I am considering 235/45 R17 tires for my sedan. It has a 3.7% speed difference and I know 235/50 R17 or 225/55 R17 is better but I wanna have a thinner sidewall for better turn in performance.

Anyone wanna give me some opinions?
I know the right size tires has been covered like 10 thousand times but I am just wondering if this is a good idea or not.

 

you will be fine. Also note you will lose 3.7% of your existing warranty by doing this. If you want 45 series sidewalls, I would recommend going to 18" rims with the 235/45 or go with 245/45 tires (also are too big for stock rims)

Your money will be better spent on a good cheap suspension upgrade (Koni Adjustable, Tokico (when ever they are released) D-spec's or Tein Basics.)

*****But 235/45's will do what you want******

Going 225/50 with teh GS-D3's at 49 psi is also a good alternative. They will only have a 0.28" larger sidewall than the 235/45's and could be great for you. I find that 49 psi front and 45 psi rear works real well for turn in.

On the other hand 235/45's on stock rims for race day only would be wonderful solution, if you had something closer on another set of rims

Better Life thru Chemistry
Black on Black 03.5 Sedan 6MT - Goodyear F1 GS-D3's 225/55/17, Custom Intake Tube, HyperGround Kit, Magnaflow resonator.

 

renesis it looks like you bought the wrong car

04 5AT / TB / Willow / Premium / clear corners / Z-tube

 

Renesis,

I am running 235/50-17's on my stck sport wheels. Their size is near-identical (within 0.1") to the stock 215/55's. If you wanna go just a tad bit wider and don't mind a VERY SLIGHTLY beefy look, go with 235/45-17's. They are out of spec to be sure, but I have seen it done. I should have done this - a cheap/lossless gear ratio change! Good luck man.

3pt5,

Koni's are out already? Wow. I thought that they weren't cheap (more like $600+). Am I wrong here? Also do you know of any non-progressive, lowering springs out there for the sedan? If not, I think I will be springing for Tein Basics or smth, unless the Koni + springs (if avail.) are comparable in price. Sorry to hi-jack the thread - dn't mean to do that, it's just taht you are one of a few people who I trust to know their stuff with the suspension.

Gurgen

 

Gurgen,
I don't know if you have noticed it but the whole "cheap" thing goes out the window with this car. any decent mod under 1000.00 is cheap. any set of tires under 1000.00 is cheap, etc

so for 750 you can spend less than the tires. from what I here these things take car of the skipping on rough surface corners.

koni's are 750 and change and are made for the 350 but with the adjustable damper they can be set up for the sedan

I really really like the koni's but the idea of spring and damper made together (tein basic) appeals strongly to me.

tokico's are on the way too. they were at sema with a display for the 350z with expected release this summer

Better Life thru Chemistry
Black on Black 03.5 Sedan 6MT - Goodyear F1 GS-D3's 225/55/17, Custom Intake Tube, HyperGround Kit, Magnaflow resonator.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by 3point5SE_Auto on 05/18/04 07:02 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

So is there a set of springs for the sedan that are non-progressive? Like the Z springs, but with a lower and more symmetrical stance (i.e. lowering the front as much or more than the back)

Gurgen

 

there are sets of springs that are mostly linear but none are fully linear except a JIC or Tein coilover setup

There are a lot of pics on my350z, that show this.

for my purposes and probably for yours, there are two or three, like the Nismo S-tune that have one progressive coil and the rest are liner

the first coil of each spring is progressive, hope i was clear on this

Better Life thru Chemistry
Black on Black 03.5 Sedan 6MT - Goodyear F1 GS-D3's 225/55/17, Custom Intake Tube, HyperGround Kit, Magnaflow resonator.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by 3point5SE_Auto on 05/19/04 06:22 AM.</EM></FONT></P>