Rim Question
Rim Question
I was thinking of putting 20 inch rims and tires on my 99Q45t. I saw on ebay a set of rims from a new FX45 20 inch will they fit my car? Is the bolt pattern and offset correct and if so what size tires do you recommend
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AZhitman
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Welcome to NICO, MAQ45t!
Well, this is a sticky subject as 20" is generally regarded as too big for most sedans...
Why? Well, first of all, understand that there will be performance consequences (braking distance, acceleration, and handling).
Then there is the issue of tire price - You'll be replacing annually, trust me here, so factor in that cost.
Further, there is the load rating issue, you must stay at 95 or above for safety and liability reasons.
Finding a 20" tire that will allow you to keep the same outside diameter as the stock tire will be impossible - So your speedo/odo will be off, and that could impact any remaining warranty as well as performance and possibly your ABS computer (more liability).
I don't know about fitment but I can't imagine they'd fit well at all - Your car will ride about an inch (or more) higher, which IMO looks goofy.
But if you like the look, then I say arrange for a "test fit" somehow (preferably at your local dealer, might cost you a few bucks).
Others will chime in with more knowledge, but that's a start! Tell us more about your car, post up some pics, and again, welcome to NICO!
Well, this is a sticky subject as 20" is generally regarded as too big for most sedans...
Why? Well, first of all, understand that there will be performance consequences (braking distance, acceleration, and handling).
Then there is the issue of tire price - You'll be replacing annually, trust me here, so factor in that cost.
Further, there is the load rating issue, you must stay at 95 or above for safety and liability reasons.
Finding a 20" tire that will allow you to keep the same outside diameter as the stock tire will be impossible - So your speedo/odo will be off, and that could impact any remaining warranty as well as performance and possibly your ABS computer (more liability).
I don't know about fitment but I can't imagine they'd fit well at all - Your car will ride about an inch (or more) higher, which IMO looks goofy.
But if you like the look, then I say arrange for a "test fit" somehow (preferably at your local dealer, might cost you a few bucks).
Others will chime in with more knowledge, but that's a start! Tell us more about your car, post up some pics, and again, welcome to NICO!
[QUOTE]Originally posted by AZhitman "]Welcome to NICO, MAQ45t!
Well, this is a sticky subject as 20" is generally regarded as too big for most sedans...
Further, there is the load rating issue, you must stay at 95 or above for safety and liability reasons.
Finding a 20" tire that will allow you to keep the same outside diameter as the stock tire will be impossible - So your speedo/odo will be off, and that could impact any remaining warranty as well as performance and possibly your ABS computer (more liability).
The Tire Rack has Continental ContiSportContact 2's in 255/30ZR20 XL on their website. The UTQG is listed as, 280 A A, and the diameter is 26.2. They also had a SportContact 2 and a Pirelli tire in a 245/30ZR20 on the site, but those sizes were not on the site the last time I checked. The most common, and shortest diameter 20 used for the Q45's, Lexuses GS and LS that I had previously seen were 245/35ZR20 that have a diameter of about 26.8. Perfect for the 02 and 03 Q's but a little tall for the 90 to 01's OEM diameter (215/65VR15, 215/60VR16 and 225/50ZR17).
Well, this is a sticky subject as 20" is generally regarded as too big for most sedans...
Further, there is the load rating issue, you must stay at 95 or above for safety and liability reasons.
Finding a 20" tire that will allow you to keep the same outside diameter as the stock tire will be impossible - So your speedo/odo will be off, and that could impact any remaining warranty as well as performance and possibly your ABS computer (more liability).
The Tire Rack has Continental ContiSportContact 2's in 255/30ZR20 XL on their website. The UTQG is listed as, 280 A A, and the diameter is 26.2. They also had a SportContact 2 and a Pirelli tire in a 245/30ZR20 on the site, but those sizes were not on the site the last time I checked. The most common, and shortest diameter 20 used for the Q45's, Lexuses GS and LS that I had previously seen were 245/35ZR20 that have a diameter of about 26.8. Perfect for the 02 and 03 Q's but a little tall for the 90 to 01's OEM diameter (215/65VR15, 215/60VR16 and 225/50ZR17).
