i keep thinking 18 inch wheels and keeping the same relative tire sizes that the 19's have. Your impression of just 6 pounds making a world of a difference makes me want 18's for normal driving evne more.

haha .. me too. I can't wait for the snow now! I will still put like a couple of sandbags in the trunk just to get even more traction.

My TPMS lights still hasn't went off :ugh: After how many (approx.) miles did yours go off?

Tony, if that's the case, I would def just live with what you have. Just BE VERY careful driving in sleet or below freezing condition since your tires are summer tires. Other than that, you should be fine. You can spend the money on things like Exhaust or intake etc. I do not have a 2nd vehicle. If it snows, I have to take public transportation. So, for me it's a necessity. Also, it's a big chunk of money too (1700+). I would suggest NO to a winter setup for a 2 mile commute. Heck, you can even walk to work, TONY! :icon17:

I def feel that it's lighter. I can use these rims as snow rims or track rims. That's why I choose these rims though some will say they are not the prettiest looking. For me, Performance > look -- any day of the week! Are you looking into OEM 18"? If I remember correctly, they are heavier than the RAYS lightweight 19", don't they?

Sweet rims.

I thought i read on here 18inch was heavier also.

i think i want something 18" x 9.0" (front) and 18" x 10.0" (rear)
that way i could use tire size 245/45/18 (front) 275/40/18 (rear)
and still be with in manufactor spec. But its hard finding something lighter that fits. That or i am just no good at searching.

Otherthing i wonder, is if there is more sidewall will i notice decrease in cornering.

I'd say my TPMS light went off within 50 miles of swapping (the next day).

Have you noticed a huge change in your traction now? These winter tires are so soft and squishy that anytime I get on the gas, the VDC lights up. Even on the highway at 70mph, dropping down to 5th gear and flooring it makes the VDC come on. I'm finding the performance hit in dry weather to be rather annoying. Hopefully the snow performance makes up for it. It may also be related to the 40-50F temps we still have. Perhaps the traction will improve once the temps go below freezing and the tires firm up.

What have you noticed with traction, AK?

Spear, I'm glad you mentioned this. YES, I am in the same boat. I took the car to the highway. It was 60+ degrees out. When I was accelerating on the acceleration lane, my tires were spinning from 3rd to 4th and even 4th to 5th (6000 RPM + shifting)! I laughed out loud in the car (luckily no one was in the car, although some people driving next to me thought that I should be on medicine!:icon17:).

I drove the car the other day in colder temp (like 38 degrees) and the grip is pretty good. I think these tires will maintain the same grip even when the temparature is below freezing. This is where they differ from all season and summer tires, since they can maintain the similar grip from 60 degrees to 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside temp.

Also, you have to realize, our tires are still breaking in.

Tire Tech Information - Breaking In Your Tires
The performance hit is something we have to live with. I would rather loss a bit of performance than doing 360s in the snow. ( and I'm not even joking, last year I did a 360 in snow on a busy road with my Z with 300 miles. My heart stopped for a split second :shakes head: ) So, this year, I can't wait to say hi to the snow! :icon17:

BTW, TMPS went off. I will call the dealer tomm and see if I can stop by for recalibration.

AK, good to hear I'm not crazy. I think the grip will actually IMPROVE as the temps drop. Right now my tires are like goo. The tread depth must be 14/32 or deeper and you can bend the tread with just a fingernail. I think the sub-freezing temps will firm things up along with the ride and grip. Hell, just accelerating with the window open I can hear the tires groan under the torque.

I'm pretty confident they are going to be stellar this winter though. I went with the Blizzak LM-60 so let me know what you think of the LM-25.

I WILL.

So, I went to the dealership to get my TPMS reset. The service manager wanted to charge me $103 for it! I told him that I spoke to someone two weeks ago and he told me $52. Then, he spoke to his superior and agreed on that price. Now, do you know how long it took them to reset the TPMS? 3 minutes!!! If anything, less than that time! :shakes head: $55 dollars for a 3 minute job!:mad:

Everything is good so far. I'm going to sleep now. When I wake up, I will RE-TORQUE the wheels. It's recommended to do after 100 miles.

A couple of my lugs were a bit below where I torqued them when I rechecked. Now I check once a week :)

:iagree: almost all my lugnuts were below torque! Re-torqued them again :driving:

Instead of jumping or hitting the wrench to loosen or tighten the lugs. Use a metal pipe on the wrench, I have an aluminum one and it's a breeze to change the rims.

Ok Mr. Random :)

:tiphat: Yes, if you don't have a friend, metal pipe is your friend! :tup:

Hey spear, recently I have been turning the VDC off from time to time and drifting in turns :bowrofl: . haha I know I should stop this but these tires love getting loose! :driving:

I've been thinking about this but then I image the rubber actively coming off the tire and my wife's reaction when I tell her I need new ones!

That being said, any aggressive corners with the winter tires really makes the Z rotate nicely. The Z wants to drift and darn is it fun with those winter tires.

It's a lot of fun drifting on skinny snow tires but they sure won't last long! The soft winter tread wears pretty quickly, once the tires are 50% worn they are basically just all seasons.