Hi,
I was looking to buy new winter tires for my g35 Coupe (for the stock 17" rims). Tire rack does not have the staggered oem tire sizes available. So that leaves me with a couple options -- which is ideal? (OEM is 225/50/17 and 235/50/17 on 7.5" and 8" rims).

Option 1: 215/55/17 and 225/55/17

Option 2: 225/50/17 and 225/55/17

Option 3: 225/50/17 all around

I was thinking option 1, as I've read it's better to go a bit narrower in the winter anyway. Can anyone foresee any issues using those sizes on the stock 17" rims?

Thanks for your help

 

You want something that matches within 3% of stock size. Use the provided tire size calculator to find out what is closest.

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes, all of the options are within 3% of the OEM sizes. They are all roughly + /- 1.5%. I was curious which of the three options might be better for winter and/or whether there would be any issue running any of those tire sizes (which are non-OEM) on OEM staggered 17" coupe rims...

Thanks again

 

To get the advantage of narrower is better for winter, yet the correct outside diameters... many run 225/50-17 and 225/55-17 combination. I've done that myself and it worked great.

 

It seems your plan is to go with your OEM wheels and have the tires mounted and balanced twice each year. I would suggest going with 16" winter tires on dedicated wheels. You may even consider the same size all around (e.g. 215/60R16). You'll save money on the tires and the twice yearly mounting and balancing. In addition, there's less chance of damaging your OEM wheels and you'll get a better ride when the roads are crappy. There's also the benefit of being able to avoid the tire shop hassle and change them yourself - when you want (e.g. forecast of snow or freezing rain).

FWIW, our G35x sedan runs 215/55R17 winters on the OEM 17" wheels, which were a bit beat up when we bought the car. If I did it again I'd go with 16" wheels & tires. Our FX35 runs 245/70R17 studded winters on dark grey after-market alloys - the summer tires are 265/60R18.

 

Thanks for the replies. I ended up going with 225/50/17 front and 225/55/17 rear, as suggested. Blizzak ws80. It was suggested also to go down to 16" rims but I already have two sets of Infiniti rims (17" staggered oem and 19" oem rays)...so just needed new tires for the 17" rims. It's hard to find the oem staggered sizes on the 17" Coupe rims. Thanks again for the responses.

 

Cycleguy55 - Just curious why you would downsize the rim for your winter setup? I just put on 16" wheels with a 215 (or 225, I will have to look)/60-16 Blizzak wr80s and they are a champ on the snow and ice in my '06 RWD sedan. I was planning on going back and asking them to upgrade me to a 17" because I hate the way my G looks with 16s and a 60 profile. Wondering if the ride quality is better with the smaller rims, fatter tires.