Could use help with a rather odd issue
 

So, I have had a rather odd issue happen when I first purchased my car. Some how during the first couple days I managed to scratch up the outer lip of all four wheels. It should be noted I still haven't parked near any curbs. However, that's probably the easiest way to explain the damage. It is a lot like parking to close to a curb and grinding the wheels on it. I still haven't figured out what it was, but it hasn't happened since.

I'm in the process of getting them repaired. Once I do I want to put new tires on them.

I have searched on this. However, I was really hoping for some help and opinions. I read that we can go wider with the tire, which could put more tread on the ground. The reason I want to though is because the lip on the wheel extends further out then the tire. This leaves a decent gap between the tire and wheel exposing the wheel easily to damage. I'm hoping to fit a tire on there that would protect the wheel.

Honestly, even after reading on the tire sizing it still has me a bit confused. I would appreciate any help or opinions as to the size of the tire I would need to protect the wheel better. If there is added performance in anyway that's a plus.

I'm also trying to decide between Bridgestone or Michelin. This is a summer only car, so I am looking at high performance summer tires. My only concern would be rain. It will be mostly daily driver and occasional track for the time being. So, I'm not sure if these tires are to aggressive or not. I've been eyeing Michelin Pilot Super sport for awhile. Then I came across a thread on here about the Bridgestone RE11.

Like I said though, the primary goal is to do something to protect the wheels. They are stock ray's on my 2013 370Z Nismo. The tires that came on it are HankooK V12 evo, proper size. Included Pics of damage. Once again I would appreciate any help or opinions, thanks.

If you bought the car second hand, those curb rash could have came from the previous owner, or even the dealer if the it had been in their posession before you purchased it. I can't imagine anyone scraping up all four wheels and not remembering, there is a gut wrenching sound when I carelessly curbed on of my rear wheel. Trust me, if it was you would know.

Tires should be wider for sure. The most popular size being used is 265/35 & 305/30. This set up should provide enough meat to give your rims some protection.

Michelin and RE-11 are two of the top choices but pricey, especially in 19's. However, you cant go wrong with either one.

Very much appreciated. I suppose it is possible I overlooked the damage before purchase. That would sound more like me, then scraping the curb myself. It was used, a company purchased it as a fleet vehicle for the CEO. It was then sold back to the dealer about six months later. I then happened by it by chance at the dealership before they got it stickered and up for sale.

Once again, thanks for the information on the tires. I think the cost will be worth it. I'll get some pics once the wheels have been fixed and the new tires are on.

I think you answered yourself above with the fact that the tires may be slightly stretched. This can lead to wheel damage, of course. Once the wheels are refinished and you have meatier tires on them, you should be good to go.

Poster above mentioned 265 and 305's and that would be fine, as, like he said, plenty of people run that sizing. However, you can get by with smaller than that, if you don't want to go that wide. It's up to you.

As far as tire upgrade, I would not choose the RE11, if I were you. You said rain was a concern of yours and I'm sure the RE11 does fine in rain but if your looking for a grippy summer tire that has good review on wet pavement and a little better longevity, go with the Potenza Pole Position S-04 (I currently have them and love it) or Michelin PSS. The PSS may be a tad better and last a little longer but it may not be significant enough to account for the price difference. S-04 would be just right for you, in my opinion.

I appreciate the reply and the helpful info. I'll look into the S-04 as well. I do like the idea of going wide. So, that size sounds good.


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check out FP's post in the RE11 thread. he's running wide tire setup. RE11's and S04's have wheel protector sidewalls.

stay away from DW and PSS if you want wheel protection. round sidewalls are pretty much worthless for that. i speak from experience on the DW.. :ugh:

I'll do exactly that. I really do like how the RE11 look as well, not as plain looking as the PSS. I'll check it out once I get home thanks.


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I have the PSS on the front and S-04 on the back. The PSS run narrow for the same size tire so they would offer less rim protection unless you went much wider. The S-04 are good tires and a good value. They wear faster than the PSS but they are also much cheaper than the PSS.

Thanks, good info. I'll keep that in mind while deciding.

So, after looking around the forums and at FP's thread as well. I'm thinking I want to go with the RE-11's. On sizing I see the 265/35 305/30 and 265/35 285/35. It seem's both sizes are used by other nismo's or sport package wheels. I'm assuming rear width being the big difference, traction may be the pro between the two? However, is there any cons to going that wide over 285/35?

I'd do 275 and 305, it's what I ran, and I loved it.


Also, OP, did you go through any automated car washes?

I did, octopus car wash, I guess I didn't think about that. I don't suppose the wider tire will protect against that possibility?

:tup: yah, RE11's are definitely nice. even though they are extreme high performance tires, the ride is smooth and comfy.

actually even 285/35/19 S04's have like 8mm of lip protection on my 10.5" wheel on my G.

on the contrary, the DW's i have on 10.5" wheel has literally ZERO wheel protection. :ugh: it's the round sidewalls that kill lips.

So I have been reading. I just need to figure out where I should go on the tire size.

i run stock nismo sizes on my nismo set. 245/40/19 and 285/35/19.

they are plenty wide and sticky for my ride.

I see, my wheels are 19x9.5 and 19x10.5. Tires are 245/40ZR19 and 275/35ZR19

yah, i was talking to my son while i was typing. fixed the typo just now.

yah, those are the sport wheel sizes. nismo's run 285/35/19 on the rears.

