Newly purchased 18" rims....need tires help.

[Pali_Prince]

IIIIIIIIIII have a question....well first lemme show you the rims i just bought...

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

Sorry if the link looks weird but its off ebay Item # 2468814046 I just purchased them...so i havent gotten them yet...but what size tires would/should i get?????? 245/40/18 OR 245/45/18..i'm lost...i've always had rims on my previous cars, but my first time on this Q....btw its a 1991 Q dark metalic green...beautiful car.

anyhow..lemme know plzzzzzzz i need to buy them soon b4 my rims arrive.

:help thnx in advance.

Ron

[HeavyDuty]

Hey Ron,

I think that offset is a little high for your car. I looked at a couple of wheels for my 91 & I believe all the offsets in an 18x8 were +35, not +45.

A higher offset means the wheel will stick under the car more, probably too much for your car.

A 245/40 would be the correct size, providing it's a 245/40 with 26.1" height mounted on an 8" wide wheel & have the correct load rating.

I think Michelin Pilot Sport A/S has one that's just right.

[szh]

The original 15" rims were 45mm offset for the 90-96 Q45s.

With a wide rim at 8", I too would be very concerned about the wheel/tire touching the suspension parts - particularly in the front! A 35 to 38mm offset would be way safer.

Perhaps you can post this on the Tires forum to ask Grant (from Tirerack) for his more professional opinion too!

Z

[nuQ]

also keep in mind the 95 load rating on the tires!

[elwesso]

I think Fred runs 235/45/18 tires on his 18" rims!!

[maxnix]

What I wonder is if these wheels are the required 66mm hubcentric design? Lexus and some others named on the Ebay listing are only 60mm.

[GEOFF]

I have 2002 Q45 18"s on my 95Q with 245/45/18 tires. That about 3/4" over factory overall diameter, but most 245/40/18s will not supply the load rating needed for a 4100lb car.

[Pali_Prince]

ok ppl....i called discount tire (3 diff locations) and also pep boys (local parts store...majors ones in cali) they said it should be fine on my car but i'd need to get 245-40-18....OR 235-40-18...

So now i'm tire searching...they told me 45's instead of 40 would be too big and too much...

anyways what do u all think?????????

[AZhitman]

Look at the overall outside tire diameter - You want to stay AT or around (preferably a tad below) 26.1" O.D.

It's listed in the specs for all tires.

[rsiwicki]

pali....I just purchased 18 x 8.5 (front) and 18 x 9.5 (rear)....both with a 35 mm offset for my 95 Q45. I am planning on putting 245/40/18 (front) and 255/40/18 (rear). The tire shop also told me that 245/45/18 would be too wide in the front. I should have them on my car this weekend and will post back to you to let you know how they ride and if any issues with load rating. I know of another member that had a load rating less then spec and did not have any issues. I am dropping the car an inch also and I bought the Stillen camber adjustments so my setup will be a bit different than yours and all this will be done at the same time....I will know this weekend. The tires I am putting on are Niitto's...never heard of them before, but another member said they are decent (good wet weather, hard compound, stiff side wall, but a little noisey).

[AZhitman]

Rob - Can you give me some more info on the camber adjusters?

[AZhitman]

p.s. Nitto's are nice and sticky, probably insufficient load rating though. Messing with fire there, but hell, half the cars on the road have underinflated / bald / dryrotted tires.

I like my Falken Ziex's really well, especially in the wet.

[rsiwicki]

info on camber adjustments???? how about $400+ for them. I don't know much about them, but they are heavy and sturdy looking and sitting in my trunk waiting to be used and abused. All I know is that you really need them to make things work correctly....at least that is what someone told me. Yeah...I know about the load rating. We shall see if that becomes a factor in the next couple of months or so. I hope not and I am really hoping that the tire place tells me that they got my wheels in so that I can start getting all this stuff done

[zinkie13]

I'm a big supporter of Fulda Extremo's Z rated for speed and a load rating of 98. They stick better than any tire I have driven on and for a performance tire, they actually work well is snow and rain.

