Judge my winter wheel & tire setup...constructively.

JustinP

I'd love to get opinions from folks on the setup I'm thinking about with help from tirerack. But if it sucks, help me out, tell me why, and provide alternatives.

I have a 2014 Touring Sport. I live in Chicago area and due to circumstances beyond my control I'm going to have to drive my car a little this winter. I still plan on avoiding snow storms but I may get caught in a few dustings / the odd inch of snow. It is bumming me out so much I've been thinking about trading in the Z or getting another car....but those solutions seem a bit extreme. I love summer tires for when things are warmer than 50 degrees.

I'm looking at putting on 18s for winter...cause they're cheap. On tirerack, it is called "Sport Edition A8-2" which are 18x8 on all 4 corners. With a Blizzak WS80 size: 225/50R18 95T at all four corners. Thoughts on if the wheels will clear the Sport brake package? Is tire rack correct, suggesting the wheel in the first place?

For the summer months I have 25mm spacers all the way around. Should I plan on removing those for winter? Your help is appreciated.

Tirerack has those wheels for $113 each, which is pretty appealing for winter wheels.

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MPLS_Z

I just went through the same conundrum myself. I browsed TireRack over and over, but I could not pull the trigger on any of the "cheaper" wheels because they were so damn ugly for one, and also wasn't sure if they'd clear. I did some more searching, and found some nice(r) XXR 530 wheels at super discounted prices, similar to what the tire rack wheels are running. Had em shipped, took maybe 4 days, and just went to Discount Tire and went with 245/45/18 X-Ice. Maybe a little wide, but Minneapolis is pretty good with plowing, and the X-Ice are much better for dry cold driving according to what I've read. Check out the sale at NL Motoring, I'm sure you'll see something you like better than the tire rack wheels.
I went square with 18x8.75 et 33, and those things clear by the smallest of margins, so if I were to do it again, I'd get the same wheels with ET +20.. Good luck!!

Silly Rabbit

I'm in Indiana and run 2 sets of wheels. The Z isn't my daily, but I still drive it year round. I have not been caught in snow and avoid driving while the slush and salts are still on the streets. Stock 18" wheels with Blizzaks are a great option and will clear sport brakes. I run spacers with my winter wheels, no problems. Not sure about Tire Rack's suggestion. Check with Jason at getyourwheels. He's a forum sponsor, has a good selection of wheels and can put together a package for a good price.

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confucius

So, I'm from where you are...perhaps a few more miles west. But have a serious desire to drive this buggy everyday. I have a '13 sport with 110,k miles and use 2 sets of wheels/tires to get through the weather here.

Through a TireRack buy: I drop in 4 Enkei F10 18x8 to replace the stock 19" Rays, swapping the summer 275/305 set with 225/50R18 in front and 255/45R18 Blizzak in rear for winter.

Love it. Fits Sport brakes and helps with extra sidewall for pothole season. I only use spacers in the winter because the rear will look odd without it due to the rear stock wheels extreme offset compared to basic replacement wheels. So, I put 30mm H&R's on in back for the winter set up. For you I would just take out the front 25mm ones and suffer through it.

Happy sledding!

JustinP

Thanks, that is great. As the other posts have been. I've been looking at the Enkei TS-10 18x8.5 but why did you put different size tires on the same size wheels? What is the benefit of the wider tire in the rear?

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Stillen G3 CAI | Z1 Setrab 25 Row Oil Cooler Thermostatic | H&R 25mm spacers x 4 | IJDMTOY 4th Brake light

confucius

For a few reasons – all personal choice with no science applied; Stock was 245/275, but I actually run 275/305 for 8-9 months, so 225/255 is in keeping with the normal F/R sizing ratio in my mind; narrower fronts to more easily find the pavement and discourage plowing on top of the snow when turning; the rear looks a bit more filled out with a wider set; and don't forget 85% of the winter will be driving on cold, yet dry roads - so rear grip will still matter for our car - at least for my style of driving.

My choice was also driven by what made the most sense financially. TR had a great deal on 4 18x8 wheels that fit our sport brakes and that I could wrap with winter rubber. So, I simply ordered the narrowest for front and widest for rear allowed on the same 8" wheel.

Couldn't be more pleased rolling into my 5th winter.

>
I also should say that I run the Blizzak LM- line of winters...not the WS

Ben370

I'm in the same situation as OP. Will 18x8 35mm offset square setup clear Akebono brakes? Nobody really answered that part...

Jonny

^ The oem 18's that come on the 370z are 18x8 with an offset of 43. So you should look for wheels with at least a 43 offset. I personally run the stock oems with a 20mm spacers. They are essentially a 18x8 with a +23 offset.


To answer JustinP's question, I personally went thru craigslist to pick up a used set of OEM 18's and just bought the tires from tire rack. I think I got the wheels for like $350 for the set. If you break down the math, thats a little less than $90 a wheel. I think you are able to fit 350z wheels if I am not mistaken, especially with your spacers

OhioYJ

My 370Z is my daily driver (I have other toys that sit in the garage, even though the wife thinks the Z counts as one). I picked up a set of 18" Rays 350Z wheels for mine, and they clear the sport brakes, no spacers needed:



Couple things, I found several posts when I was reading about this about people having issue with the traction control / stability control when going to far away from the factory diameter tire size. Although I think this was mainly when they ended up with different sizes front and rear. This was one reason I ended up going 245/45/18, which maintained the same overall diameter as my factory 19" Rays (well so close it didn't matter). This also kept my speedometer correct. If you have 18s, your diameter maybe different, so do your own calculations. While a narrower 225 would have been better, the 245s did fine for me last winter. I will say we didn't get anything serious here in Ohio last year though.

The other part here was I ended up having my buddy at a local tire shop clone my existing TPMS so my car doesn't know which wheels are on the car, I just swap between the two freely. You can buy these programmers / readers / sensors, but probably easier to find a shop that can do this. Tire rack can do this but you have to give them the ID of your existing sensors. A tire shop can give you this. This can be done without breaking down the tire.

osbornsm

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Hey stop reading the above...

Get yourself a set of OEM 18" wheels used ~ $400
Get a set of Blizzaks 245/45/18 on all four corners.
Drive like a beast in snow.

Thank you for your attention.

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OhioYJ

This would be ideal, as the offsets on 350Z wheels are not quite correct for the 370Z. It doesn't look awful, but true 370 would look better. Also I forgot to mention I did need different lug nuts when for the 350 wheels.

JustinP

I thought I read that the 18" OEM wouldn't clear the sport brakes? Or will it clear because I have the 25mm spacers at all four corners.

Also....$400 seems low based on my 2 minute Ebay search. I'll keep my eyes peeled though. I'd love to stay OEM though. Thanks for the input!

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Jayhovah

OEM 18" will clear the sport brakes without spacers.

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JustinP

Cool, thanks!

__________________
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Ben370

Went with Sport Edition A9's 18x8 +35mm and 225/50R18 Blizzak WS80's. Test fit them today. Of course they took a little wiggling to get them on as I'm used to the extra room with 19" wheels. Clearance #s are guesses, didn't measure.

Front: Clears brakes by 1/4" on face and 1/2" on edge
Sticks out like maybe 1/2" past fender (forgot to take pic of that) but turns lock to lock with no clearance problems. Maybe 40mm offset would've solved this but it's fine for winter wheels.



Rear: Clears brakes by 1+" on face and 3/4" on edge
Tire sits flush with fender





Thanks for the help!