shumby

iTrader: (3)

I know this has been brought up but I NEED to know if any of you have been able to fit 18" rims on the sport package w/out clearance issues. I get MY g in NOvember and it will be snowing here by then. I need to know this as I have 4 tire cupons for Michelin tires. 66% below cost. (parents and i (for a bit) work at the manufactuer in N.S. Canada. These coupons are only good until Dec 31.

I really need to know tire sizes and if the 18" will fit. I don't care if they are a steel rim but i need snow tires. I have 17" piolt a/s on my maxima and it goes nowhere with them. I had to put on pilot alpins.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

Nick-L

I have exhaustively researched this (in a fruitless search for a winter tire combination) with actual real-world experiments of physically trying different wheels and tires on a G37 Sport 6MT (thanks to the help and support of a very understanding dealer who was willing to take a lot of time to research this with me - Alex Witham at Winner Infiniti in Newark Delaware has been very patient with all my experiments, I turned what should have been a simple car purchase into a major engineering project). Having tried and seen the results myself, the bottom line is that the Infiniti OE 18 in wheels do not safely fit on the Sport.

The reason is the brake discs. The Sport has 14 in front discs, 13.8 in rear. The base and Jourvey models have 13 in discs. The 18 in wheel barely fits on the Sport, but there was literally only about 1 mm of clearance between the inside of the rim and the brake caliper - you could literally maybe slide a sheet of paper between them. This is far too close for safety, any movement or heat expansion and there could be hard contact.

For this reason, it is unlikely that any 18 in wheel will safely fit on Sport equipped cars - there just isn't room with the bigger brake rotors and calipers:

14 in brake disc = 7 in radius
Brake caliper = appx 1 in
Total radius = appx 8 in
18 in wheel = 9 in radius
Wheel rim = appx. 1 in height
Bottom line: rotor + caliper = 8 in = same size as inside rim radius = zero clearance (the appx 1 mm measured)

A "thinner" 18 in wheel might have a tiny little bit more clearance, but we're talking mm's here, which is probably much too close of a safety margin - it does not seem like a good thing to risk hard contact between the brake caliper and inside diameter of the wheel rim.

Bridgestone makes the Blizzak in the OE 19 in sizes for the Sport, You can get 225/45-19 and 245/40-19 Blizzak's, and mount them on 19 in wheels.

I continue to search for an all-season tire combination to use, in Philadelphia the winters aren't hard enough to need dedicated snow tires, but all-seasons are a must to get through the few light snows we usually get. No one makes the OE sizes in an all-season set, the best bet might be 245/40-19 front and 255/40-19 rear Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. They will fit fine on the wheels and there are no clearance issues, but the sizes are a little bigger than stock, which is the opposite of what one wants for winter traction (narrower = better).

Good luck.

terrycs

iTrader: (37)

Actually, it is possible to get an 18" wheel on the G37S ... BUT only if the face of the wheel is cut for big brakes. The G37S spare is an 18" (cut for big brake clearance).

Aftermarket forged wheel manufacturers do this all time. This is probably cost prohibitive for a winter setup though. There are a couple of cast wheel manufacturers out there, but the ones I've seen are for 20" (TSW I think is one of them). I'd look for a cast wheel made for big brakes.

Comatose

Thats an interesting point about the spare. Anyone try mounting the spare and observing how much clearance is available? Measurements (of the inner diameter) would be great too, as it would assist in the 18" rim hunt...

EJ2000

There are 18" wheel/tire packages that fit the G37 sport. I have worked with both my dealer and tirerack to confirm this.

Specifically, I received this list from Gary@Tirerack.com of 18" wheels that are guaranteed to fit the G37S:

18X8 Sport Edition A7 $119.00
18X8 MSW TYPE $ 132.00
18X8 Sport Edition F10 $135.00
18X8 ASA JH3 $139.00
18X7.5 Borbet Type -CA $152.00
18X8.5 Kazera KZA $159.00
18X8 Kosei K1TS $189.0
18X8 OZ Ultraleggera $325.00

My dealer has a set of the Sport Edition F10 sitting around, and I made them install one on the front of my car. The wheel does clear the calipers with about 1 cm of clearance at the closest spot. They assured me that it is safe, and I have also seen that this is even more clearance than the factory brembos ran on the 03/04 G35 coupe.

Garnet Canuck

^ Great info, thanks for posting it up!

EJ2000

no prob

InfinitiFreak

That is awesome, thanks for getting this information for us.

shumby

iTrader: (3)

you rock EJ200

Type-S

does anyone know if the 18" OEM G35C wheels would fit the G37 sport?

joeposter

Prolly not since the base G37's don't.

shumby

iTrader: (3)

Winter tires and rims. Plus a pic of the winter floor mats $2142.50 installed with pressure sensors.

EMR 400 SILVER 18X7.5 50N115 +20MM
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 RRBL 100V245/45R18/XL($1600 list $900 my price)

symalik

can you post a picture of the car from a side view please! Would really like to see how the car looks. I know its winter, but I still want the car to look good

brrrtpoypoy

Will the Michelin Pilot sport A/S tire really fit on the stock 19" rims no problem?

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S
F - 245/40 R19
R - 255/40 R19

Stock G37 Sport setup
F - 225/45 R19
R - 245/40 R19

I just want to know if anyone has done this yet w/ no probs as I am considering doing the same.

Thx

symalik

I would no away from 18X8 MSW TYPE $ 132.00 because the fitment is way too close for the fronts to be safe.