I am in the market for some new wheels for the Max and I have my eyes set on the Centerline RPMs. I understand that the unsprung weight is a big factor in a car's performance but exactly how heavy are the Nissan OEM wheels for the Maxima? I have the 15" Typhoon-like wheels.

I know the RPMs weight on the 19s are only 15lbs. Wouldn't this reduction in weight give the car a better pull or will I experience what others feel when traveling uphill?

Any information would be stellar so I thank you all in advance. Thanks.

 

If you have like the sawblade wheels that came on the 95-96SE I know those w/tires way ~46lbs or so.

Lighter wheels just free up HP...therefore you might get some more wheel spin. But you need to make sure that you keep the diameter the same on the wheels/tire combo (probably already know this but lets say the old wheel is like 15" and the tire is 3" then total diameter is 18"...so if you get 17" rims you can only have a 1" tire that is just an example though I don't know the total size for the rims on the max) Otherwise your speedometer will be off and your performance of the car might be hindered. But if the diameter is the same you should get more pull on the car because of the lighter wheel. Hope that makes sense and if I'm wrong someone please correct me.

Thanks
-John

 

I actually never even thought of keeping the diameter of the tire/wheel combo the same. For some reason I was clouded by only thinking of the weight. Thanks for the advice and I will be sure to include the diameter in my wheel/tire purchase decision.

-King Ryan-

 

The other side of the coin is if the diameter is bigger the higher top speed you will have...your Speedometer isn't going to show it because it bases the speed on how fast the tranny is spinning. But if you went to a track or on a dyno machine your top speed would increase. But, we don't have an autobahn here so there isn't really any reason to get a bigger diameter unless your looking for a show car. But, this is me just thinking out loud...possibly a bigger diameter with the lighter weight wheel would give you the same pull you currently have now with the added benefit of a slightly higher speed in each gear. Then again if there is a flaw in my logic please someone tell me and set me straight.

-John