I would strongly advise against this. If you would refer to several auto magazines out this month....one of which is the July AUTOMOBILE issue where they refer to the FX35 as a "much tastier dish" as far as ride and handling as compared to the FX45. The FX45 was referred to as "having a stiff legged tiring ridewith the 20" wheels. The FX35 has 18 inch tires and wheels and is recommended in this article over the 20" FX45. I think I'm in the market for one of these, for the significant other, keeping the Q for me, but the lesson here is obvious, the 20" is too much for the vehicle it was designed for, you're gonna be be real unhappy with this combo. I'll share an experience...As a Viper owner I had a chance recently to attend a seminar by the guys who sell Hunter balancing machines...with a Viper up on the rack the Hunter engineers took us through why you should NEVER go up in tire/wheel size more than 17 to 18 or 18 to 19...and NEVER to 20...really serious suspension issues and WEAR issues on the suspension, but mostly RIDE factor. I could go on forever about what they said but my Viper has 18's.. it will never see more than 19's. My Q has 15's, never to see more than 17's...that was ultimately their advice, never go more tahn 2 sizes up. Actually I think our gurus have earlier agreed with this. 90-96 Q best size upgrade from the 15" factory is 17" BBS light weight wheel.
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maxnix
- Posts: 22627
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- Car: 1995 Infiniti Q45
1995 Infiniti Q45t
2000 Infiniti Q45
16 or 17?
Aye, and there's the rub. Does one optimize at 16" and hope the Firestone 255/50-16 SZ 50 EP are in production forever? Or does one go to 17", think about a brake upgrade and hope a good 255/45-17 will always be available? 'Tis a vexing dilemma.Q45tech wrote:16 x 8" or 16 x 8.5" wheel with 255/50/16 is the cost/performance sweet spot..........but even 16" is no longer consider a performance tire size as most new monster brake rotors require 17" to clear.
NEVER go up in tire/wheel size more than 17 to 18 or 18 to 19...and NEVER to 20...really serious suspension issues and WEAR issues on the suspension, but mostly RIDE factor. And what about the road hazard factor. Many locals including myself believe that Tulsa is the Pot Hole Capital of The World, but I'm sure that there are members in other cities that have serious pothole problems. Most tire manufacturers will cover the tread, but not the sidewall in their road hazard policys. 20's may be fine for a car show, or a surveyed weekend jaunt, but I'd be nervous rollin "Dubs" everyday, even on a 02 or newer Q. Besides, I'm an acceleration junkie! But I do feel that on a 97-01 Q, 255/40-18's with an 8.5 inch wide rim (not cheap ones) and lowered properly no more than an inch would give it the right look. A friend of mine had a black 97 Q, not lowered with 245/40-18's with some Limited chromes. Like the Tire Rack's and other ad's have stated. Too much gap between the tire and the fenderwell. Another alternative is the 18X7.5 Q45/M45 wheel with the M45's 235/45-18's.
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szh
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Unfortunately, no longer a Nissan or Infiniti, but continuing here at NICO! - Location: San Jose, CA
Re: 16 or 17?
maxnix wrote:Aye, and there's the rub. Does one optimize at 16" and hope the Firestone 255/50-16 SZ 50 EP are in production forever? Or does one go to 17", think about a brake upgrade and hope a good 255/45-17 will always be available? 'Tis a vexing dilemma.
I was concerned about exactly the same issue! The other problem is availability of OEM Infiniti (is 16x8 even available from any Infiniti model?) or 300ZX 16x8.5 rims. I could not find clean ones. Plus, it seemed that many of the 16" tires (with the exception of the SZ50EP's) did not give me the right diameter to keep the speedometer accurate - from what I could tell from the figures at Tire Rack.
So, I bought used six-spoke G35 17x7 rims, with 45mm offset, from a 2002 sedan. Most of the 245/45-17's will fit, even though the width is a bit low at 7", rather than the more optiimal 8", and this is what I think will carry me into the future till I replace the Q. Of course, I have not yet installed these rims - I am waiting for my current 225/60-15 Firestone SZ50EP's, on stock rims, to wear down further!
But I have to wonder whether I did the right thing - maybe by the time I replace the current tires (in a month or two), I will sell the G35 rims and just replace with the same size I have now on the stock rims ... the money could be better spent on other things!
Z
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szh
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Unfortunately, no longer a Nissan or Infiniti, but continuing here at NICO! - Location: San Jose, CA
Hi, Nick.
Okay, doke! I sorta figured that you would be more interested in the 17" G35 rims, but I thought I should confirm it!
Z
90Q45blue wrote:I really want the G35 ones but if you decide to keep them and your stock 15"s are in really good condition I may consider taking those. But the G35 wheels are my first choice.
Thanks,
nick
Okay, doke! I sorta figured that you would be more interested in the 17" G35 rims, but I thought I should confirm it!
Z
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szh
- Posts: 15932
- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2002 12:54 pm
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Unfortunately, no longer a Nissan or Infiniti, but continuing here at NICO! - Location: San Jose, CA
Re: (90Q45blue)
Nick, please check your e-mail and let me know ...90Q45blue wrote:I really want the G35 ones but if you decide to keep them and your stock 15"s are in really good condition I may consider taking those. But the G35 wheels are my first choice.
