I'm putting 18x8 FX rims on my J30t

[Listof7]

So, I bought a set of FX35 18's now I gotta save for rubber (235/40/18 N3000 Nexens, I'm thinking) then their going on my 1993 J30t.

I read about the HICAS, but all I could find was second hand and targeted weight as the issue of concern. I figured since factory ALLOY rims are much lighter than after market steel rims, and if after market stell rims at 17" are still ok...I hope to skate by on this deal and keep my HICAS functional by running the lighter weight OEM big shoes...

If anyone has first hand experience with this matter, please speak up, good or bad.

One way or the other, I'll share what happens...

PS, I posted a newbie hello, not sure it was in the right place, but if not HIYA ALL

[gr8scott72]

So, I bought a set of FX35 18's now I gotta save for rubber (235/40/18 N3000 Nexens, I'm thinking) then their (should be they're) going on my 1993 J30t.

I read about the HICAS, but all I could find was second hand and targeted weight as the issue of concern. I figured since factory ALLOY rims are much lighter than after market steel rims, and if after market stell rims at 17" are still ok...I hope to skate by on this deal and keep my HICAS functional by running the lighter weight OEM big shoes...

If anyone has first hand experience with this matter, please speak up, good or bad.

One way or the other, I'll share what happens...

PS, I posted a newbie hello, not sure it was in the right place, but if not HIYA ALL

Just because they are OEM doesn't make them light weight. A quick google search found out that the 18" FX35 wheels WITHOUT tires are about 35 lbs EACH. The stock wheels on the J30t are forged and only weigh like 12 lbs.

Not only are they much heavier, but you are moving the weight further out with 18s versus 15s which will further hurt your performance (and your HICAS).

If you just have to do it, disable your HICAS so you don't destroy it. Just be warned that your acceleration, braking, handling, ride quality, and transmission longevity will all suffer all in the name of looks.

[RZAA36]

BUT, It will look very nice on the 18's. Are they the black chrome ones or the chrome ones? IMO The stock 15's on any J look ugly and they don't fit the look of the car at all. gr8scott72 has the best stock rims imo. good luck with the 18's and be sure to turn off the hicas.

[gr8scott72]

BUT, It will look very nice on the 18's. Are they the black chrome ones or the chrome ones? IMO The stock 15's on any J look ugly and they don't fit the look of the car at all. gr8scott72 has the best stock rims imo. good luck with the 18's and be sure to turn off the hicas.

I agree about the regular J30 wheels that they are ugly but he has a t so he had the same ones that I have. The only 2 things I don't like about the ones that I have are: 1. they are a PAIN to clean. 2. the center caps peel pretty easy and turn to yellow. I've had to respray mine twice now.

Also, good luck with the 18s.

[NismoJ30]

Just because they are OEM doesn't make them light weight. A quick google search found out that the 18" FX35 wheels WITHOUT tires are about 35 lbs EACH. The stock wheels on the J30t are forged and only weigh like 12 lbs.

Not only are they much heavier, but you are moving the weight further out with 18s versus 15s which will further hurt your performance (and your HICAS).

If you just have to do it, disable your HICAS so you don't destroy it. Just be warned that your acceleration, braking, handling, ride quality, and transmission longevity will all suffer all in the name of looks.

personally i wouldnt sacrifice the performance and longevity of my j30 just for looks. i would figure something out around it. good luck

[gr8scott72]

personally i wouldnt sacrifice the performance and longevity of my j30 just for looks. i would figure something out around it. good luck

Yup, that's me. I'm out on putting anything on that will slow me down.

[Listof7]

The OE J30t rims are not bad, but they do leave room for improvement...

I appreciate both camps input. I have every intention of swapping off the OE 15" unless I hear from someone who's done it and regretted it. I understand the concern, however, while I do believe the OE J30t rims are lighter than the OE FX35 rims, what I don't believe is that an AFTER MARKET 17" weighs less than the FX35 OE rims, the reason is HIGH grade alloy VS steel. If people are safely running after market 17" and the weight is not damaging the HICAS, I believe I'll be fine, I am confident in my assessment...

IF however anyone has FIRST HAND experience on their own J30t's HICAS being damaged by replacement rims...please share it -- I would prefer to keep the HICAS over rims...but I plan to have BOTH!

Speak now or I'll be walking the walk and sharing details in the future.

If no one has actually been down this road, my logic is this -- what's the difference between disabling the HICAS and never using it again VS breaking the HICAS, disabling it after the fact and never using it again? If it's gone it's gone....

After thought: I had a 1989 Prelude SI w/ All Wheel Steering sitting on 19's they where WAY larger than the factory rims. I only had it a few months (to girly for me) but in that time, the steering worked fine and it handled incredible (ie. 35mph turns at 60mph with no fear of breaking loose) It was however a ****ty ride on anything but the smoothest of roads, still, no known damage to steering.

