Wider tires on base 18's
 

Well as my first mod for my Z I decided to go with wider tires for the factory 18's.
I plan on moving the 245/45/18 tires to the front and buying 275/40/18 for the rears.

I tried searching but I couldn't find any pictures of wider tires installed on the base 18's.
I know there will be a slight bulge because of the wider tires -- just wondering if anyone else has done this and has pics of how the set up looks like. Thanks.

I don't have any pictures specifically, but 275 will certainly fit just fine on a 9" rim. I might go with a 265 personally.

I need new front tires and was thinking of getting something meatier and better than the stock advans. Haven't decided on anything. What size would be good for the fronts?

Also this thread should be moved to the wheels and tires section :)

The stock advans are actually a pretty good tire. Hard to find others with such a low treadwear.

OP, I did exactly what you are proposing. Looks great.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1301084844

The Advan sports are actually a pretty solid tire.

I've been thinking some more about tires, and after doing some research it looks like 245 in the front and 275 in the back would be an ideal size for some wider tires on the base 18's. Thoughts Dan?

Here are some options from just looking at tire rack:
1) Yokohama ADVAN Sport (Max Summer)
245/45R18 96W $288.00 (ea.) / 245/45ZR18 (100Y) $213.00 (ea.)
275/40ZR18 (103Y) $248.00 (ea.)
Total Cost = $1072 / $922
What's up with the Z in the tire size?

2) Potenza RE050A Pole Position (Max Summer)
245/45R18 100W = $236.00 (ea.)
275/40R18 99Y = $277.00 (ea.)
Total Cost = $1026

3) Potenza RE-11 (Extreme Summer)
245/45R18 100W $276.00 (ea.)
275/40R18 99W $301.00 (ea.)
Total Cost = $1154

4) Potenza RE960AS Pole Position (Ultra All Season)
245/45R18 100W $216.00 (ea.)
275/40R18 99W $264.00 (ea.)
Total Cost = $960

5) Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 (Extreme Summer)
245/45ZR18 100Y $158.00 (ea.)
275/40ZR18 103Y $176.00 (ea.)
Total Cost = $668

While compiling this I've realized that I'm not gonna be hitting the track anytime soon so I don't need all out track level performance yet. I left the info there for other people to use. I'm trying to save money for now and once I have a permanent job, I can start looking at track performance tires.

I've narrowed it down to 4 or 5. The all seasons would help since the Z is my only car, rain or snow. Do you know how the RE960A's perform vs the Advan Sport's? The Hankooks are by far the cheapest option and would save me a significant amount of money. I'm definitely not going to buy a separate set of winter tires, I don't have the money to do that. This is why I'm leaning towards the all seasons. Help please?

I think the V12 will last you a while, but they will grip worse than the stock RE050a

The base 18" wheels come with the Yokohama Advan Sport tires. How do the V12's compare with the RE960A All Seasons? I'm trying to decide between saving a couple hundred dollars with the V12's or getting better wet/snow performance with the All Seasons. Both are cheaper than the Advans.

Never used Advan Sport sorry. I have the V12 for my Prius, I am not a big fan of it. They are great street touring tire, but track performance is completely overrated. If you are trying to save money, there is nothing wrong with the V12s. They just have marginal grip, soft sidewall. I do have to admit they are a very quiet tire!

I personally would not go with the V12's, and I'd honestly go with all seasons over the V12's if I were you, simply because it simplifies things. The soft sidewall of the V12's combined with the sidewall profile you are dealing with on a set of 18's is really going to be a pretty uninspiring ride.

Both Pole Position options are pretty solid. They're a good tire with good grip, and they hold up well even on the 18's.

I would probably skip the RE11's for your use, you just won't see enough life out of them, and if you aren't driving hard, they are not worth the extra cost.

The Advan sports are a pretty decent tire, but you've already run them and you know how they are.

One other options you may want to look at (though I'm not sure they have them in your size) is the Star Specs. They are one of my favorite tires for tall sidewall use, and they are a pretty inexpensive tire that offers some great performance. They were my absolute favorite tire I ever ran on my s2k.

Thanks man, I knew you could help me out :tup:

The Star Specs come in 275/35ZR18, but I was thinking that 35 profile might be too small. Here are the prices from tire rack

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
245/40ZR18 93W $209.00 (ea.)
275/35ZR18 95W $263.00 (ea.)
Total Cost = $944

Not bad at all. I think I'm gonna go with the all seasons. I know I'm gonna be driving in snow eventually, so it's better to spend a few hundred more on tires (vs the V12's) than to risk something worse happening. Only getting fronts this summer, rears will be put on when needed. For this tire cycle (and maybe the next one) I'll stick with all seasons. After that I'll probably switch over to RE11's or the Star Specs. :tup:

Makes sense. I wouldn't mix all seasons up front with the current tires out back though, especially since the car understeers so badly as it is.

How would it affect my everyday driving? Just using it for DD, no track use. The cruise will be the most performance oriented use. I don't really ever push the car and I drive pretty calmly most of the time. Buying a whole set at once might be tough money-wise.