[GEOFF]

ok ppl....i called discount tire (3 diff locations) and also pep boys (local parts store...majors ones in cali) they said it should be fine on my car but i'd need to get 245-40-18....OR 235-40-18...

So now i'm tire searching...they told me 45's instead of 40 would be too big and too much...

anyways what do u all think?????????

As I mentioned b4, I HAVE 45s on my 95Q and there not too big. Only slightly bigger than the stock diameter. (245/45/18). You will find other posts here saying most if not all commercial 245/40/18 tires not meeting load ratings. In other words, the tires may work fine until you get in an accident and your tires are mentioned as a cause.

[szh]

ok ppl....i called discount tire (3 diff locations) and also pep boys (local parts store...majors ones in cali) they said it should be fine on my car but i'd need to get 245-40-18....OR 235-40-18...

So now i'm tire searching...they told me 45's instead of 40 would be too big and too much...

anyways what do u all think?????????

The 245/45-18 is a fine tire size for an 18x8 wheel. That is not what concerns me though - it is the 45mm offset on the wheel. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a fitment problem in the front (touching the suspension components), particularly on turns.

Z

[Pali_Prince]

:rolleyes

Im totally thankful for all your guys' feedbacks...i appreciate it. i'll just wait till this weekend to har from swicki regarding his mods of wheels and suspension...so see how they ride.

i also checked the offset problem...and called the dealer...the tire shops told me it shouldnt be a problems...but the dealer didnt know jack crap about offsets or recommendations on tire sizes lol i called 3 diff times spoke to 3 diff ppl...lol none of them knew anything about tire sizes or offsets..but so far tire shops said the 45 offset should be fine...i guess i'll have to mount 245-45-18's on the rims and try for my own...

we'll see how that goes...i still welcome anyone's input on this, i just wanna make sure i'm safe and ok with turnings...

thnx a lot for the help :ylsuper

[szh]

Do check with Grant (on the Tires forum here) too. He is very knowledgeable about these things. Tire Rack has done enough installations and fitment tests that they should be able to confirm things well for you!

Z

[Pali_Prince]

:ylsuper

will do...thanx again

:icesangel

[rsiwicki]

did anyone ever notice that Tireracks recommended tire size for going with 18" rims on a Q are the 245/40/18 size which don't have the proper load. I spoke with them there also about tire sizes, but did not bring up load rating, but the computer program after telling it that it is a Q45 and you want to upgrade to 18's tells you this size. I don't know if this is an oversite or what by Tirerack, but I would not think that they would recommend a tire that would be potentially dangerous.

[Pali_Prince]

:thinker

i want you all to visit this site which helped me with fitment and offset regarding the 1991 Q

http://www.discountedwheelware...e.cfm

it said for the 1991 Q it has H (high) offset i.e. 45, 40 and 35 offset would fit it perfect.

check it out lemme know..

thnx

[HeavyDuty]

The hub thing should be addressed with hubcentric rings that fit inside the wheel and 'shim' out the ID to the same OD of the cars hubs. You should ask if they supply them at all. If not, you're in for a bumpy ride that no balancer can cure.

Width makes a difference in offset as well. A 45 is ok on a 7" wheel, but might not be for an 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, etc. It's just an expression of the mounting surface +/- relative to the centerline of the wheel.

Wider *is* better.

I, too, noticed the TireRack load rating was low for this car, but visited BFG/Michelin's site to find the same size with a higher load available.

Worst case, you have to use a 5, 7, or 10mm *hubcentric* spacers to cure your offset woes if you have scrubbing. I don't like spacers, but sometimes they're a necessary evil.

[szh]

:thinker

i want you all to visit this site which helped me with fitment and offset regarding the 1991 Q

http://www.discountedwheelware...e.cfm

it said for the 1991 Q it has H (high) offset i.e. 45, 40 and 35 offset would fit it perfect.

check it out lemme know..

thnx

45mm would be fine if the wheel width was the original Q45 stock 6.5" or even a 7.0" (like the 2003 G35 sedan wheels). In a 7.5" width, I would prefer a 40mm maximum offset, and in a 8.0" or 8.5" width, I think a 35mm maximum is safest ... although 38mm might work too.

