I have new wheels (pics)

[rsiwicki]

Well it took long enough but I finally got some good quality wheels for the beast. They are much heavier than the 15" BBS. They weighed in at 53lbs (wheels & tires). Below are the stats on the setup.

OZ Opera II PL18x8.5 @ 38mm offsetKumho Ectsa MX 245/40/18 (front)**Kumho Ectsa MX 275/40/18 (rear)****hold off on the load rating and tire rim width stuff as these are brand new tires that I could not pass up on for the price and rest assured that I will be running Avon's that have the proper load rating and also a different rear tire size.

Since these are a true 2 piece wheel, the silver face can be unbolted from the rim and I was seriously thinking about painting black so I would have a black face wheel with a polished lip, but now that I have these on the car I really like them just as they are. What do you all think...paint the face black and leave a polished lip or don't mess with it?

[rsiwicki]

The extra weight of the wheels does slow down the car. I can really feel the difference so I will be swapping my BBS's most likely for the track. I might run tomorrow night at the track just to see how they do with the heavier wheel to try and get an idea of what the extra weight does to my ET's.

The handling is nice and very tight yet not too bumpy like I thought would happen which is great as I was afraid the ride would be too harsh with 18's but it is not.

[Q_SHIP]

Looks great. Thats one clean Q.

[elwesso]

Finally we get to see some decent shots of your Q.....

I like the 275s on the rear... Make it look MEAN.. I like the stance too!

Personally I woudlnt bother with painting them, leave them how they are... The factory OZ finish is going to be QUALITY and painting them (unless OZ did it) would be ruining them, imho.....

Real nice Rob....

[vicQ45]

WOW! that's hot. i like em just the ywa they are! gorgeous!

[Rex]

... Personally, I wouldn't bother with painting them, leave them how they are ... The factory OZ finish is going to be QUALITY and painting them (unless OZ did it) would be ruining them, imho.....

Real nice Rob....

Great look Rob, but you're killing me, the brownies have to come off my car SOON>

They'd look NICE painted .

Wes, did you see this pic?

[elwesso]

Yes I did and personally Im not a fan of black wheels.....

[JT_MONEY_2004]

rsiwicki, that's very nice looking man. That offset is right on. Nice backgrounds too, it enhances the overall look. your car looks very clean...maybe you can tell me if this ever happened to you; have you ever noticed your car drives better when it's clean like right after good wash and wax? *_-

[gniknave]

I'm jealous. That Q is fn gorgeous!

[Falkdesigns]

Looks beautiful! I don't agree with putting different width tires on the same width wheels though, and personally, I don't like when tires are wider than wheels. Regardless though, it looks amazing, and I like the silver centers.

Oh, not sure what your load rating is, but Ecsta MX is one of the baddest ultra high perf tires.

[rsiwicki]

have you ever noticed your car drives better when it's clean like right after good wash and wax? *_-

lol!!! for some reason the damn stillen camber adjustments that I have installed squeak all the time except for a week or two just after I have it washed. I have new bushings to replace the old ones to help stop the squeaks for frequent trip to the car wash.

The interior is very clean, but the car definitely has its share of parking lot dings, scratches, valet dents, and a key mark. I am now forced to have the Q repainted around May/June because I can't be riding around in a well maintained very fast Q that has sweet wheels but a $hity body & paint. Then the cycle of my Q modding madness will be complete and it will be just regular maintenance from here on out.

[Jesda]

Holy **** thats beautiful!

Send a full size version of http://nissaninfiniticlub.net/...d.JPGo ... ...d.JPGto [email protected] for the main page.

[rsiwicki]

Jesda....go to members rides under my gallery and you can get the full size version. I used the office camera & pc to post earlier today and had to delete them off the camera for pics to be taken later tonight at the NASDAQ100 Tennis event going on.

[91QAZ]

Rob, Your car looks SINISTER with those wheels. Great stance too. Are you running Eibachs? I think it looks great with the silver centers, but would look even better with black centers .

[AZhitman]

AWESOME Rob!

She looks WAY hot!

I vote for charcoal or graphite-colored centers (black won't show off the contours of the wheel).

[Jeff Williams]

If you paint them, don't go black. Go gumnetal grey, or a darker silver.

I love the rear tires. Perfect width. The exhaust looks great, too.

You are lugging around about 100 extra pounds in those wheels. It does hurt the performance and braking.

Now you can put some NITTO drag radials on the BBS wheels.

