tires for oem 18's
 

It's about time to get some new rubber for my stock 18's (or upgrade my wheels!) and I am noticing that the front tire size (225/50 18) is tough to come by. I spoke to someone at Discount Tire who is recommending I switch to a 225/45 18 in the front so that I can purchase the Hankook V12's. I know these are really good tires from the forum feedback but is it safe to down size my side wall? Are there any ride or safety issues I will experience from doing so? What do most people on here do for a summer or all season tire (im in FL) once the POS oem tires need to be replaced? Thanks in advance.

i'd sooner say to go with a 245/45/18 (this is the stock rear tire size) all around then to go with a 224/45/18 in front.

generally you want to stay within 3% of the stock diameter. the 245/45 leaves you .0645% different(smaller) and the 225/45/18 leaves you at 3.28% smaller diameter.

see the picture for reference

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/w...tire-sizes.jpg

Sounds good. Thanks for the info.

you're welcome. i run 245/45/18 on the 18's that i have for winter. the front looks a LITTLE bit bulging, but its better than having a tire thats too small. i can go take a picture for you when i go on my lunch break. its pretty much like, the tire just fits the wheel exactly, as opposed to having that slightly stretched rounded look.

Ok. Thanks. I am really torn between getting new tires or switching the whole setup to a 19 or 20. I've been watching for anyone selling their sport package 19's.

if i were you i would move up to 19's, you've got your moneys worth out of the 18s, don't bother replacing the tires. new tires are gonna cost you 5-800 dollars. you can get of the 19s from the sport package for like 1000-1200 with tires. then if you sell your 18's for like 300, you're in the same place you would have been money wise.

or just keep the 18's stash it away with the worn out tires somewhere until you're ready to sell the car.

get 19's in the mean time. new wheels, new tires. :p

Going to Good Roads in Ft. Lauderdale in 2 weeks to check out some 19 in and 20 in wheels. Decided to hold off on tires for now. Thanks for the advice.

I just put some all season tires on my Z and have the old OEM Yokohama's. They came off at 844 miles and have 9/32 tread left on them, I was going to try and sell them if you are interested and cheaper then the $1004 that tirerack wanted for new ones.

I run the following on the stock 18's

front: 245/45/18
rear: 275/40-18

I really don't understand why oem tires get a bad rep. The Yoko Advans Sports are pretty good tires in my opinion and on par with tires in the same performance range. The v12's are very close, performance wise and a lot let expensive, which makes them a really good choice. As with most extreme performance summer tires, they all seem to get noisy when its nearing its tread life. This would be a good time to consider new wheels, but just remember you could end up spending more than you intended. It may cost you around $600 for tires on the 18's but $800 for the 19's. Good luck OP.

I agree Mike, in fact I think that the Advan Sport tires are better than the RE50s size being equal. Do you have any pictures of your setup?

Or just buy my brand newish 18" Yokohamas for $400!