When I bought my 05 6 spd, I knew I had to get snow tires as I live in NJ and it can get snowy. After doing some research I decided to get Dunlop M3s and was up in the air as to whether to just use my current 18" wheels or get 17" wheels with the snows. After talking with Tirerack I decide to get the wheels. I am not really into wheels so I picked a set based on price. I went with the Kazera KZT wheel for $129 because it was cheap and looked OK. Tirerack says there are no issues with this wheel tire combo and that sealed the deal. They will sit untouched til mid Nov. when I will put them on. Anybody pick this combo for the winter or know anything about the Kazera KZT wheels.

 

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Don't know much about those tires....i have Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's on 16" steels w/ hubcaps. I don't change mine till mid December...why so soon (Nov)? Winter tires don't last that long.

 

I got the same exact setup, I purchased in Sept. Wheels look okay, not the best but good enough for winter. I to was going to wait until mid Nov. I'm curious though, when do most change over to snows, if you get snow in your area that is.

I know the stock summer tires don't do snow, but I think I read somewhere that the tires start to suck when the temp gets < 40. Is this true? Some of the Chicago mornings have been in the upper 30's already.

 

I have a new x, so I'm running the stockers this winter. But believe me, I'm a huge fan of a winter tire package from Tirerack. They make a huge difference. When I go to do it on this car, I'll probably put the snows on my stock 17's and get aftermarket 18" wheels for the summer. Or the cheapest alternative is to get steel wheels with caps as mentioned above.

Tire choice, whether for snow, autocross, or whatever else you're looking for, is one of the most overlooked "mods" out there. And I say "mod," cause at the dragstrip, there are so many people that fork out big bucks for different things, only to realize later that the right tires can help your 60' more than most things, and everyone knows the 60' is the key to good ET's

 

In NJ you can get an inch or so around Thanksgiving and I ain't taken no chances getting caught in work with my summer tires on and snow coming down.

 

Damn, I don't have any extra $$ for winter tires... I wonder how bad the G is going to be in the snow...My GS300 was rear wheel and it was pretty good in the snow/ice if you didn't drive like an as*

 

If you use your summer tires during a rough NJ winter, you will put yourself in serious danger. Summer tires are not like all seasons which are barely acceptable, summer tires are basically undrivable in the snow.

 

I picked up a $129/ea set of Kazera KZ-V 17" rims myself, although for a different reason... Kumho Victoracer V700's aren't exactly a winter tire. I picked those rims out for racing because they were relatively lightweight and cheap. They're just fine so far.

If yours came with tuner lugs like mine did, don't forget to keep the tuner lug key in your car, as well as 5 of the stock lug nuts (for the spare tire, if you ever need it).

 

Thanks Ryoken for the heads up-don't know if I would have thought of putting stock lug nuts and the tuner lug in the car. So obvious yet so easy to forget.

 

Good advice, I would have thought nothing about this, thanks.

 

I'm looking at the same options as you guys. What made you decide on the Kazera's over the cheaper Sport Edition wheels. I figure for winter wheels, I don't care too much about getting a great wheel. Thanks for the comments.

 

I live in Northern NJ, just a few minutes west of NYC. I bought my G35 6MT sedan two days ago.. but I kept my 1996 subaru legacy with AWD for the snow/rain and for driving to work in traffic.. so no snow tires for me

p.s. I have geico (they're cheap as !%@$#! ) and the insurance is only 2100/yr total with BOTH cars on the policy. The Infiniti is listed as a weekend car and the Subaru I use during the week for work.

 

Tirerack did not list the Sport Edition wheels in Sept. when I got the Kazeras. When I called in to place the order, Tirerack told me about the Sport Editions and said they were only a 7" wheel while the Kazeras were 7.5" like the 17" wheel that comes on the non sport Gs. In addition, I guess I thought paying a few $ extra would ensure a little better quality since the Kazeras are still at the bottom end price wise. Upon further research Tirerack website says 6"-7.5" wheels fit the Dunlop M3 tires which is what I got mounted to the Kazeras.

 

I have an 05 x that I pick up last january and trust me those EL stock tires are not that great in the snow. My former front driver was better with blizzaks.

I am thinking either get better AS tires next year or get 18 tire rim package and then put some winter rubber on the rims... But I want to caution you... If you got summer rubber on 18s and then switch over to 17s with snows the handling will be greatly impacted. On those clear days when you want to sail down the highway in the winter, you will have to be more cautious when you drive. Braking and handling will be much different.

I know they make snow tires with a higher speed rating now and I would suggest you get those. I had summers rated for 168 and winter tires rated for 110 and I had to adjust my driving. The car did great in snow.