Okay somebody settle this once and for all for me. The 18" 350z wheels are all supposed to be the same. There is supposed to be a designation on R and F or something like that for rear and front, but that is just because different size tires are put on the front and back from the factory. The R and F are only on the tires to help persons doing maintenance to keep the right tires on the right axles, right? All the wheels are, in fact, identical dimensionally, right? A seller I communicated with says: "they are the same size however they are made to take different size tires in the front than the rear,and the front and rear do not interchange." What the heck. Somebody who knows, please tell me what the dealy is.

 

i belive that they are all identical. my g35's are all the same size, but they are stamped front and rear.

 

The Rays Forged wheels on the Track model 350Z are 18x8 front and 18x8.5 rear.

The 6-spoke cast wheels on the Performance and Touring are 18x8 front and rear.

I don't know for certain about the smaller wheels on the Base and Enthusiast but I think they are 17x7.5 front and 17x8 rear.

The hubs of all the 350Z wheels have a different design between the "Front" and "Rear" wheels. The rear wheels do not have the open gaps between the bolt holes like the front. On the front spindle on a 350Z is a nut that prevents the "Rear" wheel from being mounted on the front of the car. The "Front" wheels fit right over this nut.

You are able to run the same size tire on any of these wheels... doesn't matter that the Rays wheels are a tad wider in the back.


Hope that helps,

PeteH

 

Dude are you sure? Are you serious? I don't think it would be such a good idea to get different sized wheels then. And would the different bolts/gaps situation affect front/back mounting on my 97 max? I'd have to follow a different rotation program; like none at all, right? Even with the assumption that the hub/spindle issue is cool, it'd be tacky to have even slightly bigger wheels on the front, right? I guess maybe there will be no 350z 18" wheels for me. Well, maybe the 18" 04+ max wheels, then. I don't like them as much, though. What do you think?

 

the Rays Forged wheels will look a little odd, since the front wheel has a different profile from the back wheel... I'd guess the 17" would also look a little strange if the rear has a different profile....


the 6-spoke Performance/Touring wheels are 8" wide front/rear and look the same, so put a set of 235/40-18 tires on them and there you go... rotate to your heart's content. The bolt pattern is the same on the Max as on the Z (5x114.5), the centerbore is probably the same (66.1, I think) and the offset should work fine (33 or 35, I don't recall exactly).

PeteH

 

Yeah the Performance/Touring wheels would be the way to go. The only thing is when I look on ebay, so often I don't really trust what the sellers have put on the item description. They'll say the widths are something then I'll ask another question and then they'll be like, 'Oh yeah, it's this or that.' Most of the time they don't even note what the widths or offsets are. But now I know to ask if they're all 18x8. Thanks for your help.

 

I just put these on my car, and the wheels are all identical. All four will fit on any corner, no centering ring is necessary, and they fit over the bearing cap in the rear without any issues at all. The offset is actually 30, so the front wheels sit well out from where the Max wheels would be, but I happen to like the look. I'm considering some small spacers for the rear to bring those out a little more, as well.

 

So can you show some pics soon? I'm very interested to see what your ride looks like with those wheels. Are you saying that the front wheel base is wider than the rear? I've heard that before. I don't know if it was for the 4th gen or 4th and 5th or all of them or what. But I have never been able to see it on any car.

 

I had hoped to get pics done last weekend, but got caught up in other things. I was away this week, so figure by the weekend I'll have pics available. I'll try to get a couple of angles so you can see the result of the change in offset.

 

For what it's worth, I finally got my 350 18" wheels. They were shipped to an old address. Anyway, they're all 18" by 8". I can't tell anything about the wheels that would make the rears not fit on the front or vice versa even on a 350z. They all look the same. The part of the wheel that would be bolted to the hub looks the same for the rears and the fronts. The only difference is an extra little bead or rim on the fronts that is not on the back. Near the outside of the wheel. I can't see it affecting the tire size I plan to put on both sets--225/45 or 235/40 or 235/45. But I'll be rotating normally.

 

Okay I took a wheel to the post office to have it weighed and it was 26 lbs and 9.6 ounces. That's heavy as heck! And then I know the tires will be heavier for these wheels than the stock 16's. How much do the stock 16 inch wheels weigh? I'm having faith in the guy, whoever he was, that says acceleration is hurt just a little, but gas mileage is not diminished significantly.

 

Just put one tire size. Either the 225-45 or the 235-40 in the 18" size. Actually the 235-40 is closer to stock I think. I wouldn't put the 235-45-18 as going larger than oem dia will only hurt your accerlation even more.

Some G wheels feature a "stud" on the fronts that help prevent bonehead tire people from mounting the fronts on the rears and vice versa. But from what I read on the Z forums, the Z wheels don't have these. My Track Editions didn't. But the Coupe wheels I have had a stud that was taken off.

 

Ya 235/40's have overall diameter of 25.40" with 25.31" for the stock 16's with 215/55's for an imperceptible 0.36% difference. But I don't mind if the 235/45's (26.33" overall) take up more of the wheel well. I know people who have 215/60 16's (26.16" overall). And with the offset of the 350's pushing the wheels out some, there should be no problem on the inside with 235/45's. Outside either, really. What do you think?

 

I wouldn't put the 235-45-18 as going larger than oem dia will only hurt your accerlation even more.

 

Oh yeah you said that. My bad. But 235/45's are only .93 inches larger over all diameter than 235/40's. That's an increase of 3.7%...negligible, imo. I think the increased weight distributed an increased distance from the center will make a bigger difference. Just my guess. Only one way to know for sure, though. I just don't want it to cost me 500+ to find out.

 

If the 350Z has a "blocker" to prevent rear wheels from being mounted on the front, why does it matter on the Maximas? If you have 4 of the same type, and the Maxima doesn't have the blocking cap, you should be able to rotate freely, or am I missing something?

 

I have them on now. They are virtually identical except for the fronts have one little bead going around the inside of the wheels where the tires don't even touch and the rears have two. Or vice versa, I can't even remember. But they all fit fine.

 

I have a set of the touring models on my 89 max with 235/40 Pirelli P-Zero's.