[Rex]

DU12Q

LOL

[louiegz]

I used the office camera & pc to post earlier today and had to delete them off the camera for pics to be taken later tonight at the NASDAQ100 Tennis event going on.

Hot Q with kickin rims and some live tennis. What more can you ask for. Been trying to get to go to Miami for that touney for years. The Q's looking good. Keep up the good work, Rob.

[redmanfx]

Wow, Rob. I thinks this is the first time I've got a good look at your car. She's a beautiful example of a Hottie!! I like your wheels, they look different. Better they're not painted black.

I'll have to get good pics of mine with something other than a camera phone when I finish the upcoming rehab.

red

[TgduMg]

DU12Q

Danisiti 1

[pretzelboy]

Why didn't you get the 18x10 for back?
Modified by pretzelboy at 7:19 PM 3/29/2005

[rsiwicki]

thanks all for the compliments as I have been searching just about every weekend for the past year for a set of good quality wheels for the Q and have finally came up with a good find about a week ago.

I picked them up for $1,250 with tires mounted & balanced with lug nut and metal hub rings. The rims are from what I can tell are brand new...there is not one spec of dirt, grease, scratch, etc. on them and the lug holes look untouched. I can't figure it out why they are so new looking but I am not complaining and they performed awesome at the 130mph test I did this evening.

They don't make the OZ Opera II PL's anymore (stopped about 9 months ago regardless of what you see on the web) and when they did they rarely made a set in the 5x114.3 bolt pattern. OZ Racing (headquartered hear in Miami) told me all this and that they could paint the faces of the wheels for about $300 in total with removing the screws and painting and then re-attaching. At first OZ told me they could not get the rim in any wider widths, but after I pulled up today with them on the car they were a little more receptive to the idea of seeing if they could order me a 9" width for the rears with a different offset to achieve the staggered look with a wider lip in the rear.

Here is a set of 20's that are the Opera III PL's. A true 3 piece wheel.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...&rd=1

[pretzelboy]

They still make the regular opera rims?

[rsiwicki]

you can get a set of Opera I (one piece) just like HeavyDuty (Jason) had on his Q brand new on close out directly from OZ here in Miami in a 18x8 & 18x9 with 35mm offset for about $775

They also now have the Opera I PL (polished lip) now but the price ain't cheap at about $350-$450 per wheel. The wheels are very light for their size compared to other cheaper alternatives.

[pretzelboy]

$775 for all four---both 8 and 9"? Got a link or #? That sounds perfect for the active(just bought new 15" tires )

[rsiwicki]

this link should work......the Opera I in this link do not have a lip and are all one color (silver) but are very nice wheels as I saw them in person 2 weeks ago and almost bought them but decided I would hold out a little longer because my girl was with me and if she saw me drop $750 on a set of wheels excluding tires then off to the shopping mall for new shoes for her as well since I was getting new shoes for my car so I am glad I held back.

http://www.ozracing.com/usa/sh...pe=25

[pretzelboy]

Smart.....you would have paid dearly if she saw that...thanks.

[maxnix]

I say skip the paint because in a little time it will be scratched and start to fade as it wears away.

Any wheel weights you can record when you visit OZ next time would be great.

Great looking car, and a brave color for Miami.

I think these pictures are a slam dunk for why we don't want chrome on the pillars, or the mirror nacelle. It would be visual chop suey.

[AZhitman]

Two words: Powder coat.

Looks better and better the more I look at it Rob.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice some performance for the sake of appearance, and I think those were a wise compromise.

[rsiwicki]

thanks Greg for the compliments and yes sometimes we do have to sacrifice performance for looks, but damn....the car is really a lot slower and the braking is terrible.

I asked this question on the wheel & tire forum about powder coating versus painting and all replies back were that powder coating would weaken the strength of the metal and not be good so if I do anything it will be painting, but I am 99% certain that I will leave them as they are for now.

Car is going to dealer for the first time in a year for an alignment since the Goodyear dealer here in two can't seem to figure out why it keeps pulling to the right both before and after my new tires. They blamed it on the worn out tires a month ago so I was like okay, but I just got the car back out of the shop again with the brand new tires and it still pulls to the right. I am also going to have them bump the timing up to 17 degrees.

I may go to the track tonight with the new shoes but I really dread finding out how much my 1/4 times would have dropped. Maybe it is time for that carbon fiber driveshaft to counter balance the weight of the new rims.