G35 6MT Rims

[G-Me]

I Just bought a 2004 G35 6MT last week. I have been looking at these for years and finally pulled the trigger (had a hard time finding 6MT)...quite possibly the best purchase I have ever made!!!! Driving it makes me tingle. I find myself smiling for no reason.

Anyway, the rims on the drivers side are seriously trashed from the previous owner, and for the price of repairing 3 rims for road rash, and putting on new tires, I started to look at just buying another set of rims.

My question: I have never bought rims before and was wondering if anyone has purchased rims online before and how was the experience. I have been checking out tirerack.com and other tire/wheel stores and it seems I can get wheels, tires, balancing, bolts, etc. all for the price of fixing old rims (plus I would have an extra set of rims for winter). I'm looking at upgrading to 19" (titanium or black color).

Are there certain rims I should avoid or are most of the rims good quality?

Thanks for any info.

[AZhitman]

Welcome aboard!!!

I shopped for wheels for my G (2003 6MT) for a long time, and I'll say it's going to be hard to beat TireRack (check the link here).

Some other options: The new Coupe has 19" OEM's, they're amazingly strong, forged, and lightweight, and lots of people take them off and sell them cheap (they're going for $1000-$1500) with brand new tires.

Glad you're here, let us know if we can help in any way!

[BlkrwdT]

FOr some reason, these 18's are always scratched, curbed up, or something when I was looking for a set of these rims . And I have yet to find a set in good cond.

Is there like and invisible sticker that says" Please Curb ME" on the rim or something?

[AZhitman]

IMO, the OEM tires were 10mm too narrow.

Should have had 235's and 255's - Would have saved a LOT of curbing.

My 18's are pristine, no curbing - AND my car was owned by a woman, go figure!

[G-Me]

I guess you're saying I should have 235/255 tires but on new rims? Tirerack has some rims with 245/275 tires, does that seem too big for car, rubbing issues?

[AZhitman]

No, I meant Infiniti should have put 235's and 255's on the car from the factory with the rims they chose.

The G will handle some pretty big rubber - I have 255/35/20 and 285/30/20 going on mine in a few days.

245/275 will be a nice setup, most G owners are using that as their aftermarket choice.

TireRack also takes great care of our members!

[G-Me]

Thanks for the info, great help.

One more thing. Have you used all season tires before, how do they ride. I was planning on using them because weather around here isn't always that great, but if they really take away from the performance, then I will stick with performance tires.

Thanks again for your help!

[BlkrwdT]

I assume all-weather should be more quieter and smoother than a summer/winter tire. My last set was all season and now the summer set is on, its quite noisy.

[AZhitman]

Well, not knowing where you live makes it a tough call.

All-season tires are usually louder in my opinion, but that's because they have more voids and larger tread blocks...

Then again, sticky summer tires can have a different sound (usually a higher pitch)...

Buy what will work best for your driving style and weather, and don't worry about noise - The G isn't a Q45.

[G-Me]

This is the first time I have had to buy wheels and tires for sports car (past was just give me what you got), so please excuse the persistence...

Are those new rims you getting 20X9 (F) & 20X9.5 (R) or are the rims the same width with different tires? How much room do you have to oversize a tire on a rim before you've gone to far (can I do 245/275 on same width rim 19X9)?

I get the idea of wider back wheels on a rear drive car for power-to-pavement transfer, but reading through the tire forums I get the impression that it is not necessarily true...same patch contact, just different shape. I'm asking b/c I wonder if I get the same size all around, would tires last longer b/c I could rotate them more efficiently. I'm use to rotating tires all around the car. What do you do when you have directional tires with different size front/back...keep balancing??

I'm not a cheap-***, I just want to maximize my purchase, especially if I'm dropping over $200 a tire.

[AZhitman]

Great questions.

The G has different width wheels and tires F/R from the factory, so it's engineered to work better that way.

I'm doing 20x9 and 20x10.

True on the contact patch, but that's a different issue for a different thread (we could go all day on that one)...

245/275 are a real popular setup, and shouldn't be any more pricey than 4 of the same size. Rotating isn't really an issue, as they'll all wear, and not necessarily one pair more than the other.

Finding a set of 19" takeoffs would be way smart for your application.

[G-Me]

Thanks Again!

Glad I found this site. I'm like a kid in a candy store...sooooo much info. I also own 2 Nissans (Murano/Altima), so this place rocks for me.

I've become a Nissan Junkie.

I'll send pics of my final decision. I'd love to see what your 20s look like.

[AZhitman]

Well, we're glad you're here - Let us know if we can help with the other 2 cars. (I'm a junkie too, 3 Infinitis and a Nissan.)

Here's a pic of my wheels (not on my car tho):

[glitched]

If you live a snowy climate dont get all seasons, just try and avoid all seasons period...

best way to do it is keep a set of rims with summer tires mounted, and a set of rims with snow tires mounted. ( I even go as far as getting my alignment checked each time i switch, just in case, and to maximize tire wear)

I can not speak highly enough about having a set of dedicated snow tires for winter zerothread?id=99122

So it already sounds like u might keep the old rims for winter, then definately get summer tires for your new rims. Then you will have the chance to truly enjoy a set of summer tires.

All seasons are such a huge compromise that they usually cant compare to dedicated seasonal tires.

btw, i like to troll the g35 forum every once in a while. Id like to get one, but I dont really have a NEED for one, since my current car treats me so well and plus i dont have a car payment right now wich is nice