Ah, for a minute there I was googling to make sure I had the right information about mine, lol.

btw, dont get the 275/35/19 size S04's. i mentioned this many times but for some reason the S04's in that size is narrow. probably for them hella flusha toilet folks. definitely go 285/35/19 if S04's. i speak from experience. :mad:

yah, just to clarify:

sport package wheels are 19x9 with 245/40/19 and 19x10 275/35/19
nismo wheels are 19x9.5 with 245/40/19 and 19x10.5 285/35/19

I will remember that, thanks. My car is currently in the process of getting turbos installed. So, I will be running boost. I'm thinking a bit more width may help.

Thanks for that, I thought they were the same as the nismo. I think that will help a bit on the decision.

My rear tires are 275/35, so now I know they are not the right size, stupid dealership.

yah, plus no offense, but those are those junk v12's. they dont belong on a car like our Z if you consider yourself a car enthusiast. :tup:

yep if ure going to run FI, i'd go with FP's setup probably with the RE11's.

Price out the Potenza S-04's. Currently $800 for the set at TireRack. Great tire, runs a very close second to the Pilot Super Sports for about $400 less. The S-04s have nice overlap on my Touring Sport, good protection for the wheels, as I found out just the other day.

Speaking of wheel rash...be very selective of where you take your newly-finished wheels to have your new tires mounted and balanced. That's a very common place to get all four of them them scraped up, not to mention the need for accurate balancing.

Oh, I definitely agree these tires are junk.

I'll take a look at those, on TireRack right now, thanks. And, I'll be careful.

Looks like a $304 difference, that's not bad. Do these run well in 265/35 and 305/30 as well? Or would I want to size down on these?

Unknown. I"m just running stock sport-package sizes Front: 245/40-19 Rear: 275/35-19.

Some people prefer the looks of the bigger tires I guess. Doesn't do anything for me. You'll only get about 13,000 - 18,000 miles out of a set of any of these performance tires. I see no need to overspend. YMMV

This is true. However, going wider sounds good since I'll be FI. And, I want to make sure my wheels are protected.


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As to protecting the wheels, my S-04s protect the rims very well. I'll try to get a picture later to demonstrate.

Friction (traction, in this case) isn't dependent on contact area between tire and asphalt/concrete. It's only dependent on weight of the vehicle and the coefficient of friction (in this case, the nature of the tire compound). Given the same rubber compound, wider tires don't get you better traction. They CAN/DO create or solve sidewall problems. A wider contact patch can allow a softer tire compound such that the sidewalls can support the weight, but wider tire does adversely affect tire wear, as does the necessarily softer compound.

Mind-blower, huh? Look it up. Many people are resistant to the concept that big wide tires don't give better traction, but it's a well-understood concept in physics. I remember the old sandpaper block experiments from high school physics my junior year. I've taken a lot of physics courses since then...neither the concept nor the formula have changed. The formula for friction is:

Fr = μN

where:

Fr is the resistive force of friction (traction)
μ is the coefficient of friction for the two surfaces (nature of the tire compound)
N is the perpendicular force pushing the two objects together (weight of vehicle)

Note that surface area of the contact patch between the two surfaces plays no role in figuring resistive force (friction/traction). If you prize sidewall stiffness as an aid to cornering then you'll actually want narrower tires. Narrower tires allow stiffer sidewalls if the tire compound is the same, as I believe it is in all of these summer performance tires across a given line.



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Well, that's some great information there. Thanks for taking the time to type it. I didn't know any of that, so it's appreciated. Indeed, I would like to see pics of your S-04 protecting the wheel. Just so I can see how it looks. Thanks.


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Wider tires dissipate the heat better. So it takes them longer to get greasy if heat is causing the issue. If I were you I would go with the 285/35/19 on front and 325/30/19 on the rear RE-11 setup. I have on my car right now 265/35/19 front and 285/25/19 rear SO-4's. The SO-4's do not offer anything wider than 305/30/19's. I will be going wider when these tires wear out. I do not like the stretched look at all. There is a thread on here with the Nismo wheels and wider tires I speak of.


Link to thread.
http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...5-30r19-r.html

Awesome information, thank you for that. As soon as I am finished with some work I'll check out this thread. I'm quite interested, I'll post back in a bit. :tup:

k, so we need to get bicycle tires now.

Thats looks like car wash or Bank of America drive trough damage.

Nah. Tire-buying is all about looks.

:icon18:

You know, I think I came across a discussion about this on some thread a long time ago. Some people were saying that more width = more tread on ground = more traction. While others were opposing that idea. I know a very small portion of the tire actually touches the ground. And I thought the only way to increase that amount was through width. Though it may be just a small addition.

I didn't know that wider tires dissipate heat better. If nothing else, that alone is worth going wider. Aside from a better more aggressive look, in my opinion.

But taking it to a simple extreme, just a thought. So, say I take tires the width most Prius's use but a high performance tire like the RE-11. Then I take the Nismo's stock tire size in the RE-11. Let's just say both 19" and compare on same exact 370Z. I would think all I would do with the prius size is spin all day. It's a confusing concept to think other-wise. However, I am an opened mind and like to learn.

True. And they resist shredding better since the friction is spread over a wider area. It could be really important if the OP is going to track the car and really plans on putting major league cornering stresses on those tires. Daily driving on the street, even "spirited" daily driving on the street, no way are OEM-size tires going to have heat or shredding dissipation problems.

But those big ol' wide tires will sure look cool. Just like a real racing car ;) .