Hello everyone,

First, I've been on the forum searching for the past 5 hours or so looking for various information on wheels and such. Think I'm getting a headache now so I figured I'd just ask directly. I currently have an 04 coupe with oem brembos. I'm looking at the Piaa Super Rozza 19's or 20's. From research, it looks like my 18's are at 23.5 lbs or so. The Piaa weights are as follows:

PIAA SUPER ROZZA 19x8 23.6 Lbs
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 19x8.5 24.1 Lbs.
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 19x9 24.7 Lbs.
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 19x9.5 25.0 Lbs.
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 19x10 25.8 Lbs.
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 20x8.5 29.8 Lbs.
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 20x9 30.6 Lbs.
PIAA SUPER ROZZA 20x10 31.8 Lbs.

I'm only focusing on the 19 or 20's in the 9 inch front and 10 inch rear staggered setup.

Since I'm overseas, the ablility to drive fast for long periods of time are possible. Like over 130+ speeds for 15-20 min increments. Not all places, but many. One salesman asked if I'd be tracking the car, which I won't, but I will be driving it aggressively at times.

If I go from a OEM 18 x 8 23.5 lb wheel to a 19x9/19x10 24.7 or 25.8 wheel....would that make much of a difference performance wise? I know tire weight comes into play too, but lets assume that tire weights are similiar. It just seems to me that since I'm already starting with a 23.5lb wheel, the difference to something a few lbs more won't be even noticeable perfomance wise. Comfortwise, I couldn't say. Never been in a G coupe with 19's or 20's, or anyone elses G for that matter.

How significant would that difference be performance/comfortwise to the heavier 20 inch wheels listed above?

Also, would going with a 20 require a drop to fill the wheel gap? Just wondering since the wheel is bigger, maybe I wouldn't need a drop. I currently have OEM springs and tokico shocks.

Thanks for the help. Just have to get away from staring at this screen for a while.

Tony

 

Get 19's, they are the ideal size if you're upsizing IMO. I got 20's and regretting it slightly, cause of tires and wheel rotation (speed and fuel consumption). I still had to lower my car with 20's and now have to get camber kits to bring it back to OE degrees.

 

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards 19's based on the search results I've read. I didn't consider fuel consumption though. I guess I can see that would come into play if the wheels are heavier. Hmmm...sounds like 19's are the way to go. if anyone else has any more advice or anything to add to that, please feel free to chime in.

 

The 18"s will give you a better ride due to the 45 series sidewalls. Our 19"s are a trade off cause they're offer a ride that's more harsh but nothing as bad as 20"s with there 30 series tires. Then there's the weight issue, lighter is better....way better!
Gary

 

Thanks for your input Gary. Considering that I'm running OEM 18 x 8... 7 spoke wheels weighing 23.5 lbs, do you think I would notice a difference go with the Piaa 19's. One weighing in 24.7 and the rears weighing 25.8? Just wondering if that extra pound in the front and the extra 2 lbs in the rear are noticeble? I wish I could see 19's in person. Can an inch really make that much of a difference in the looks of the wheel? Maybe 18's in the Piaa would be a better choice. What do you think Gary? Anyone else as well? Thanks.

 

My best advice is to attend several meets in your area, look closely at members rides even take pic. Communicate with members about there wheel/tire combinations. (make notes) While you're at it listen to their exhaust systems so if you want to make a change you'll have a better idea of what you like, way better than listening to poor quality vids....Gary

 

Thanks for the advice Gary. Unfortunately, I have a very unique situation. I've owned my 04 coupe since 04 and I picked it up at a port in Germany. Its been on German autobahns for 5 years, then to Turkey, and then to the UK. I rarely meet anyone who has a G. They don't sell them in Europe so it really stands out. They've got a few dealerships throughout Europe, but those are few and far between. Also, they only sell models since the G37 came out. You won't even see those since they cost more than their european equivalents. I try to do my best to look at pics, watch vids, but its very difficult to get a good feel for how something really looks or feels. I appreciate people like you taking the time to answer my questions. I wish I could go to a meet, but I don't have those opportunities. On the other side, the G really stands out. Its very unique over here. I've loved the stock look for so many years, but after 8 years of ownership...I want give something back to the car that took care of me. At 154K and still going strong. Thanks again for the advice though.

 

It doesn't seem like you are after looks by the description you wrote, so I'll suggest staying with your stock 18's and repainting them (plastidip or what not). Other than that looking for lightweight 18's, if you are considering looks then 19's are the trade-off or the mid-point between 18 and 20. Majority of the racers and track cars are on 18's. Any how if you stick with your stocks, you can put the money towards good coilovers, sway bars, camber kits and other rods and arms.

 

Yes I am going for looks to a degree. I want to make a change to my G and wheels have been on my list for some time now. I just don't want something that is going to drastically change the performance of my daily driver. Its one thing to lose a little bit, but another when you feel like you are driving tank around. I don't track it, but I do drive at higher speeds for longer periods of times. I understand 18's or 17's for someone who is tracking a car, but I want looks without an extreme power loss.

It seem as though 19's are the way to go. I know that for those that had the OEM Rays, they already had a light wheel to begin with so maybe the difference would be more noticeable when changing to a heavier wheel. In my case, the OEM 18 is already 23.5/24 lbs so my question is if I go to 24.7 front/25.8 rear wheel....will the difference be signifcantly noticeable in this case? I would think grip would be better since the wheels I'm interested in are wider as well.

 

A pound will not make much of a difference in terms of performance. The benefits of being able to run lower-profile, possibly wider tires, will outweigh the cons.

Also, between 17s to 20s or anywhere in between, the wheel gap will always remain the same. The larger diameter you wheel, the lower profile the tires. So it basically equalizes itself.

 

You also have to look at where the rotational mass is, the further you push it out, the more energy (power) is required to turn it. An otherwise identical 17" wheel and tire package combo should allow for faster acceleration than a comparable 19" combo.

Also don't quote me on this but adding 1lb of rotational mass is something like adding 10lbs of actual weight to the car. Multiply that by 4 and you're adding around 40lbs - not hugely significant but to some every lb counts.

Wider wheels help significantly on this car. The front tires are too narrow stock IMHO. I almost went with a square setup for this reason but I have to admit, I do like the staggered looks so I went for a 9.5" wheel up front and 10" in the rear. 9.5" vs. 9" on the front to allow for slightly wider front tires and 10" over 11" on the rear because a) tires were cheaper and more importantly b) didn't want to add more weight than necessary. If you do end up keeping the stock 18's, maybe just run wider fronts?

Given that one of the only power adders I have is the spacer, 10" wheels are more than adequate for the power i'm putting down.

Hope this helps.

 

I'm riding on 19's with 245/40/19 all around and it rides fantastic..but nothing compares to the ride on the 17's when i was rocking 45 sidewalls felt amazing lol too bad they looked like hell

 

My old coupe 18's with Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec's were rougher and MUCH louder than my 19" F14's with Invos. I think those Dunlops must've had a rock solid sidewall or something.

It wasn't just me either, my gf thought something was wrong with the car because it was so much quieter.

 

They do. The Z1SS' are well-regarded as being pretty much the tire to have for extreme performance use, short of getting slicks.