I plan on purchasing some new wheels for my G-sedan in the near future. I'd like to go with 19s but with the roads here in downtown Tampa and having business clients in the car, I don't think it would be a viable option. For an 18" wheel, I have calculated that a 235-45R-18 tire would match the OEM 215-55R-17 size. Unfortunately I have also discovered that tire choices in the 235 size are slim. My question is, would a 245-40R-18 tire on an 18X8 inch (+45mm offset) wheel fit on a sedan lowered on Tein H-Techs without rubbing? I know there are many variables that would come into play but any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

2004.5 G35 Sedan 6MT Garnet Fire/Graphite Leather
Premium / Bose / Sport / Aero / Sunroof / Tint / K&N

 

I was worried about the ride comfort also going to 19", but I can only notice a very slight stiffness with the 19" over the stock 17" rims. In my opinion, it did not degrade ride comfort at all.

But tires for the 18" rims will be cheaper then the 19" rims..

2003.5 G35 Sedan White/6MT - 2004 350z Roadster Black/6MT

 

On 18", 245/45 would be a closer match than 245/40. 245/40 would be a good size if you were to go with 19".

 

I have exactly the same question - "will it rub?" i had every intention of taking my time and figuring out the proper offset of an 18" wheel, and maybe fitting it with a 245/40 tire, and also maybe allowing clearances for a future brake upgrade. however a screw in my side wall tire has sped up the process. i don't want to humiliate my car with a donut. i'd rather park it in my driveway and drive my wife's ford to work.

 

I'd like to thank everyone for their reponses. Built2Shred, is your sedan lowered at all? What tire size are you using on your 19s, also what offset are you using? Dirrtybear, thanks for the suggestion, I had never thought of the 245/45 combo, I'll have to check that one out. Jasperg35, seems like we have the same intentions, sorry to hear about your puncture.

2004.5 G35 Sedan 6MT Garnet Fire/Graphite Leather
Premium / Bose / Sport / Aero / Sunroof / Tint / K&N

 

18"x8" rims on a 45mm offset and 245/40-18 tires will not rub, will not rub in the suspension's entire range of travel at any point. I have 245/40 on 18"x8" rims with 45mm offset. I can also tell you, now that I'm running 255/40-18 in the rear, that tire size does not rub either.

245/40-18 is -2.3% to oem rolling diameter
245/45-18 is +1.4 to oem rolling diameter

Neither tire is a match for oem. In a which way should I go tug-o-war. I went with the shorter tire for it's shorter sidewall, I also felt their was no way I would go taller and slow the car any (notice I did NOT say a lot). Also going taller then oem moves any possible rubbing points that much closer.



"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

G35 6mt

 

As an FYI... I am currently running 245/40R18's on 18x8.5 w/ a 40mm offset. There is zero rubbing on a stock / unlowered sedan. I did just recently [this past week] purchase a set of HKS Hipermax LS coilovers, as I plan to do a mild drop to close my wheel well gap a little bit. I'll post again on my results regarding drop vs. rubbing issues [though I won't get the coilovers installed until early October].

 

I have the Nismo Type S Suspension for the sedan, not the 350z Type S that some sedan owners put on there car. The drop was 1.18" both front and rear.

Rims are 19x8.5 in front and 19x9.5 in rear
offest are +33mm in front and +34mm in rear

Tires are 225/40 in front and 255/35 in the rear


2003.5 G35 Sedan White/6MT
Nismo Type S Suspension / Nismo Sway Bars
19" OZ Rims / Stillen Front/Rear Camber Kit / Z Tube
Stillen Big-Airflow Intake / Stillen Catback Exhaust

 

Your car looks great! How is the spring stiffness with the Type-S suspension, do you have any ground clearance issues?

2004.5 G35 Sedan 6MT Garnet Fire/Graphite Leather
Premium / Bose / Sport / Aero / Sunroof / Tint / K&N

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Poster: Vegas79
Subject: Re: 18" wheels on lowered sedan

How is the spring stiffness with the Type-S suspension?

<hr></blockquote>

To answer that, below are the specs and they show stiffness vs oem.

Nismo S-tune (uses progressive springs)
G35 Sedan
347/342 F+10% R+0%
Transfers 10% roll stiffness to front

The setup differs from the oem sport suspension in that is uses stiffer shock valving, but it also use's progressive springs in the process. He's mentioned that the setup felt 7/10's as stiff as the Z car which he also own's. Any one can copy the setup without the expense by either using oem 350Z springs or Tein 350Z H-tech's and pairing either with Tokico's new D-spec shocks. I recently helped a member install them on his sedan and I can tell you you can adjust them to be as stiff as the oem sport suspension to 10/10's as stiff as the Z's suspension. With the shocks set at 4, they are around 5/10's as stiff as the Z, set them to 5 or 6 to get the 7/10's level. Tokico makes the oem shocks and the S-tune suspension btw.