Where did this HICAS damage start? I tried to find a thread stating "I did this" all I found was "My cousin's friend heard..."
Modified by Listof7 at 3:20 AM 2/1/2008

[Listof7]

Just because they are OEM doesn't make them light weight. A quick google search found out that the 18" FX35 wheels WITHOUT tires are about 35 lbs EACH. The stock wheels on the J30t are forged and only weigh like 12 lbs.

I prefer not to make enemies, especially so quickly, so I'll say this with a white flag, but in the future, if you're gonna give advice, be accurate & correct = UPS says my rims are EXACTLY 29# each, not 35#, that's almost 20% lighter As far as I'm concerned hearsay is worthless.

I'll try to get a J30t wheel and tire total weight as well as a FX35 wheel and tire total weight posted when I'm able to...

PS...those rims are even prettier than I'd thought they'd be

[Listof7]

HIGH grade alloy VS steel.

Yeah, I quoted myself... here is a bit of info as to WHY OE Alloy rims ARE lighter than after market steel rims...

And with this in mind, if the tire is them same dimensions as OE, I see no cause for deleting my HICAS

Here's what a reputable website had to say...

"What is an Alloy Wheel?

Alloy metals provide superior strength and dramatic weight reductions over ferrous metals such as steel, and as such they represent the ideal material from which to create a high performance wheel. In fact, today it is hard to imagine a world class racing car or high performance road vehicle that doesn't utilize the benefits of alloy wheels.

The alloy used in the finest road wheels today is a blend of aluminum and other elements. The term "mag wheel" is sometimes incorrectly used to describe alloy wheels. Magnesium is generally considered to be an unsuitable alloy for road usage due to its brittle nature and susceptibility to corrosion. (Flammability doesn't help either!)"

Found on Tirerack.com


Modified by Listof7 at 4:25 AM 2/1/2008

[gr8scott72]

I prefer not to make enemies, especially so quickly, so I'll say this with a white flag, but in the future, if you're gonna give advice, be accurate & correct = UPS says my rims are EXACTLY 29# each, not 35#, that's almost 20% lighter As far as I'm concerned hearsay is worthless.

I'll try to get a J30t wheel and tire total weight as well as a FX35 wheel and tire total weight posted when I'm able to...

PS...those rims are even prettier than I'd thought they'd be

UPS didn't say that they are 29 lbs each, the shipper that put the label on the box says they are 29 lbs each. UPS won't change the weight on a box unless it's obviously wrong. Have you put them on a scale for yourself? 29 lbs is still heavy.

Agreed, they are pretty.

[gr8scott72]

Yeah, I quoted myself... here is a bit of info as to WHY OE Alloy rims ARE lighter than after market steel rims...

And with this in mind, if the tire is them same dimensions as OE, I see no cause for deleting my HICAS

Here's what a reputable website had to say...

"What is an Alloy Wheel?

Alloy metals provide superior strength and dramatic weight reductions over ferrous metals such as steel, and as such they represent the ideal material from which to create a high performance wheel. In fact, today it is hard to imagine a world class racing car or high performance road vehicle that doesn't utilize the benefits of alloy wheels.

The alloy used in the finest road wheels today is a blend of aluminum and other elements. The term "mag wheel" is sometimes incorrectly used to describe alloy wheels. Magnesium is generally considered to be an unsuitable alloy for road usage due to its brittle nature and susceptibility to corrosion. (Flammability doesn't help either!)"

Found on Tirerack.com



Modified by Listof7 at 4:25 AM 2/1/2008

Here's a list of aftermarket wheels with weights. Very few of the 18" wheels have weights that are more than the 29 lbs that your box says yours weigh.

What makes you think that aftermarket wheels are steel instead of also being an alloy?

http://www.wheelweights.net/

[NismoChi]

May be there is something i can add to this topic.One of my other car is a 92 Maxima, 15 Nissan Wheel w/205/60/15, same as the the those on the J. A few years back, i change out the wheel and tire to 18"Nissan Murano, 18"x7.5 w/225/40/18 tire, the stock wheel and tire weight exactly 40lbs, and the Murano wheel came in at 25lbs wach, withe the tire, they are exactly 50lbs. I wish i did the same thing when i can the wheel and tire on the J, but i did not, for sure your FX set up will weight more, and you sure can feel it the when you step on your gas pedal for the first time, but wait till you make your first turn, even a moderate speed, then you will have a smile on your face.

[Listof7]

Gr8Scott72 you were right, I popped them in a 100# utility scale and they weighed in @ 29.25#, my mistake. Maybe if I removed the balancer weights I could get them under 29#

to answer your question, the reason I believe most after market rims are steel is because -- it's not my first canoe ride and...the average consumer priced rims (say $1k-$1500) are steel, most alloy rims are twice that new.

