Need tires

[vikesfankevin1986]

I know I have posted about this before but I am too dumb to figure it out myself. I have decided I want to get the front wheel studs for my after market rims. I know most of you are not a fan of them but you guys have also made it clear that it is my car. I decided I want to keep my rims get good tires for those. Either way, they draw more attention to my car than the stock ones and I don't think my rims are that bad. I took a look at the rims and they are 18x9.5 on the back and 18x8.5 in the front. What would be some good tires I could get that would help me hook up? I know they need to be drag radials but I'm not sure how big they need to be for these rims. I'm not sure if I can just use the sizes on the rims or whatever. All I know is I spin the hell out of my tires that i have now when the turbos kick in, let alone from a dead stop. So if you could give me a link to some good tire options for these rims it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[vikesfankevin1986]

Also I'm not sure the size I need for the wheel studs. My options are 50mm and 60mm. 45 is stock but I tried to measure my spacers and they look like they are 9/32 of an inch..which is 7.14mm...neither of those add up to 50 or 60...

[ztommyx]

^^ not sure what you are trying to accomplish here... a lot of typing but didn't quite get what you want out of it.

anyhow...

i'm a fan of wheel studs. i have them myself. the Z is 20 years old and would be nice to replace them.

if you want aftermarket studs, its either nismo or arp which z1 sells i believe?
if so, it would be the 60mm, but either both 50mm and 60mm would work, one being about 1/4" longer.

18x8.5 and 18x9.5 are good sizes. i'd go with 245/40/18 fronts and 265 or 275/35/18 rears.

if you need spacers, you can go all the way up to 30mm on a 60mm studs and you would still have enough thread to tighten your lug nuts.
i would get spacers only if the wheels are hitting suspension components or if you want a better fitment (flush)

hope that helps.

ps. post pics of wheels and actual sizes and offset because it helps us help you.

btw, here's a pic of my 19" wheels on the arp 60mm studs (w/ 5mm spacer as seen oh here)

[KevinZtwin]

if you need spacers, you can go all the way up to 30mm on a 60mm studs and you would still have enough thread to tighten your lug nuts.

Have you actually done this? Most wheels would hardly even allow threads to catch. That is the equivalent of putting a 15mm spacer on stock studs and trying to bolt the wheel on. Hell no would I ever do that.

60mm is only 15mm longer than stock, and you are suggesting that a 30mm spacer is safe? I would certainly not even test it. If you need longer studs try calling Ichiba, but make sure the knurl length is the same length as stock or your brake rotors will not fit back on. Search over on 3zc about the issues that Ichiba was having if you are interested.

[ztommyx]

^^ i have done this otherwise i wouldn't know.
on stock studs, i don't recommend anything more than 3mm spacer (5mm is pushing it) otherwise you would need longer studs.

i will show you a 30mm on a 60mm stud and still be able to tighten the lug nuts tomorrow.
60mm - 30mm= 30mm (1.18 in.) thread left. enough to thread a nut
stay tuned.

[KevinZtwin]

^^ i have done this otherwise i wouldn't know.
on stock studs, i don't recommend anything more than 3mm spacer (5mm is pushing it) otherwise you would need longer studs.

i will show you a 30mm on a 60mm stud and still be able to tighten the lug nuts tomorrow.
60mm - 30mm= 30mm (1.18 in.) thread left. enough to thread a nut
stay tuned.

Wait....you just said a 5mm spacer is pushing it on stock studs....i agree. Yet you are saying a 30mm spacer on 15 mm longer studs is doable??? You are completely contradicting yourself. THAT IS THE SAME AS PUTTING A 15MM SPACER ON STOCK STUDS, when just before you said 5mm is pushing it. You are adding 15mm length to the stud, but putting a 30mm spacer on top of it, so you just overshot your stud. You *might* get a few threads on it, but you are crazy if you drive on that, absolutely nuts.

FYI - 60mm is the total length of the stud from head to tip. Let's do some math.
60mm - 3mm for head of stud which is behind the hub - 9mm of actual hub width that the knurl of the stud sits in - width of brake rotor mounting surface (~8mm for the Stillen rotors in my garage) - 10mm for the typical thickness of the mounting hole on wheels (just measured my 5Zigen wheels, I would also measure my DP wheels but didnt feel like taking them off). All of these subtractions are widths of material that exist in between the hub and the lug nut (threads) and the 3mm worth of the head of the stud, which is on the other side of the hub.

Now all of these thicknesses I have just measured. So in summary:
60mm - 3mm - 9mm - 8mm - 10mm = 30mm

So, with a 60mm stud AND NO SPACER you have exactly 30mm of threads to bolt onto. I would certainly love to see you ad (or subtract rather) a 30mm spacer into the above equation.

