Ride Comfort: Moving from 18" to 19"

GOBLUE

Has anybody gone from the OE 18" Touring wheel to 19" aftermarket or 19" OE Sport wheels? I'm curious how big the degradation is to ride comfort. This assumes keeping the stock Touring suspension.

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2010 370Z Roadster, Touring 6MT, Pearl White on Black, FI CBE

Duc_Z09

Can't say for sure (and I have a high tolerance for bumps being a NISMO owner), but I'd think if you're keeping the non-sport suspension it's not going to be very noticeable.

Test drive a sport model and think "somewhere in between this and mine, probably closer to mine." If that's acceptable to you, go for it.

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2009 370z #206 (all mods are Home Depot)
2009 Ducati 848 (full Ohlins, Termignoni, etc)
2003 Grand Cherokee (long arms, big tires, 4.56, lockers)

TerribleONE

I did and put a few thousand miles on before switching to KWV3s and I didn't notice much of a difference.

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GOBLUE

Alright, thanks. I'll have to go test drive a Sport model for reference...

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2010 370Z Roadster, Touring 6MT, Pearl White on Black, FI CBE

imjello

I just made the switch from base oem 18'' to rays sport oem 19'' rims, the ride really didn't change too much. I am on Swift springs, so the ride is already firm though.

I have more road noise, unsure if its the tire brand or due to the fact they are wider.

Steering was noticeably changed, mostly because it is like putting your base rear tires on the front of the car ( moving up from 225 to 245 ) so a bigger contact patch. Not bad, just noticeable.


I have always liked smaller rims and did not want to like 19'' wheels, but the Z looks good with them.

tonythetiger

i went from stock 18" to 19" aftermarket wheels and no difference in terms of ride comfort, i have kwv3

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KWV3/Eibach/StillenG3/FI CBE+LTH+34Row/Uprev/SPL/SouthBendSS/QuaifeLSD/4.08/TommyKaira/Status/VolkZE40/AP Radical BBK/Seibon/Amuse/VIS/Sparco/WorksBellGTC/RJM/Nismo

EmilZ

I went from 18"stock on my 09 touring with stock suspension to the 19 "sport rays. I immediately felt more connected with the road, example changes in elevation from 1 lane to another and felt much more easy responsiveness in turns. Honestly was concerning at 1st but once I tested them out, grew to understand how they responded compared to the 18's.

Just when i got comfortable with the wheels, i added KwV3's with whiteline sways. The command has now shifted from the wheels to the driver and I absolutely love them.

nis350

I was under the impression that the springs, shocks and sway bars etc are the same between the non-sport and the sport?

I don't have any experience between 18 & 19's. I don't think it would be too bad. The brand/type of tires probably would alter the comfort, noise and handling more.

GOBLUE

Thanks, this is good info! I would imagine road noise would go up a bit with the wider tires, but as you said that is also very tire dependent.

I agree the Z looks great with 19's. I had a very difficult time finding a roadster with touring + sport. There were many more touring 6MT to choose from, and that's what I found. I love the looks of the 19's though.

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2010 370Z Roadster, Touring 6MT, Pearl White on Black, FI CBE

GOBLUE

I did more research and you are correct, the suspension is the same between base/touring and sport models. My bad! The sport package on the roadster adds:

19" Rays forged wheels
Limited slip rear differential
Sport brakes
SnychroRev Match on 6MT

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2010 370Z Roadster, Touring 6MT, Pearl White on Black, FI CBE

Duc_Z09

Is that just a roadster thing? I was under the impression that the sport suspension was noticeably more rigid, at least on the coupe. Maybe not?

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2009 370z #206 (all mods are Home Depot)
2009 Ducati 848 (full Ohlins, Termignoni, etc)
2003 Grand Cherokee (long arms, big tires, 4.56, lockers)

GOBLUE

The difference between roadster and coupe sport packages is that the coupe has a rear spoiler and front chin spoiler. No mechanical differences.

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2010 370Z Roadster, Touring 6MT, Pearl White on Black, FI CBE

nowayhighway

I replaced my oem with 19 Lorenzo Wl28 bought from 4wheelonline. Upon mounting them I didn't notice any difference with the drive comfort, but you will surely notice the extra grip and surface area it holds on to.

imjello

Replaced the tires with new s-04 pole position, road noise is lower and with new tires seems to have helped the comfort also.

I went wider and the hatch of my car is stripped so I can hear the road noise levels easy

SurfDog

...and if you plan to track her you will (among other things):
1.Go back to 18 inch wheels (19s are for looks more than performance) probably 275 all the way around
2.get rid of the VLSD which is terrible on the track
3.possibly upgrade your brakes (the calipers are good, but pads and rotors are usually upgraded)
4. LOVE your SRM!!! SRM alone is worth the sport package!!

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09 6spd Berk CBE, JWT cams, ZSpeed CSC, Stillen (25 row oil, brake cooling, sways, gen3 CAI), Passport (9500ci), Quaife LSD, Z1 400 hp kit, ss lines, pads, rotors, clutch etc, Phunk's pan and fuel starve fix