week based on these threads. What was the brand/type of "anti seize" that you used?

I don't remember, some generic brand stuff I got from the local autozone.

This thread & AKs thread is a bible for people looking to buy winter tire + rim setup. Thanks a lot to both of you AK & spearfish25, you've helped me a lot! :).

slapped on my black steelies with snows on my dd yesterday. :p

Same rims as the OP.. Had these from a few years ago on a G37 and now I'm using it for a G35. Rims are holding up well, no corrosion.

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/a...f99a4fc7-1.jpg