In my 1995 Q, I installed the G35 coupe rims (they were 17".x7.5") with 30mm and 33mm offsets (front and rear had different offsets) and they were a tiny bit farther out than I liked. But I prefer a minor fender scrub (at full shock/spring compression ... rare event) over a suspension hit (when turning...not so rare event) any day!

Of course, my comments are based on looking carefully at the Q wheel wells when I was searching for new wheels - not any real fitment tests. The tire aspect curves (smaller tread widths might be better) also make a difference as to whether the wheel/tire combo would hit the suspension or not.

Z

[szh]

That web site you referenced has some errors, so I do not know if it can be trusted too much. They show the "90-on" Q45 stock wheel as 15x6 (they were actually 15x6.5 for stock as well as some other sizes for the T and A models in some years).

Z

[VIPQ]

Pali,

I haven't been visiting NICO for a while but glad I found you.I happen to have the exact spec rims as yours on my '97 Q (18 X 8, 45mm offset) My rims are OEM Lexus SC 430 rims and although I knew before purchasing these rims that the center bore size will be an issue (due to the fact that Lexus/Toyota has 60mm bore vs Infinity/Nissan's 66mm), but because I had searched around tire/wheelshops online for offset requirements for the Q, I did not expect to have fitment problems with the 45mm offset - until I actually test fitted the rims and saw just how close the gap was in the front, between the inner edge of my rims and the suspension. Even without the tires, there was only about a 1/4 inch of space (maybe less) and after seeing that, I wasn't about to just put the tires on and just hope for the best. Eventually, I've ordered some quality 5mm spacer inserts from Japan made specifically for Nissan/Infinity vehicles before putting the tires on and put them on for safety measure. Since the rims you've purchased is not excatly the same as mine, you may or may not have rubbing problems afterall (the rear was OK), but if you don't, your front tires will still be riding dangerously close to the suspension - Do make sure of the gap before you drive it. My tires are Falken 245/40ZR/18s. Good luck

[Pali_Prince]

:eyecrazy that's a good point...but see, many ppl on this forum tell me NOT to put 245-40 -18...becuz the 40 series doesnt have enough load measurement, so i'm becoming very skeptic about the 40 series tires.

ok..i know the diff between the 245 and the 235..is about 5mm width ( i was thinking to get the Perilli's P-Zero tires 245-45-18)...do you guys think its a better idea to go with the 235-45-18?

OR

should i just get a 235-40-18 size..that way i'll have enough load measurement (i dont know if the 40 series on a 235 would have the load i need) and at the same time it wouldnt be as wide?. hmm...im guessing i still have to deal with the rim issue and the offset being 45.??????

lol i'm sooo :rolleyes right now, i dont know what to do with the rims, i never knew i could have that many problems with offsets on rims, till now.

anyways let me know your inputs.

Ron

[Pali_Prince]

I found a site for the 5mm spacers. A pair is about 55 bucks....

check it out.

http://www.optauto.com/webstor...t=417

Ron

[GEOFF]

I dont remember all the #s as I did when buying the 2002 Q 18"s for my 95Q. However, I was a little worried about the fit of the 18" with 245/45/18 Dunlops. I dont remember the offset either, but there is less than a 1/4" space between the tire and upper link in front. With that said I think you can only afford another 5mm offset there.

[oxs1]

You maybe should try adding a rim spacer. It goes on before the rim and is about 1/8 of an inch.

[Pali_Prince]

should i buy the spacer only for the front tires???? or for all 4?...

if i did buy it for just the front tires, wouldnt they stick out a lil bit more than the back tires/rims?

hmm...i'm gonna still go with the 245-45-18's all around i guess im just gonna add the spacer for the front...what do u all think???

Ron