60mm - 12mm lost upon installing studs - 8mm lost with brake rotor mounting plate - 10mm lost with thickness of wheel mounting plate - 30mm spacer = 0mm.......

I don't see what you will thread a lugnut onto, but it is quite nice how all those numbers worked out perfectly. HAH!

Logically, mathematically... nothing you have said makes sense. Not to mention you have contradicted yourself.

Even if you show me that you have done it, as it could be possible with a narrow brake rotor mounting plate and thin wheel mounting plates. I will still not think that is anywhere near safe as you would have to lose 10mm of thickness between the two parts, which would make the mounting plates pretty weak IMO. 5Zigen will only grind off 5mm of their wheels mounting plates. Any further and they wont do it for safety. If you don't beleive me, call them up. Their headquarters is in Compton, CA. I've been there several times to talk with them about different things. And if you do the math, based upon your previous statement about 5mm spacers being a stretch on stock studs, I think you will agree.

45mm - 3mm - 9mm - 8mm - 10mm = 15mm to thread onto. Add a 5mm spacer and you have 10mm of thread. So you are saying the least amount you would go is 10mm to bolt a wheel on. That is a wise decision in my mind. anything less is just too dangerous in my eyes.

[ztommyx]

here's my proof.
i have on the arp 60mm from z1 i believe? the same studs for our very own Z. though it is 1.5 thread pitch now instead of 1.25.
i don't doubt you at all... and you are correct. i have tried a 5mm on stock stud and i will not even dare drive on them.
thats why i opted for longer studs.

this is my 18x9 +40 volks wheels on my S14. for some odd reason it worked for me.
if you know S14 you would know more than likely +40 will not fit very well.

30mm spacers. i took these spacers from my datsun510. these spacers DID have the studs originally on it.
i noticed it because i can see the cut-off's of the studs and then shaved flat.

anyhow, pics:




measurement w/ ruler


open end lug nuts to show


pic of S14




though this setup is temporary, i daily drive this car

[KevinZtwin]

That is nice that they fit, looks good. But I am very skeptical on the actual length of those studs. After having a look at the ARP website, every stud they offer (other than stock replacements for honda) is longer than 60mm. You should measure as much of the actual stud as you can without removing the brakes, then you just have to ad the width of the brake rotor mounting plate and hub. Just from those pics the stud looks to be longer than 60mm.

And to my knowledge, I cannot find any ARP wheel studs that Z1 sells in any section of their site. On the ARP website, other than stock replacements for hondas, the shortest stud they make in a 12x1.5 is 62mm plus the width of the panhead, so total length is probably around 65mm (most other companies include the panhead in their measurement). So we already know you have studs longer than 60mm if you have ARP studs. They offer studs in that thread pitch all the way up to over 82mm (or 85mm with the panhead)

[ztommyx]

i don't know if it was z1 or where i bought it from... but definitely one of those popular z site where they advertise a 350z wheel coming off.
i bought two sets from them (40 studs) one set for my Z and one set for my S14. they have the 50 and 60mm i believe?
i didn't put these spacers just to make it flush. they were put on to clear the coilovers.

my previous post of my Z had the same studs but with a 5mm spacers as you can tell its sticking out further even with the open end longer tuner lug nuts (2x longer than the short open lug nuts)

either way, i won't get into any arguments. i assume some wheels will work and some just don't.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Sorry for being confusing. Basicly what I was trying to say is I don't know what size spacer it is and needed to know what size studs to buy. It looks like 60mm studs would work fine? Also thanks for the tire help. I will look those up right now.

[KevinZtwin]

fair enough, I'm still just scratching my head. I want some sort of explanation for it you know? Either the wheel mounting plates are super thin or the studs are longer than you are claiming. I'm not looking to argue, but I am SUPER curious about how you overshoot the stud and still have that much room to put on a lugnut.

In this picture it appears that the end of the studs are about on the same plane as the inner edge of the bottom of the wheel spokes. Is that agreed or is it an optical illusion?


Then from the rotor edge to the inner edge of the wheel spoke it is about 2.5" (which is 63.5mm) and the knurl depth and rotor mounting plate width have still not been added to the overall length of that stud.

I just don't see how you can claim to have a 60mm stud from ARP, when every stud they make is longer than that. From those pics they certainly do look like ARP studs because there are no threads on the very tip of the stud.

If you ever get a chance with one of the wheels off I would just like to see a measurement of the stud length from rotor hat to the tip of the stud. That's all. I am thinking of getting longer studs to run more spacer on my street wheels and the ARP ones seem to be some of the longest available.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Does anyone have a website they order tires from or should I just go to a tire place and see if they have them in stock?

