blue_leaf Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Have searched, but gfound nothing - sorry if this has been asked before. I am planning to run 18 or 19 inch wheels in 9inch width at the front and 9.5 rear and was wondering if these will fit under the stock body with ZG flares or will I have to modify the arches? Is anyone on here running 19s - what width then and how is handling? Offset should not be a problem as I going to order a custom set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 What Z ???? Year???? Speaking from experience I don't think that the 19" are a option because of added weight on the corners. It will kill your braking, acceleration and some milage will suffer. I did not want to listen to others and paid 750+ a wheel then tires and after all was said and done I had 4000 into wheels and tires to sell them off a year later....Unless you are a big HP Z then I would not mess with them.. Research unsprung weight and see if that will change your mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_leaf Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 What Z ???? Year????Speaking from experience I don't think that the 19" are a option because of added weight on the corners. It will kill your braking, acceleration and some milage will suffer. I did not want to listen to others and paid 750+ a wheel then tires and after all was said and done I had 4000 into wheels and tires to sell them off a year later....Unless you are a big HP Z then I would not mess with them.. Research unsprung weight and see if that will change your mind... Its an 1972 240Z. And I am already quite familiar with the concept of unsprung weight. To counter the acceleration loss I am planning to run a higher diff ratio with a 280ZX 5 speed box... dont quite see how it will affect my bracking by any significant amount (the brakes are being upgraded anyways)... and dont really care about milliage; but thatnk you for your concern anyway. Should have also prob mentioned that the car will be running this coilover setup: http://www.cosmoracing.com/productinfo.asp?cid=259&pid=1347 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Well on that note I think that the largest that you can go without doing a lot of modification is a 18" and even then you will have to do a conciderable amount of flairing of the fenders. 18" will fit for sure I have seen it done. Just have not seen 19"s done at all. here is a pic of 18"s http://web.mac.com/markrolston/iWeb/Site/New%20Paint.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 I believe that the tire dimensions are what is most important. About the max tire height, without rubbing the front of the fenders, is close to 25" before cutting becomes necessary on the OEM sheet metal. Wheel offset and tire width also affect this as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 You could get some 24" wheels and just wrap a couple rubber bands around them... Just kidding.... As blueovalz said, the overall outside diameter is all that matters. Pick a tire with an outside diameter of 25-25.5", and you should be OK. Then pick the wheel that gives you the sidewall height your looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_leaf Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 Thanks for your help guys. The car mentioned above was one of the reasons I have wanted to put such big wheels on a Z - they really do look great in my opinion Does anyone know what wheel are they and what offset is he running? I tried emailing him but didnt get an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 the funnything is that he is here in Texas.....I would really love to see the car in person.......I am not sure where in TX he is though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Don't take this the wrong way, but you big wheel guys should might want to do some research on how low you want the car to be vs how much suspension travel you'll have. Z's have a lot more problems with bigger wheels than a more modern car would. The bigger the wheel, the smaller the sidewall. The smaller the sidewall, the lower you want the car (don't want that dreaded gap between the fender and the top of the tire, right?). The lower the car, the less suspension travel you have, and the more funky the suspension angles like roll center and bumpsteer get. If you look into it you'll see people going to pretty extreme lengths to make a severely lowered Z with big wheels work. I know Terry Oxendale (blueovalz) has done a lot to his Z to make it work with big wheels. You might also look at some stock bodied Z's with really big wheels first. When the wheels get really big it starts to lift the body off the ground. Great for ground clearance and getting in and out of the car I suppose, but kinda seems to defeat the purpose of lowering the car, which should be to lower the center of gravity in my opinion. Some Z's on 17s and 18s look like they have 10" of ground clearance in some of the pictures I've seen. Just check it out before you spend too much money on wheels... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 I'm running 225/45-17's on 17x7 rims tucked under stock fenders with coilovers. According to this tire calculator my total height is around 24.97". http://www.gofastlookgood.com/Wheels/TireCalc/index.htm You can still get right around 25" of total height with an 18" rim if you run a lower profile tire, but 19" would probably be too much. I think that regardless what diameter wheel you get, with 9" wide fronts and 9.5" rear your going to need to modify your your fender lips unless you run your car very stiff or very high. Check out this thread if you haven't looked at it already regarding modifications to mount zg flares. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=113064 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 My concern is Width. If I am stuck using a 7" or a 7.5" wide wheel what is the max that I can fit on the car and not rub. I know that every thing is different on each car. My set up is OLD,originally put on the car back in the late 70's. So with that note I am concidering changeing out to coilovers, to be able to adjust ride height and get a good spring rate. I am going to roll my fenders a little to give me a little more room but I am not sure how much it will give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 How on earth are you guys not rubbing? I have 225/60-14s on some 14x7 Western Turbines and my front tires rub on the lower front valence when making sharp turns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 My concern is Width. If I am stuck using a 7" or a 7.5" wide wheel what is the max that I can fit on the car and not rub. I know that every thing is different on each car. My set up is OLD,originally put on the car back in the late 70's. So with that note I am concidering changeing out to coilovers, to be able to adjust ride height and get a good spring rate. I am going to roll my fenders a little to give me a little more room but I am not sure how much it will give me.I'm using the maximum tire width recommended for a 7" wide rim without any rubbing problems. This is not to say that you won't have any rubbing problems as what works on one Z may not work on another. There are differences in individual cars as well as brands of tires. I have plenty of clearance on the inside with coilovers and I didn't have to roll my fenders either, so it's a pretty good bet you can get them to fit on your car as well...especially if your willing to possibly roll your fenders. How on earth are you guys not rubbing? I have 225/60-14s on some 14x7 Western Turbines and my front tires rub on the lower front valence when making sharp turns. I have an ftermarket spoiler that replaces the front valence, so this isn't an issue for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endurorider Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I would really check into thoses 19's. I heard that anything over an 18 will suck on corners. have a pretty harsh ride too. may not clear the strut as well . My 17s look pretty big on a little 240 Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZHeadV8 Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 A lot has been said about what will PHYSICALLY fit, however, conventional wisdom over here in nthe UK tends not to go for anything over 17" I am no engineer, but modern cars with big wheels tend to have double wishbones and much more sophisticated suspension that retains the integrity of the steering geometry throughout it's movement. The 37 year old Z suspension even with adjustable tubular wishbones simply is not up to coping with the accuracy needed for big wheels. I am going for 10 x 17 rear and 9 x 17 front. This will necessitate "rolling" about an inch of flare onto the arch lips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nat0_240_chevZ Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 have a shell with 18x9's all round and rear zg's need an extra inch to fill them althought the offset could be more inboard with coilovers ie upto 3/4 inch. fronts are also out the stock gurads but the zg's cover them nicely, although the coilovers would give an extra 10-15mm once the 5mm spacer for trials is removed. These wheels have been put on a bog stock suspension 73 240z. so the ride is a lil high, aswell as the tyre to gurad clearance, can supply photos if you must. wheels are from an r33 gtr. offset has only been changed on the back +25mm, and +5mm for the fronts as abovementioned. doable but i must say that my 3 piece simmons in 16x9 rears and 16x7 fronts with appropriate tyre sidewall size looks nicer on a Z. also a problem with big rollout ie tyre dia, is the corner valances, they tend to get caught when rolling on some wheel lock!! just for your info. nato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.