My old tires finally went bald as expected so I took my 1994 Maxima in to have new tires put on the 300ZX 88NA wheels painted charcoal I picked up while ago.

I just got it back and I really, really like the way it turned out. I am THRILLED

Please keep in mind, by the way, that I am a total tire n00b. If you start asking me technical questions about the tires/wheels I might start running in a circle and flailing my arms wildly.

Here is what I do know from research prior to all this. The new tires are Yokohama AS430's 215/60R15. Wheels are 300 ZX 88 NA wheels painted charcoal, so 15x6.5" +20mm offset. Old tires were 205/60R15 and wheels were were 15x6.0" +35mm offset. The new tires extend an extra 21mm from where the previous (battleship) wheels sat. I did not totally plan this out and I don't know if they are totally flush (not a wheel/tire guy yet) but I love the way they turned out!

Here are some pictures, both before and after.

Old & Busted:

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New hotness!

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looks nice
hmmm ive been thinking of painting my saw blades black... or somezing along the color

my after market rims make my max look like a 4X4

 

weird i thought the Z sawblades were 16"?

<-- that will be you if we ask too many questions

my setup will be about as wide-tracking as yours... i have 7" wide w/ 22mm offset. i'll stick 26mm out from stock position but inner clearance will be identical. i'd have liked to be about 8mm closer just to be sure i won't rub but whatever, such is life.

is the hub-center bore the same size on both wheels? I need rings for mine but i haven't measured them yet.

 

Z31 NA use 15", only the 88-89 Turbo come with 16" 16x7, same style.

 

So, these are basically just SE Maxima wheels with a wider offset?

 

Yes

NismoChi is correct!

I couldn't find a pair of Maxima SE wheels so I opted for the next best (maybe better) thing. 300ZX 87-89 NA wheels. They were painted charcoal to make them look more like 88 turbo wheels.

Here are some more pictures I tried to post earlier but the org was being slow:

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and 0.5" wider

 

hey Azure... can you get any ground-level (or like 1' off the ground) direct back or front shots?

 

 

the big hole in the middle where the stub of the axle pokes through. if the new hub center is bigger you would need an adapter ring to take up that empty space and keep the wheel properly centered. If they are the same then just drive happy. my new wheels have a bigger hole in the middle than the stock max rims, so i have to measure them up and get some adapter rings.

 

Hmm....well these 300ZX 88 NA wheels were definitely plug and plan. No adapters, spacers, etc. Thank goodness!

Thanks for the explanation

 

Yup but I probably won't have them up until tomorrow. I'll grab the camera and bring it in and get some shots. Should be able to post them sometime tomorrow morning.

 

^^^looks nice. how does it handle?

 

They might be a half inch wider than the GXE wheels, but the SE Maxima wheels are 15x6.5, so they are the same dimensions as the SEs, but apparently, the offset is different.

After looking at the back-to-back pictures, I wonder if they offset is different. I can't really tell for sure. Those might just be the same wheels used on 3rd gen SEs.

I like the gunmetal look of the Turbo wheels, but honestly, for cheap wheels, I kind of like the 16 inch 95-99 SE wheels better.

 

I haven't driven it much yet so I don't have a real good answer. It's a wider tire so in theory it should be a bit better. I probably won't notice since it's my daily and I don't throw it into too many corners. I also have a 300ZX, which is the car that gets the beatings

 

haha i fail so hard. i thought they were all 15x6 for 3rd gens. i suppose the offset was the same so the SE rim was a quarter inch closer to the strut and a quarter inch closer to the fender then.

i know! i'll check the FSM

edit: Yep you were right. 15x6JJ GXE, 15x6.5JJ SE

 

I am pretty sure the offset is different. the wheels stick out farther than maxima rims.

 

Azure. I dunno if u plan on dropping your car but if u do.. ya might have to roll the rear fender for clearance.

Nismo chi .... those Murano rims look nice ... no rubbing problems ??

 

haha you're such a stalker. well i think you're the only one who's actually dug all the way into my photobucket.

 

No plans on dropping it at this time as it is my daily driver and is winter driven but I will keep that in mind

 

no, you're the only one who had some decent shots of the se wheels in the vg thead. and then I went from there. mebe you could throw 'em back on your car and get a better shot?

 

they're still on. 17s were just a photo op. still got to fix the bent rim before they'll mount the last tire. well i have one gxe wheel on the left rear b/c i corded the left rear that was on the SE rim on that corner... now both my front ones corded over the weekend so i gotta swap them for the ones on my friend's car (3rd gen #3... 89SE-5 Superwhite.. engine going in in 2-3 weeks!)... I'm going to put every damn 15" tire i can get my hands on there to keep the car on the road until this weekend!!!

i would take a pic except my phone had a lovely run-in with some concrete and some water so it doesn't rly work right now. good thing it's insured haha.

here's some better angles http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u...2014th%202008/

 

here's the best i've got. if the parts car is in the picture then it still had the sawblades on it. Otherwise look at my car (pearlwhite).

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...Photo-0103.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...Photo-0101.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/IMG_1137.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/IMG_1138.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_1626.jpg
the last one is probably the best one for rear fender clearance reference.

 

Here is a great picture of Maxima SE Wheels installed:

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Thanks, it did but only because i have the Z32 13" BBK.

 

Cool.... A few years ago.. I used the Z31 16" wheels on my 92 GXE. I had 225 50 16`s on em and the Eibach prokit springs.unfortunately they rubbed,when I had people in the back seat and on spped bumps.. I rolled them and it was all good.

 

Caped - Here are those pictures you asked about:

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that's a wide stance, brah! it's like the Grand Prix Widetrac commercials w/ the hawaiian guy "Wider is Better" except in Hawaiian....

 

lol .. ya know? .... i noticed handling improvement when i had the old set up . wider is better ...=P

 

Hellz yes

 

Looks good. Really makes me miss my '84 turbo Z...

 

It's never to late to get back in. Now is the time to buy while they are old but not classics

You should visit 88hybrid.com. It is a z31 specific site with some breathtaking z31s. I spend most of my time over there and I only got into Maxima's because I wanted my daily driver to have a VG to match my toy car

 

I would love to have another one, but I've got too many projects/toys now. Still have some interior work to finish up the restoration on my '67 Belvedere convertible, then I've got some suspension and body work I need to do on my El Camino, and I recently picked up a '94 325i convertible that will hopefully be a fun project...

But if the right Z came around I might ****** one up... I will still check out the site though. Thanks for the info...

 

No problem