[car nut]

The only place you need for tires

[vikesfankevin1986]

Are all 275/35/18 tires the same? What I mean by that is for good traction will any of them on that site work or is that strictly a size? Traction was my problem before so I want something that will hook up. Should I still get drag radials or could I get something cheaper. All the tires have some word and then "performance." Money is a huge issue, so saving 150 dollars a tire is huge. What would you say? Just a note, I am planning on doing major upgrades to my car next summer.

[ztommyx]

fair enough, I'm still just scratching my head. I want some sort of explanation for it you know? Either the wheel mounting plates are super thin or the studs are longer than you are claiming. I'm not looking to argue, but I am SUPER curious about how you overshoot the stud and still have that much room to put on a lugnut.

In this picture it appears that the end of the studs are about on the same plane as the inner edge of the bottom of the wheel spokes. Is that agreed or is it an optical illusion?


Then from the rotor edge to the inner edge of the wheel spoke it is about 2.5" (which is 63.5mm) and the knurl depth and rotor mounting plate width have still not been added to the overall length of that stud.

I just don't see how you can claim to have a 60mm stud from ARP, when every stud they make is longer than that. From those pics they certainly do look like ARP studs because there are no threads on the very tip of the stud.

If you ever get a chance with one of the wheels off I would just like to see a measurement of the stud length from rotor hat to the tip of the stud. That's all. I am thinking of getting longer studs to run more spacer on my street wheels and the ARP ones seem to be some of the longest available.

here is the rear wheel. it does not have a spacer. this is the arp kit that came with the set.





vikesfan: 275 would be the widest tire i would get for the rears. more than enough grip. if it doesn't, i don't know how you're driving your Z.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Ok I could go 265 also then. In another post we determined that my tires were for turns and stuff not dragging. The rear tires I have on there now are 9.5 inches wide and turn into to butter when my turbo kicks in, let alone reving the car up at all. So basicly any of those tires should provide enough grip?

[car nut]

9.5 inches is the width of your wheel, not your tire tread section. 265 is the tread section width, in millimeters. If you're serious about straight line speed, you'll get some radials. They'll shave a second off your E/T and help out your 60ft time a lot.

Also, why the 2 accounts

[vikesfankevin1986]

When I put a tape measure to the back tires it was 9.5 inches of tread. I am serious about straight line speed. I am a straight and fast kinda guy not a corners guy. Handling would be nice but not very important. I have a new account because when the site reset or whatever it logged me out and when I tried logging back in, it told me I typed my password wrong(which I highly doubt because I wrote down my username and password) and I use 3 differnt emails and didn't know which one I used to sign up for the site. I tried the forgot password will all 3 and all 3 were rejected...
So back to tires. Will any 275 do, or should I look for some 265 drag radials(keep in mind I will be upgrading turbos and all that stuff next summer)

[ztommyx]

9.5" of thread tires does not mean it's a 9.5" width wheel.

get drag radials for drag and get tires for the streets. they do not go together. you really don't want to (street) driven on drag radials anyway.

please post a pic of the wheels and/or specs, tape measurement, whatever.
this thread ain't going anywhere because the OP doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

[KevinZtwin]

Does the wheel say 9.5" on the inside? does it also have an offset number? If you measure from the outer edge of the rim all the way across to the other edge it will measure 1" wider than what your wheel actually measures to.

Example..this is a 17x10" wheel. But it will measure 11" wide.




The only reason I am bringing this up is because you seem to be saying you are measuring with a ruler. Well if your wheel (NOT TIRE), but wheel/rim, is 9.5" wide from edge to edge, then you actually have an 8.5" wheel.

If you really have a 9.5" wheel (this should be printed on the inside of the wheel), then you are going to want a 275 width tire for the back. If you are having traction issues you will want to get a tire with a lower number for the UTQG. Try to get something in the 180-220 range. Only need to get those for the rear. The fronts can be higher number and less money, they will last longer.

For example, I have Nitto NT05 tires, which are a 200 treadwear rating. I have trouble breaking them loose unless I get the tires really hot and too much throttle coming out of a corner.
On my other set of wheels I have the same size but Toyo Proxes 4 with a treadwear rating of 300, I break them loose all day long, sucks.

So do your research on what tire to get, I do recommend the NT05's. Nitto makes some great tires if you are looking for a drag radial the NT555 is pretty good also.

[KevinZtwin]

So I was installing a coolant overflow tank today to get rid of the stock one sitting behind my SMICs and figured while I had the wheel off I would take some pics of my studs.


This is an Ichiba 60mm stud. As you can see, 20mm is immediately gone after going through the hub and rotor hat. Which is exactly what my previous calculations showed if you look at them. I am just confirming my measurements from yesterday.