Tein H-tech 350z (fronts are progressive, rears are linear)
358/375 F+14% R+11%
Transfers +3% roll stiffness to front





"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

G35 6mt

 

Ya Gsedan35 is probably right, you can get similar results with less expensive hardware. I went with this system for few reasons. One being I dont care for coilovers. Dont have the expertise or time to play around with trying to find the perfect setup. I'll admit i've never had coilovers before, but i've had a couple of friends who did and they had problems here and there. One being broken threads, once from hitting a pothole and he' snot sure what happen the 2nd time. Maybe it was just cheap coilovers... not sure... 2nd it seem they could never find the perfect setup. When you have the ability to change the setup, you will keep tinkering and tinkering with it till you go mad hehe.. atleast thats how i see it happening with me.. But to each there own

As far as the stiffness, ya its about 30% less stiff then stock 350z. But i've taken both cars up highway 74 which has some nasty curves on it, and the g35 with the suspension, tires and sway bars handles just as good if not a little better then my stock 350z which handles awesome already.

If your looking for a real stiff ride to mimic a race car feel, i would defintaly go with another setup. But if you want something that handles like a 350z but without the vibrations of a bad road shooting up your spine, then this is a sweet setup in my opinion anyways... If money is a issue, i'd definatly look into Gsedan35 suggestions for alternative setup.

As far as clearance, i've had no problems, i've taken several steep driveways straight on and didnt scrape at all. the drop is ony 1.18"

2003.5 G35 Sedan White/6MT
Nismo Type S Suspension / Nismo Sway Bars
19" OZ Rims / Stillen Front/Rear Camber Kit / Z Tube
Stillen Big-Airflow Intake / Stillen Catback Exhaust

 

Vegas,

If you are thinking about getting a 40 series tire, you should just get 19s IMO.

A 40 rides the same in a 19 as an 18. It is a function of side wall height not wheel diameter. All the 40 means is that the wall height is aprox 40% of the width. I have 245/40r19 on the front of my G and fitment is perfect. The tire is aprox the same outside circumference as OEM. The difference in wall height between 235/45r18 and a 245/40r19 is only about 7mm. You will not notice the difference in ride quality.

Also I believe the 245/40r18 you spoke of will be a little smaller than oem thus leaving a larger gap in your wheel well and also provide the exact same ride as a 19 version because of the identical side wall heights.

My advice is go with the 245/40r19!!!!

04' Sedan 6MT /Premium/Aero/HuperOptik/XM
Z-Tube / Stillen- Sways, Airbox & Grounding Kit
19x8.5/9.5 Hiros / S-03s 245/40 & 275/35zr19
Tokico D-Specs, 350z H-Techs, Kinetix Camber Kit

 

Sorry for the double post. I believe I am currently the only one running tokico D-specs and Tein 350z H-techs. The drop is perfect it drops the front slightly more than the rear giving the car a more even appearance (about 1.3fr and 1.2rr). You can see the difference if you compare my drop to Built2Shred's (not knocking your ride bro) As for the ride, it rides about like stock with sport suspension. I have the Tokicos damper settings on 4 1/2 out of 8 rear and 4 out of 8 front, so I could go much stiffer if need be.

Below is a pic of the drop. Sorry it kind of sucks because it was about to rain. Also is a closeup of my front tire so you can see how nicely the 245/40r19, with a decent drop, fills the wheel well. I believe the 18 in version would leave an EXTRA half inch gap in the wheel well.




04' Sedan 6MT /Premium/Aero/HuperOptik/XM
Z-Tube / Stillen- Sways, Airbox & Grounding Kit
19x8.5/9.5 Hiros / S-03s 245/40 & 275/35zr19
Tokico D-Specs, 350z H-Techs, Kinetix Camber Kit<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by av8r on 09/19/04 06:52 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

awesome setup. looks real clean. my biggest concern with the 18"- 19" diff is the $. most tire/wheel combos cost an additional $1000, just to move up 1". also i'm not prepared for the possibility of a rough ride w/h-techs. i'll take my baby steps with a 45-series tire (245/45R18), and keep my initial costs down. if i don't notice the difference, then maybe next year i'll move to 19's and drop to a 40-series.

 

Hey Built2Shred,

You compared how the ride feels vs a 350Z, but how is the the dropped ride feel compared to the stock G? Did you have a stock or performance suspension?

Also, those are the exact rims I've been looking to get. Any chance you can post more pics from different angles, or email me w/ some? PM me for my email. Thanks.

03.5 6MT G35S | Black/Willow | Prem/Nav/Aero | Z-Tube/JWT Pop-Charger | Clear Corners