What is the widest wheel and tire we can put on a Z>? I have a 1977 Z.... 2/2.... and i am looking at some wheels. I am planing to get 17x7 or 16x7... but i dont know how wide to go with my tires. I am not planning to run coilovers right now... so all i want to buy are some spacers. How wide should i go?

Welcome to the forum! I am not an expert on this, but I have seen 225 wide tires on a zed and they seemed to fit well. That was with the stock suspension.

That is awesome that you own a Fairlady Z:). You should post some pics of your car.

-Ben

The wider you go, the more important it will be to make sure that the wheels have correct offset and backspacing.

You are right on the dot on this one Carl. I have seen the 16 by 7 Panasports from msa with 225 wide tires and they fit well. What is the offset of those Panasports that they offer? I am thinking it was +11mm, but I am not positive. Signal, for the tires to clear the strut towers, there must be no more than 4 inches of tire back there(Sorry for the jargon. The lack of it).

If you go with 16's, you probably won't be able to go wider than 205 on the front. You won't have a problem with hitting the spring perch, but you will rub the front fender lip.

When I got my 70Z, it had 225/60/16 on the back which fit and filled up the wheel wells nicely. The front had 205/55/16. This looked really goofy to me. Sort of like a jacked up muscle car from the 70's. If they were all 50 series tires, you might be able to go a little wider, but I haven't tried it. There is a reall trade-off in ride quality between 50 and 60 series tires. It all depends on what you are looking for.

I sold the 16's and bought 15" Panasports. Put on 215/60/15 Yokos. This still required me to roll the front fender lip. They fill up the wheel wells very nicely. Check out my gallery pics. I think anything larger than 15" looks out of place on an early Z, but hey, that's just my opinion.

Marty

If you are considering 17s, that'll work! I've seen a number of guys who are running 225-45x17 fr & 245-45x17 rear with no rubbing issues. I am running 215-40x17" on 8" wide wheels (fr) and 235-40x17" on 9" wide wheels (rear). However, I've also got sectioned struts w/ coilovers and wheel spacers. I think your choice, 17"x7" wheels, is just fine and you will likely have no problems. Hope this info helps?!!

Thanks guys for the welcome... and thanks for the replies. I have read them all and made a decision. I have seen 16x7 panasports on Z's... and they do ussually run the 225/50. I was jsut afraid that these people used coilovers and spacers as a combination. But... i feel that 225's will jsut do. So i will go with that.

But here is one thing maybe you guys cna help me with too. We have all heard about Watanabes. Well... i would rather have those for my Lady than the Panasports. I would like to keep her JDM as much as possible. So... do you guys know any dealers i can buy some Watanabe?

PS. I would post pictures of her... but i dont really know how. I will as soon as i find out how too...

The only place that I really see watanabe's for sale is on ebay motors. 16'' would be harder to find for a Z, but they are out there. I totally agree with you on keeping the car JDM because a set of Wats would look great on your car. Talk to 26th-Z because I think he knows a guy that sells watanabe wheels.

Ben

I had 235's on my Z all around, 14 inch rims though. Just required a little rolling of the rear lip to make it not rub. Nothing too difficult. Just took a lump of wood, a rubber mallet and a few hours.

Looked tough, but was super scarey to drive in the wet. Too much width for the weight of the car.

Scott.

My car has 235's on it on 14in wheels (they were on it when I bought it). They do rub the fender well in the rear, but I was thinking it was due to my struts being fragged. I was hoping that putting new struts on would correct the problem, but from what I am getting from this discussion, I will likely still need to roll the lip. Could someone desribe this process to me?

Try a Google search on "Rolling Fenders". You'll find lots of discussion of different methods and the drawbacks of each.

Excellent. Thank you. Would doing this decrease the value of the car in the future?