Then a 15mm spacer


And the thickness of the wheel mounting face is around 8-9mm on my DP Motorsport wheels


I run this setup safely, but I cant imagine putting another 15mm worth of spacer in there. There would be nothing left to put a lugnut on.

When you get a chance, please measure the length of those studs you have on your car. They surely measure longer than my 60mm studs.
I don't have a pic with a ruler to show that is a 60mm stud, but here it is next to the stock 45mm stud. It came with the 15mm spacer kit from Ichiba, which adds 15mm to stock length.

[vikesfankevin1986]

I am the OP and no I don't know what I'm talking about, that is why I am here asking questions.
The rims say on them 18x9.5 on the back and 18x8.5 in the front.
I asked about tires in another post here. what-hooks-up-better-t486982.html
But here is what I said about the tires in it.
ZIEX ZE512
steel belted radial
265/35Z/R18 93W
When I measure across they are 9.5 inches

Here is the result with those rims and those tires; They turn into butter when my turbos kick in. Going from a dead stop or a roll, my tires spin at 3,500 rpms or so. I just want a tire on my car on those rims that can actually hold on to the road. I only have 310-315 rwhp. I do not go to the drag strip. I just want something that can hold on. Also next year I am doing major upgrades, so I want tires that can hold for upgraded turbos and stuff. I just want tires on those rims. I am clueless but I didn't think this was going to be such a hard topic...

[KevinZtwin]

I also have Falken Ziex 512's ....I have them on the front of my street tires, I wore through the rears pretty quick and had to buy new tires for the back. They are crap for traction. But like I said, get somewhere around a 200 treadwear. You are looking for a performance tire that is going to grip, unfortunately you cant have a tire that grips how you want AND one that lasts a long time. That is why I have a track and street set, so I buy cheaper, tires (even though they are Ultra High Performance) for my streets set and just rip through them. If I ever need grip or am going to the track I throw on my track wheels. In your case I would just get the stickier tires (lower UTQG number). They should still last you at least 25k - 35k miles depending on how aggressive you drive.

[vikesfankevin1986]

How long they last doesn't bother me a whole lot, I just want something that will hang on when I gun it at the stop light. I want something that isn't going to break loose when my turbos kick in. My friend has a 2010 Mustang GT pushing 325 rwhp. I can't afford to spin. If you have a link or could let me know what tires you think are best on this website http://www.tirerack.com/ that could be great. The cheaper they are the better, but I want some traction.
Thanks a ton.

[KevinZtwin]

Do you daily drive this car? I am just trying to see if you would be willing to run drag radials or race tires. Although they can be scary in wet weather.

Tirerack does not carry Nitto, so it looks like your only inexpensive options that are going to grip are the:
Kumho Ecsta XS
Kumho Ecsta MX

Both of those should grip quite a bit better than the Ziex512's. But I have never used the Kumho's. I hear a lot of good things about the Nitto NT555R as a good DOT compliant street drag radial. I just wouldnt get too crazy on the throttle in the rain.

I have seen the Nitto NT05 on ebay for pretty cheap. that is where I got mine.

Also, alignment is another key to good traction. Make sure your camber, etc is within spec.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Well as of right now it is a daily driver but I am hoping to change that soon. I had to drive it this winter and I was pissed about it. I will not drive it this winter and that is for sure. So basicly this summer is the longest it will be a daily driver. And before you say "why don't you just buy a beater" well that is because my wife totaled my last 2 beaters(and one of them was a pretty nice car) so that makes 3 cars in 3 years she has totaled.
So to answer you question, it will not be a daily driver but will see a decent amount of road time.

[KevinZtwin]

Okay. Then if I were you I would choose one of the three. All are Max performance summer tires.
Kumho Ecsta XS - 180/AA/A
Nitto NT05 - 200/AA/A
Kumho Ecsta MS - 220/AA/A

The Nittos can be purchased from this guy on ebay. I bought my tires through him and he is really cool with fast shipping. Send him a message offering lower though! He will say yes. For example I got 4 tires for $600 shipped, when they normally would have been over $750. I got a sick deal out of it. I would probably send him an email offering $370 shipped for the pair, which is cheaper than the Kumhos.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-NEW-NI ... ccessories

[vikesfankevin1986]

Should have just done this before. What size wheel studs should I get? This is my spacer.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Ok for tires I was thinking these for the rear
Kumho Ecsta MX 275/35ZR18
220/AA/A
They are 200 bucks each.

For the front
Kumho Ecsta XS 245/40R18
180/AA/A
161 bucks each

If it is better to keep the same tire on both front and back I could do the XS on the rear also but its 25 dollars more per tire. Should I pay the extra money to keep the treat the same?
Thanks

[ztommyx]

^^ that looks like a 7mm spacer.
i don't recommend running it with the stock studs.

those are good prices on the tires.