Guest scca Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 Tom..... FYI the 12.2"x1.25" rotors i sell with the outlaw calipers will fit under some 15" wheels.... not sure about minilite - but you can put plenty of brake under a 15" rim so i wouldnt worry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BadKarmaCreepin Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 go with the great big centerlines!! they have some bada$$ wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 need some opinions here.. I like the minilites a LOT more than the panasports (i'm too oldschool for my own good), but i'm concerned that the smaller (15") minilites will limit my brake options... does anybody here have some good pictures of 16" panasports on a Z? - if i could see some more examples, i might start liking them more. gimme a shout! PS - my car with 16" panasports would look precisely like that green car of the month for 2001 on Zdriver.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 How are you using the car? Street, drag, autoX, roadrace? How much hp? If you're roadracing AND have BIG hp, you *might* need wheels bigger than 15" to accomodate big brakes, but I doubt it. TALL wheels are needed for the current crop of HUGE cars to keep them from looking ridiculous. Taller wheels on a sports car that is appropriately small (240Z) look pretty goofy to ME. No more wagon-wheeled Zs please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 I had 15inch Panasports - they looked great and the car sat really really low. I've now got Konig 5.0's in 17X8 and they ARE taller. In order to have decent sidewall you end up with the wheel package being taller. I don't think I mind it but honestly if a 15inch wheel works for you and you can get TIRES for them I think you'll be fine. 16inch is fine too but if you go 17 like I did be aware that ground clearance goes up a bit. Not a bad thing mind you but I'm still getting used to my spoiler being higher. I'll probably be dropping the front end a bit to compensate. I'll try to take some decent pics soon so that folks can see what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 Tom, Heed BLKMGK's suggestion, I have 15x7 Centerlines on the front and 15x10 Centerlines on the back of a Scarab and am in the process of putting new tires on this bad boy. This is a very big problem even if money is not a concern. No one is making V or Z rated high performance large 50 series tires in 15 inch anymore. 16's, 17's or 18's you have all the selection in the world. I wish I had a crystal ball back in 1988 when I bought the 15's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 Dan, I understand the "wagon wheel" thing. But I think my car looks good without looking "wagon wheel" with the 17s: Granted, it will sit down a few inches with the drivetrain installed. I concur with MacDaddy - good street tires in a wide 15" format are incredibly hard to find, if not impossible. 16s are easier. If I hadn't run across Jim Biondo's wheels, I'd probably have gone with 16" panasports or Revolution wheels. Now that the 5 lug is so popular, I'd look for 16s in a 5 lug format that would work. 17s DO allow for about 10mm more tire, but that's probably splitting hairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 Car looks kick-ass, Pete. At least the wheels are rwd offset, and don't look so wagon-wheel. It sucks that tire manufacturers are beginning to ignore 15" and smaller diameters. Trend seems to be towards taller, lower-profile, not any wider tires. Since I'll probably never have flares or coil-overs, 225 is about as wide as I'll ever go on my Z. The selection of 15" 225 tires dwindles every year, but there are still some good ones available. If I had to get new street wheels right now, I might get 16s due to street tire availability. Then again, I believe the streetable competition tires will be available in 225/50-15 for some time now, which is what I plan to run for street/track rain tires. Looks are of course subjective, and even I'll admit that the 225/50-14 Hoosiers I use look pretty roller-skatey. Lower overall gearing, lower c.g., lighter weight, and lower cost are all benefits, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 Thanks Dan. I used to have 14x7 Western Cyclone wheels on that car but it was with stock suspension and that cool 70s 110 "red" (actually orange with red tint) paint. Those wheels had 225/60-14s on them and I agree, a 225 tire stuffed under the Z fenders look roller-skatey . Heck, until you get behind my car and bend down, you don't notice those 255 section width meats reach inside so far. What street/track rain tires are you going to use or do you recommend? I'm thinking of using something like that on my daily driver? I only put 3000 miles a year on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modern Motorsports Ltd Posted September 21, 2001 Share Posted September 21, 2001 "I wish I had a crystal ball back in 1988 when I bought the 15's" You don't have to stick with older rims necessarily. You might be suprised at what you'd fetch used and then be able to buy new or near-new/used for. I sold my 2 16x7 zero offset sets of rims and did my 5lug conversion, bought 2 fine sets of 16x8, 15lb@ Rx7TT wheels and had some $ left over. Some older mustang lovers might like your rims or a Z guy throwing slicks on his for a quarter miler etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted September 22, 2001 Share Posted September 22, 2001 thanks for all the posts guys... i never thought about tire selection being a problem for 15s... i know that "BIG SAM" had 16 inch minilites, but i dont know how the driver aquired them.. to answer a few questions, my car will be street driven/autocrossed, and will never see more than 400 horses ince converted. (its currently all original!) I just bought her, so i'll post a few pictures as soon as possible... SCCA - i'm looking for a brake upgrade, so you'll probably here back from me sometime about the kit you're selling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted September 22, 2001 Share Posted September 22, 2001 You think you 15 inch guys have problems, i have a set of beautiful 14" Enkeis and the tire selection I can get really sux. I ended up with 225/60/14's on back and 215/60/14's up front. There was only one pair of these tires in town, so my only choice (Had to have new tires TODAY!), was BFG daytona's on the back, and no name M&S tires on front! I plan on moving back ones up front and putting something meaty on the back, and scrapping present front ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KraZ4spd Posted September 23, 2001 Share Posted September 23, 2001 These are 16" Panasports on Derek Smith's 240Z. I think that this car is a true beauty! I love the way it sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted September 24, 2001 Share Posted September 24, 2001 Pete, Regarding street/track rain tires, this past weekend changed my mind. I was thinkin' I'd get Kumhos, but in my SLOW '91 240SX I was pretty much the fastest guy on the track during the raining/wet track session at NHIS, after being passed by nearly EVERYbody in the dry sessions. Tires are Bridgestone RE730s. Apparently WAY better than the Kumhos in the wet. I'm guessing that DOT competition tires just can't get up to temperature in the wet. So I'll be getting Yokahama AVS intermediates for the Z (no 225/50-15 size RE730) for use as street tires and rain tires at the track, based on test results at tirerack.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted September 24, 2001 Share Posted September 24, 2001 Thanks for that info Dan. I'll be looking at those RE730s for my DD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted September 26, 2001 Share Posted September 26, 2001 kraZ4spd, thanks for that picture! - that car is gorgeous! - really makes me like the panasports a lot more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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