Thanks,
nick
Z
Re: Rim Question (MAQ45t)
Lookwise, I don't think a 20" set of wheels would look good on an undropped Q, no matter how good looking the wheels are. You will need at least 2 inches drop for the 20". The car looks extremely funny if the fender gap is 3 or 4 times the size of the tirewall. I have 1 inch drop on my '97 with 245/45/18 front and 275/40/18 rear and it looks just about OK. Even with the drop, the fender gap is not eliminated yet but its size has decreased to about the size of the 18's tirewall, or maybe a little bit smaller. That is with the tires which have overall diameters slightly larger than the stock size.
I tried to put a set of 20" wheels with 245/35/20 tires on my car before, before the drop, then I just took them out immediately without having a second thought. That is how bad looking it was.
I think the stock '99 Touring package wheel is one the best looking wheel out there. Plus they are stock. I wouldn't upgrade to an 18" set if my wheel was the 17" Touring wheels. And the 1 inch change won't do much of the better looking in increasing the size. One interesting fact is that the 17" Touring wheels somehow seem larger than its actual size. Even from a close distance, they don't look smaller than my 18" wheels.
Then, there're the 19" wheels. They have the perfect combination of 18" and 20" (haha, (18 +20)/2 = 19, duh). The change of 2 inches from 17" stock is enough to justify for the upgrade. Then come the dilemma of not having many sizes and brands to choose from, and they cost almost as much as the 20's.
Before I upgraded the wheels on my '97, I knew that I will have to drop it so it won't look so weird. There're many people out there think their cars look way better then stock with their 20" rims but the fact is the cars look worse.
Since your car has the Active system, you might have trouble lowering the car if you want to do that. Unless you dont care much about the Active system anymore and hardly use it to switch between modes then you could ignore it and install the lowering springs. From the magazines I read, theat system doesn't do much and the change and feel are minimal so it's kinda useless. I don't know if that's true.
Anyway, drop or not, if you want to upgrade the wheels and want some reference on the offset and width, check my website in my sig below. I went through many calculations, measurings, fit and trial on my car before I got those numbers. Just remember one thing that if you want to go with the staggered setup, the rear wheels offset must have higher offset then the fronts if the fronts are already flushed with the fenders.
I tried to put a set of 20" wheels with 245/35/20 tires on my car before, before the drop, then I just took them out immediately without having a second thought. That is how bad looking it was.
I think the stock '99 Touring package wheel is one the best looking wheel out there. Plus they are stock. I wouldn't upgrade to an 18" set if my wheel was the 17" Touring wheels. And the 1 inch change won't do much of the better looking in increasing the size. One interesting fact is that the 17" Touring wheels somehow seem larger than its actual size. Even from a close distance, they don't look smaller than my 18" wheels.
Then, there're the 19" wheels. They have the perfect combination of 18" and 20" (haha, (18 +20)/2 = 19, duh). The change of 2 inches from 17" stock is enough to justify for the upgrade. Then come the dilemma of not having many sizes and brands to choose from, and they cost almost as much as the 20's.
Before I upgraded the wheels on my '97, I knew that I will have to drop it so it won't look so weird. There're many people out there think their cars look way better then stock with their 20" rims but the fact is the cars look worse.
Since your car has the Active system, you might have trouble lowering the car if you want to do that. Unless you dont care much about the Active system anymore and hardly use it to switch between modes then you could ignore it and install the lowering springs. From the magazines I read, theat system doesn't do much and the change and feel are minimal so it's kinda useless. I don't know if that's true.
Anyway, drop or not, if you want to upgrade the wheels and want some reference on the offset and width, check my website in my sig below. I went through many calculations, measurings, fit and trial on my car before I got those numbers. Just remember one thing that if you want to go with the staggered setup, the rear wheels offset must have higher offset then the fronts if the fronts are already flushed with the fenders.
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maxnix
- Posts: 22627
- Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2002 8:11 pm
- Car: 1995 Infiniti Q45
1995 Infiniti Q45t
2000 Infiniti Q45
Dynamic Performance (97Q45t)
Spend more time driving your Q45 enthusiastically and you will be cured.97Q45t wrote:You guys can see I'm obsessed with the Q's fender gaps anf wheels fitment. I hurt me when I see one with improper fitted wheels.
Fender gap is unnoticeable while driving as long as it doesn't rub on turn-and-bumps because of improper suspendion geometry. The proper tire and wheel combination will make all the difference in dynamic controlability. Leave the sleds with the caster wheels to the teenagers at the auto shows.