Best fitting tires for a 71 240Z with 14" mags and coil overs

[Dat73z]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:04 AM, LooseRocks said:

Thanks for the answer.  I'm going to run T3 Evolved coils with their BBK and I want to run 245's with no flares.  The issue has been wheels.  There doesn't seem to be many options out there with a small enough offset to work.  I was looking at TE37V (17x8 or 17x8.5) but the only ones with 0 offset are 4x and I would prefer 5x.  I suppose I could go with 16" wheels but I worry about clearing the BBK and tire options.  I do like the looks of the CCW.  That might be a viable option.  Are you running a BBK with your setup?

Even some 15s will fit with the t3 BBK. I know because I run it. T3 will give you a template to measure the barrel of the wheel to ensure it will clear. Sidewall can also matter if you're running it close as I've found some some brands have beefier sidewalls for the same profile tire than others. 

[LooseRocks]

13 hours ago, primaz said:

BBK? I assume Big Brake Kit? As long as you are using a 16" or larger it should be fine.  I am running the Arizona 12.5" big brake Wilwood kit on two of my 240z cars.  Actually the larger the diameter the more tire options as new cars are not using 14" or 15" anymore.  For 17" there are good tire options with the Michelin Pilot Sport which is a good tire https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+All+Season+4&frontTire=445YR7PSAS4XL&rearTire=44YR7PSAS4XL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

My Red 240Z is running ground control coil overs with the same Arizona 12.5" vented rotor big Wilwood brake kit and the same tires.  16" wheels has less options than the 17" I believe for the ultra low profile but there are still options in both 16" & 17".  I would look carefully at the tire size and brand options and let that guide you between 16, 17" or even 18" if you are ok with the large diameter.  You will need to see the options in different tire heights from 40, 45, 50 to help guide your preference.  The right offset is critical to avoid rubbing and I would recommend to roll your fenders. I would recommend to spend the money for a 3 piece wheel which will be easy to replace an inside or outside barrel if you ever dent it vs the 2 piece welded versions I am running. A 240Z with 245 wide quality tires with coil overs will handle incredible, you will love the feel...

 

Tire choice and guaranteed caliper clearance is what drove me to look at 17's.  Once there, I was pretty much SOL on wheel choice.  The only ones that I could find that had an offset that might work for tires sizes at 225 or larger and no fender flares are the TE37V (17x8 with 4x114.3 and 0 offset).  The same wheel with 5x114.3 is +25.  I don't think there's 25mm on the inside even with the coilovers.

 

The CCW are nice looking wheels.  I love the looks of the classic.  Their 3 piece are the only ones that are smallish at 17".  Everything else is larger.  18 would be ok, but I think that it starts to look a bit too wagon-wheel on this car.  I like the idea of being able to specify an offset.  The CCWs is at $1150 (17x8) per wheel.  That's a hard price to swallow.  It's ~$400-$500 more than TE37V per wheel.  I also looking at Jongbloed.  They also have custom offsets and seem to be in the same neighborhood as the Volk.

 

Did you have a shop roll your fenders?  On your 16x8 +13 offset setup, do you think you could have gone +25?

 

Since we're talking expensive customs, might as well add BC forged to this list.  Still "reasonable" 🤣 at ~$3200 per set (mono-forged).  Also option to buy the fifth at 1/2 price.

Edited July 20, 2021 by LooseRocks
Adding one more to the list of vendors.

[primaz]

Yes I had my body shop roll the fenders.  I am not sure about the +25?  I know that the 245 tires fit comfortably and the rears could go a size larger with the current offset but we wanted to be able to rotate the tires to get the maximum life of the tires.  As long as you focus on three piece wheels then your choices open up to any custom offset you want.  I agree the CCW's look nice, I have another car with their D240 3 piece wheel and those look cool.  Also there are shops that will custom re-barrel a three piece wheel and you can typically take a 16" or even a 15" wheel and change it to a 17"; not sure if that opens up options on buying a used set of rims just for the center sections?  CCW used to make custom 2 piece wheels but I think they stopped doing that as the orange Z was a 2 piece welded that cut the cost by half; some smaller wheel companies may offer that as well? but I like the 3 piece in the event you hit a pot hole hard/fast you can just replace the barrel. 

[Michael]

Just saw this thread.  The original poster's wheels are 14x6, correct?  Here is a photo of 14x7 "Western Turbine" wheels.  They fit a stock -suspension 280Z, with about 3/4" gap between the outermost portion of the spring perch, and the innermost extent of the wheel lip or rubber.  For the eagle-eyed, these are Pete Paraska's wheels, from >20 years ago... and yes, the "original" tires.  My plan is to replace the tires with Toyo Proxes R888, 225/50R14.  These look to be the last "meaty" tires available in 14" diameter, which are even remotely suitable for the occasional sparing jaunt down the street.

[joyce_mor]

I don't know if I like these wheels, but again, we all have different preferences. Toyo tires, in particular the Proxes model is a good choice. It provides firm grip and stability during turns as per the reviews I read online.