Picked up what are going to be my winter wheels for the G today -- set of 18" x 8" OEM 350Z Touring V.1 wheels. These ones:



Prolly gonna have 'em done black, but that's another matter entirely.

Anyway .. I admit that I'm not a guru at figuring out tire fitment. I always manage in the end, but I figure the intelligent thing to do would be to ask for the advice of the fitment gurus that I KNOW are on here, versus stumbling through it myself.

So what size tire is recommended for these rims, on my '05 Coupe? Please keep in mind, they will be SNOW tires, NOT performance tires!

Many thanks.

 

i would do a 225/45/18

 

Bump for more opinions, since I want to start getting ready to do winter shopping!

 

225/45 and 245/45 will have the most winter or all-season fitments, 235/45 IMO is the optimal tire size for any 18x8 though. The 245/45 I have on my OEM 18's is bulging more than I what I remembered when I first got the car. I had 235/40 on there and thought it was the perfect width, but the slightly lower sidewall height took a lot to get used to visually (felt a million times better though). All that being the case, if you want the best options and the best look, get the 225/45 for all four of them.

 

Stock size is 225/45 F 245/45 R for the Coupe, but I wouldn't go that route for a winter setup. You want to be able to rotate the tires front to back. 235/45 all around would be ideal, but the tire selection in that size is horrible. 245/45 looks really good (that's what I have on my Coupe 18's), but not for a winter setup. I'd go with 225/45's all around if you're going to run 18's in the winter. Very good tire selection, less expensive than other sizes, and the narrower profile will get you better traction.

Since you've already purchased the wheels, this won't matter, but I would've recommended buying a set of OEM 17's for your winter setup. Eighteen inch snow tires are going to be expensive, and some brands may not come in that size whereas everyone makes a 17.

BTW, what tires are you looking at? I'm running Nokian WR G2 on my OEM 17" winter setup. I've been running Nokians for years and think it's the best winter tire out there. About the same cost as Blizzaks, but they'll last more winters since their softer winter compound runs the entire tread depth and a Blizzaks only runs half the tread depth. If you find the Blizzaks on sale, get them, but consider the Nokians if you're paying full price.

 

We've always ran 225/45-18 front and 245/45-18 rear. Keep diameters correct and will fit those wheels.

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I understand that the stock tires on the stock 18" wheels are staggered -- but no, I'm not looking to go staggered on a winter setup.

225/45/18 was the tire size that I've already been researching, and based on what I've read and the feedback from some fellow snow-driving G35 drivers -- I'm probably going to try a set of Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 tires. They've gotten good reviews all across the board.

Anyone have any recommendations other than those? Does 225/45/18 seem to be the general consensus, considering I do NOT want to run staggered tires?

I know that 17" wheels would've been more practical -- but I found the 18" set of wheels for a killer price, and seeing as I only have the winter shoes on for a few months out of the year, I figured I'd spoil myself a little bit.

 

If 225/50/18 is available, I would run that all around rather than the 225/45/18. This will match the OEM diameter in the rear better, which is where your speedometer/odometer readings are taken from. VDC appears to like having the rear diameter match when going nonstaggered better than the front diameter matching from what I've gathered.

 

My tire recommendation would be Nokian WR's. I've run them on 3 different vehicles up here in the north woods and I never had the slightest hiccup last winter in my G even in snow a good 12"-15" deep . Their tread will last longer than a traditional snow tire, so I plan on having this set for a good 4-5 winters (5+ months each winter). With regular snow tires, you'll be lucky to get 15K miles out of them, I'll get 25K+. The part that may shock you is it's actually a V-rated all season tire, but it's the only all season tire that qualifies for the severe use symbol (mountain and snowflake). That's my recommendation, it's the only tire I'll ever own for winter.