Reiki_Rocket

I'm aggravated as hell right now!!!! I've spent about 2 hours searching through the threads on 18" winter tires & wheels for a G37S, and still don't think I've found an answer yet.

The gist of the story is - If I'm going to be running 18's on a G37S, I'm thinking I need staggered offset from front to rear. +30 in the rear & +20 in the front since I'm running 18 x 8's all the way around instead of the staggered width 19's! but please read on for the rest of the story..........

I just picked up my '08 G37S last week and got the dealer to spring for a new set of Yoko S Drives for the 19" wheels. They also sold me a set of 225/50/18 Blizzaks at cost (from Town Fair Tire) since I wanted a separate set of winter wheels/tires for the car, and figured I could throw these on my 18" RSL's off my Accord EX. The RSL's are 18 x 8 +43 offset, and when I checked 18" wheels for the G, they showed an offset of +40 to about +45 for an 8 x 18" wheel on the G37.

Got the tires mounted and got home to put 'em on the car. Rear's went on no problem and looked good. Then I went to put a front wheel on - only to find that the bigger S caliper hit the spokes of the wheel with about a 1/4" to go to seat the wheel on the hub. Somebody missed the part about it being an S model, and that if you go down to an 18" from the 19" that the offset is different!!!

Called Tire rack, but they had pretty much no 18" wheels left for the G37S, so I called Discount Tire Direct and told them what I had. The sales guy reccomended a set of MB Weapons in 18 x 8 +30 for under $600 shipped including lugs, locks, etc for an inexpensive set of winter wheels. He double checked and absolutely confirmed that they'd fit an '08 G37S. They're pretty sharp for a winter wheel and only 22lbs, so I figure I can also use them for autocrossing with another set of tires in the summer.

So 3 days later they show up and look great. I get them to the dealer who takes 'em to Town Fair to remount the Blizzaks from my wheels to the Weapons. I pick them up tonight and look everything over when I get home - two of the wheels have 6" scratches on the inside edge of the outer mounting lips, one's got a chip in the paint from where they used the tool to pull the valve stem through, and the 4th has got 2 visible dings/gouges in the edge of the rim (plus a couple of little scratches on almost all the wheels). I about blew a friggin gasket!!!

Then come to find out - no one bothered mentioning that if I don't put tpsm's in the wheels, that my light will be on all winter. (Not the end of the world - but it would bug me. At least I found a nice used set for $100 today)

To top it all off - I figure I better test fit the Weapons on the car before I go off to do battle with Town Fair Tire tomorrow. I put a pair of wheels on one side of the car and the rears look a little further out, but pretty good - but the fronts look like they're sticking out about half an inch too far!

I'm thinking I need staggered offset from front to rear. +30 in the rear & +20 in the front since I'm running 18 x 8's all the way around instead of the staggered width 19's!

Someone, Anyone, Everyone...HELP!!! (before I go postal on some innocent bystander)

Thanks,
Rik

l2awin

iTrader: (4)

I dont know much about offsets but the most popular/inexpensive one from Tirerack for G37S is the Sport Edition A7 or F10 so you could probably search for that and look at the offset. Everyone seems to be happy with them.

STOOF

iTrader: (2)

So why not just throw a small spacer on the front to clear the brakes, rather than go buy a whole new set of rims?

If the wheels have the little "pockets" between each lug hole like the stock wheels you can just get a 15mm hubcentric spacer, which is little more than 1/2" so you should clear the brakes fine. (talking about your RSLs)

Id go back and tell them they ruined a brand new set of rims cause theyre a half @ssed shop and get them to give you the money for them. Then go buy spacers for your old wheels.

Reiki_Rocket

The thought of spacers briefly crossed my mind. I know it's a real simple concept - but I thought they're pretty much considered no - no's, and most tire/wheel shops I know of like Town Fair or Discount Tire won't even advocate them. Maybe someone can clue me in a little more on this.

Back to the off-set question. What is anyone else running for 18's on their G37S? Customer Service guy at Discount Tire Direct told me I can run anywhere from a +12 to a +65 according to his fitment guide when I called to complain about the +30's !!!!

Seems like +20 or +30 is the most common answer I get - but I'd really like to hear from someone who's running them and truly know's how they fit.

Thanks again

purebullet417

stoof runs spacers all year round its fine. thats what i would do 15mm hubcentrics with studs. if you really need different wheels get 350z anniversary 18s they clear the calipers

stoofs car with 350z 18s(hope he doesn't mind)

STOOF

iTrader: (2)

Nope i dont mind lol

Yeah im running 25mm spacers in the front and 15 in the rear. All year round.

Spacers just push the wheel further out, they improve handling giving the car a wider stance. And Spacers DO NOT affect camber which is a common misconception.

Ive ran spacers on my last 2 cars for the last 3 years, all widths from 5-25. And i might go 30 in front this spring lol.