I got VERY lucky to purchase these rims at a hell of a lot less, although I need center caps, which seem to be running about $100 OEM

Now, with the new info provided by another walker, I can guess tires weigh in at roughly 25# apiece, so I'll add a .50# for valve stems & center cap and call it 54.75#(+/- .5#) hell we'll call it 55#...so when this test completes, we'll all know FACT that either you can run 55# of 18" meat w/HICAS intact...or not...should be fun!

And hell yeah, I can't wait to hit the first corner!

This just keeps gettting better! I can't wait to get these bad boys on him!

PS. Here he is all stockedhttp://picasaweb.google.com/33rdFloor/J30t1993

[yodawill2000]

Quote from Scott"I agree about the regular J30 wheels that they are ugly"

May you be thrown under a camel, with post nasal drip... hehe

[gr8scott72]

Quote from Scott"I agree about the regular J30 wheels that they are ugly"

May you be thrown under a camel, with post nasal drip... hehe

I got the set of t rims off my 93 if you want them Paul. You would just need to get one fixed. It has a nice bend in it. Should be able to get it fixed for about $100.

[driverdriver]

There are people on this forum who have damaged and/or destroyed their HICAS with 18" or greater rims. Believe me, I've been a resident on this forum for a very, very long time.

If you want to put rims on bigger than 16", install the HICAS disable kit.

[Listof7]

I believe you've been on this forum a long time, so I think you're the perfect person to ask for some links to these threads containing first hand accounts of +17" rims destroying HICAS. I can't seem to find a single first hand account of this phenomena on my own. Please help me out by pointing me directly to some of these threads.

Thanks -- Zachariah

[driverdriver]

About 2 to 3 years ago the NICO forums switched forum software and hardware from Vbulletin to Zeroforum. As part of that move we lost a lot of historic threads or we couldn't move threads due to software constraints.

If you don't believe me do it and find out. HICAS is very expensive to fix. You've been warned.

The only person I knew that was successful with 18 inchs on his J30 was a member by the name of Diamond. His J30 was basically a show car. He never drove it. As a precaution he had installed a HICAS disabled kit.

[Listof7]

I appreciate the concern, it's what these forums are based on, helping one another learn from our personal lessons. Please understand, I like to see and feel, not just hear... you understand, so unless I can find first hand info, I gotta get on that rocket ship.

It looks like sometime this year there is going to be a new thread on 18's and Super HICAS -- the good the bad and the huggly...

[gr8scott72]

I appreciate the concern, it's what these forums are based on, helping one another learn from our personal lessons. Please understand, I like to see and feel, not just hear... you understand, so unless I can find first hand info, I gotta get on that rocket ship.

It looks like sometime this year there is going to be a new thread on 18's and Super HICAS -- the good the bad and the huggly...

I'm not trying to be rude, but if you have to "see and feel", even after what driverdriver just said, then why come on here at all to ask for advise? Just go do whatever you want.

[NismoChi]

I appreciate the concern, it's what these forums are based on, helping one another learn from our personal lessons. Please understand, I like to see and feel, not just hear... you understand, so unless I can find first hand info, I gotta get on that rocket ship.

It looks like sometime this year there is going to be a new thread on 18's and Super HICAS -- the good the bad and the huggly...

Go for it, my friend. Report it back so we know how it goes.

[Listof7]

I got word from someone who ran 265/35/18 with HICAS, A-OK!! I gotta take that as the pot saying the kettle is black and figure if the stuff hits the fan, so be it, but I believe I'm gonna be a HAPPY CAMPER!

I'm saving for the tires as we speak and I'll be posting pics and "my opinion" sometime this spring or sooner, once their bolted on and broken in...



And I hadn't mentioned this earlier, but NismoChi, your picture is what inspired me to look into the rims I got, your car looks great, it has CURB APPEAL!! to burn!! Very Nice...

[NismoChi]

Thanks, i really miss it. myself. Not two months after i sold it, the new owner got into an accident and totaled it. I keep the wheel though.If that work out OK for you, i might have to buy me a J w/HICA to put those on.

[RZAA36]

Thanks, i really miss it. myself. Not two months after i sold it, the new owner got into an accident and totaled it. I keep the wheel though.If that work out OK for you, i might have to buy me a J w/HICA to put those on.

LET ME BUY THE RIMS FROM YOU!!!!

[Listof7]

UPDATE

I replaced my brake pads today and while I had the wheels off I figured we should weigh them. 1993 Factory J30t 15x6.5 rims with 215/60/15 tires weigh 35 pounds.

2003 Factory M45 18's rims with 245/40/18 tires weigh 55 pounds (weighed my brother's)

Still don't have the exact weight of my rims with tires, but I wanted to update what I had before I forgot it...Z