New 260Z owner from Central Texas

[dawg7]

Just bought a Z car from Southern Cal! It was the one that was displayed at the Datsun Heritage Museum for the last year. I picked it up last week and have it at its new home. I have some minor (is there such a thing?) issues to take care before I can drive it around town. Also the car is way too low, too harsh. The springs have been cut to 6 or 7 turns and the tires are 195/50/15's. That is 22 inches of tire height and 3 inches of ground clearance. I'll be researching on a new setup. Right now I am leaning towards Eibach springs and 205/60/15's. Anyway this is my intro! Oh this might be important....this is my first Z car. I have driven my friends 73 Z back in the day but never owned one.

[Jeff G 78]

Looks like a nice Z. I agree with the springs and tires.

[Gary in NJ]

Welcome dawg, nice looking Z.

My 240 rides well on Eibach springs and 225/50-15's. If I were to do it over, I would go to a 225/50-16 because 1) it's closer in height/circumference to the original 195/70-14, and 2) that size tire is readily available in the marketplace. Low profile 15" tires have disappeared.

[Jeff G 78]

Welcome dawg, nice looking Z.

My 240 rides well on Eibach springs and 225/50-15's. If I were to do it over, I would go to a 225/50-16 because 1) it's closer in height/circumference to the original 195/70-14, and 2) that size tire is readily available in the marketplace. Low profile 15" tires have disappeared.

+1 That's why I went with 225/50R16. Rubbing can be an issue though, so do your homework if you go that route.

[Gary in NJ]

Low profile 15" tires have disappeared.

I stand corrected. Tirerack still has the Yokohama AVS ES100 in stock (I believe those have been discontinued) and they show a new tire by BFGoodrich in a 225/50-15 called the g-Force Sport. They also show tires by Sumitomo and Kumho in 225/50-15, but I don't have any experience with those manufacturers.

Even so I'd still install 16's. I'm just glad to see that I don't have to buy another set of Panasports the next time I need tires

[VITAMIN Z]

Welcome to the site Dawg7, it is nice to see another 260 owner join, not too many of us! Your car looks great, I am sure that after the changes you will impletemt the car will be a blastROFL

[dawg7]

thanks for the info guys. check my logic on this one.........the original tire size of 195/70/14 is 24.8 inches. If I go with the Eibach progressive spring that should drop the car 1 to 1.5 inches from stock. So that means I should go with a tire height of 23.8 or shorter? A good choice is 225/50/15 at 23.9 inches. But if you say you should have went with a 225/50/16 that would be 24.9. Wouldn't that be real close to the fender and cause rubbing? And you have the Eibach progressive springs?

Edited October 28, 2010 by dawg7

[Gary in NJ]

And you have the Eibach progressive springs?

Yes.

You can see from my signature photo that the 225/50-15's fill-out my wheel wells quite nicely. However, the 260Z's sit higher then the 240Z's. As a result the 15's look a bit lost on a 260Z. Whether -16's will make contact or not on a 260 I can't tell you. I can tell you that the-15's do not make contact on a 240Z.

[dawg7]

Just got done installing eibach pro springs and Tokico HP struts. I stayed with the same15 inch rims and put on the 225/50/15 BFG gForce tires. The front tires rub during the turns........crap. Not sure what to do next. Maybe some flares? The tires do stick out from the fenders about an inch or so.

[Jeff G 78]

I'd sell the rims and buy other 15" rims with the proper offset. It sounds like those rims have negative offset. 0 - +6mm will work better for you and will keep steering vibrations down. Negative offset will amplify any vibrations you might have.

Do they only rub while backing up, or all the time?

[Inf]

I'd sell the rims and buy other 15" rims with the proper offset. It sounds like those rims have negative offset. 0 - +6mm will work better for you ...

Agreed. I think there's a reason the PO put such low profile tires on there before you got it...

[dawg7]

Thanks for the info. I just got permission from the budget office to get new rims with a budget of 600-800 max. Will be selling some centerlines! I will pull one of the wheels and measure the offset.