I have a 2005 350Z convertible 6 speed manual touring that needs tires badly & I have 2 questions.

#1 The rims that are on it are base model 7 spoke 17" although I think its supposed to have come with 18"s. On the back I have 235s & on the front I have 225s. Is this correct? If so is this necessary? If not is it OK to go with 235s all the way around? I ask because more rubber is better.

#2 Ive heard that up to 05 the 350Zs had a camber set up that is for all out racing & wears tires out far to quickly for general daily driving & that this camber issue was corrected for 06 & up models. Is there a way to apply the 06 camber fix to an 05? If so, now would be the time to do it when I put new tires on.

Thanks

Joseph101956 wrote:#1 The rims that are on it are base model 7 spoke 17" although I think its supposed to have come with 18"s. On the back I have 235s & on the front I have 225s. Is this correct? If so is this necessary? If not is it OK to go with 235s all the way around? I ask because more rubber is better.

The Base (and Enthusiast) model Z (hardtop and convertible both) came with the 17" wheels, 18's were available as an option. The OEM tire size was 225/50 and 235/50 for the front and rear. You can go with equal size all around, a lot of people do. It's much easier to do in the Base model since it doesn't come with TCS or VDC that will go crazy with the different rotational rates of the tires. Keep in mind though that the wheels are different sizes too - only a half inch, but it bears mentioning. I'd talk to a tire freak (I mean that in a good way - I don't want any hate mail from all the tread heads out there!) and see if it will be a mounting problem.

What you might want to do before you settle on a final size (provided you haven't already) is research some tires and see what sizes are available.

Joseph101956 wrote:#2 Ive heard that up to 05 the 350Zs had a camber set up that is for all out racing & wears tires out far to quickly for general daily driving & that this camber issue was corrected for 06 & up models. Is there a way to apply the 06 camber fix to an 05? If so, now would be the time to do it when I put new tires on.

The '03 & '04 models had a lot of new buyers upset at premature tire wear. Search for "tire feathering" and 350z and you'll probably find plenty of stuff to read about. I think part of it was due to the fact that Nissan put performance summer tires on the Z to begin with that had a naturally low treadwear rating, but Nissan did issue a TSB that addressed it anyway. If I'm not mistake I think that the TSB recommended a zero tolerance when doing an wheel alignment. If you give me some time I'll look around and see if I can find it on one of my jump drives.

FWIW, I've put close to 40,000 miles on a set of General Exclaims with no problems (aside from a construction zone puncture...but that doesn't count).

Another Tri-Cities NICO member! Welcome!