Need opinion on wheels.

Forum for Nissan wheel fitment, tire selection, suspension setup and brake discussions.
New240Owner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2003 8:17 pm

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I am looking at getting Gram Lights 57Cs in 17's. Now what I'm wondering is, should I get 17x7.5 all around, or go with 17x8.5 in the rear and the 17x7.5 in the front? From what I've read the 17x8.5 won't fit if I were to keep the 4-lug because the only offset is +40 and I understand that it will rub, but I was thinking of going for a 5-lug conversion to get a better variety of offsets. My question is, do I really need the wider wheels in the back? I am planning on eventually doing an SR swap. Do you think it would be worth the extra trouble? BTW, if I were to stick with the 17x7.5 I could get +22, +30 and +40 offsets, same for the 17x8.5 in five lug. Also it looks like according to this site, if I did get the 5-lug wheels they would seem to clear the Z calipers. Which is something I might do in the future as well. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the newbie post...


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Grant@tirerack
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Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:17 am
Car: Auto racing (AMLS, Cart,F1,IRL in that order), old show rods, classic monster and bad sci-fi movies,
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The 8.5 with that offset is going to be very wide indeed. I guess you should decide what you want to acomplish with your setup. For handling I would stick with the same size front and rear. Even the guys running BMW M3s on the track usually go with the same size all the way around to reduce understeer. For looks, they look very nice filling out the rear wheel wells. It's a matter of personal opinion and what you are shooting for. The five-lug conversion will give you more choices on wheels and brake setups as well. For the long haul, that may be the best way to go.

New240Owner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2003 8:17 pm

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Thanks Grant. That is the direction I think I will go unless the 4-lug version will clear the Z brakes.

Does anyone know if the 57Cs in 17x7.5 with +22,+30 or +40 with the 4-lug bolt pattern will clear Z calipers in the front?

Thanks in advance.

MainEvent212
Posts: 4182
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:21 pm
Car: 95 Nissan 240SX SE w/ SR20DET+goodies

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grant, how come you guys dont sell 5zigen? i'm forced to go to wheelmax.com instead!

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Exar-Kun
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check my sig out, bro. I have GL in +30, they'll clear Z brakes and coilovers.-chet

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Grant@tirerack
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We are very selective in the wheel companies we work with. We set the same standard for all of the wheels we sell. They are all manufactued to meet or exceed the standards required by the origional equipment market and all of the wheel vendors we work with are O.E. wheel suppliers. Most of the configurations are made to our specs based on actual vehicle test fitments (on the car). With the volume we sell we need to make sure it fits right the first time it goes out to the customer. (you won't see us dumping used, returned, wheels that didn't fit on online auction sites) :eek: . With over 200+ wheel makers selling in the U.S. there is a wide range of style and quality out there. There are a lot of very good quality wheels out there that we don't sell. There is also a lot of junk out there as well. We select the ones that work best for our customers. I think we do a good job and it's worked well for us so far. I don't have any first hand information on 5 Zigen wheels so I can't say where they fall into the mix. In general, things to look for and ask about are the following:

1: have you actually test fit this wheel on my type of car?

2: what tire sizes did you test fit with this wheel?

3: is this wheel hub-centric or lug-centric (the correct answer is hub-centric)

4: is the offest correct for my car and if it is not, is the spacer hub-centric and designed to fit the wheel and vehicle or is it just a flat washer-type spacer?

5: is there any additional hardware I have to buy to make these fit? (lugnuts, center rings, center caps are sold as add-ons by some shops and not included with the wheels)

6: do these wheels meet or exceed O.E. standards for my car?

If you don't like the shop's answers to any of these questions or they can't answer them for you, look elsewhere. There are more than enough wheel suppliers out there selling quality products.

MainEvent212
Posts: 4182
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:21 pm
Car: 95 Nissan 240SX SE w/ SR20DET+goodies

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i heard they're pretty good w/ their 5zigen products, i kno of a few guys who bought from them, and they sell good tires also

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seiyess
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http://www.speedalliance.comsell 5-zigen.. i think they have good prices too..

i would go for wider on the back cause that's what i'm getting..reason? hmm.... u'll look better~! hahahahai don't know y cars r better with 5 lugs.. but seems like everybody's doing covertions and companies make more wheels with 5 lugs... i think... 4 lug and 5 lug... what's their differences??aren't they same?


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