Jawjah G

I bought my 2008 G37 last week! I'm so excited and it's the best car I've ever owned. Its a silver S with sport, premium, and nav packages.

The car has 27k miles and came with a set of staggered RUFF Racing 20 inch wheels with very low profile tires. It drives awesome and sticks to the road like paint.

I want to keep these wheels, but does it make sense to get a set of 18 or 19 inch wheels that I can run cheaper tires on or maybe even not staggered ones so I can rotate them front to back like I've always done on other vehicles. Is it a bad idea to think about running 4 of the 19 inch fronts that come on sport versions, or 4 of the 19 inch rears? Maybe 4 of the 18's? Also wondering if 18 inch wheels from a g35 will fit my g37.

This is my first performance car, and I'm not pinched for funds, just wondering if any of you have ever run a more practical set of wheels/tires and what those combinations are/were.

Looking forward to learning a lot from you guys. Any tips you can offer as far as g-ownership will be much appreciated.

Thanks to whoever is responsible that this site is here!

BluestickG

iTrader: (5)

Nice welcome to myg37! In my opinion if funds are not an issue i would either stay with your 20's and just buy the expensive tires, especially if you like them. or sell your 20's for a set of nice aftermarket 19's. I wouldnt get OEM wheels unless you can find em cheap used or you need winter wheel setup.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

Welcome to the forum and congrats.

20" tires are generally cheaper than 19" tires. And IMO any OEM wheels are better than the wheels you have now. A set of non staggered OEM 19" fronts or rears will be fine and will allow you to rotate tires of that's important to you. A normal staggered set is good also. I'm not sure about the 18" wheels fitting the car with sport brakes.

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

There is always confusion about the bbk brakes and 18" wheels (myself included). The S sedan (which has bbk) came with 18" staggered setup.

Front 18 x 7.5 x 45mm (from owner's manual).

There's a guy selling a set of 18" x7.5" wheels from a g37xs. Wonder if those wheels are truly the same as the front wheels on the S sedan. In which case, they should clear the brakes.

Jawjah G

Thanks for the feedback, guys - there seems to be a range of opinions on OEM wheels. Are there wheels that are better (performancewise) than the oem's? Are a set of 20's on my car just for show? I bought this car from an infiniti dealer on the same day it was traded in, because other ones I was looking at were being sold faster than I could get there ! I did not plan on the RUFF wheels, it just worked out that way, and I can't believe how the car drives - I had driven several others that I had decided not to get, all with stock wheels on them.

I'm just wondering about tire life, and I obviously have to be more careful about uneven pavement and potholes, and can I feel confident driving say two states away to my daughter's place where the roads are rougher and less familiar?

The tires I have are Falken FK452 - at the forum on discount tire website drivers reported noise and significant wear as early as 8,000 miles. Some reported getting a comfortable 15 or 20 k out of them. Some really complained about noise and early wear.

Are any of you familiar with these tires? What tires are popular with drivers here on the forum? What kind of tire life should I be happy with? Remember this is my first performance car - I've always wanted one but never could justify one until now (it's my 60th birthday present to me) so I have never learned much about performance tires - to be honest I wasn't aware that the sport Infiniti coupes are staggered until after I bought it.

Now coming off the hip more often for tires is something I expected, just not quite as deep as sets of these every 15,000 miles! Indeed I like the performance, and maybe I will just have to resign myself to the cost.

What percentage of drivers here at the forum are on oem wheels would you say? Why does the stagger work so well - help me out here I wanna understand the dynamics and reasoning behind different setups. I dont think my car was lowered, but how can I tell for sure? It looks a little lower, but I'm thinking its the tires. The ground clearance appears normal. I'll post pics when I can - I dropped my cam for the umpteenth time and it finally broke.

My new car sure will go around a corner.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

The G isn't what most would consider a "performance car" it's considered a grand touring coupe. But depending on what you are used to driving it may be a rocket ship to you.

Not to bash you personally, but the wheels you have are crap as wheels go. That's why I suggested OEM was an improvement. A quality wheel that looks good will cost you more than those cost. Substantially. Only you can decide what your budget is. $4K for a set of wheels and another $1K to $1500 for tires is way too much for a lot of folks to spend. Falken FK452 have soft sidewalls (not good for performance), are relatively noisy, and not great as far as wear. They are relatively popular becasue they come in sizes people want and they're cheap. You tend to see them a lot on people's cars who wan to overstretch their tires on the wheel. Tire wear expectation depends entirely on what type of tires you get. A Max Performance summer tire will give amazing performance but poor tread life and can't be used in ice or snow. An all season tire will last a lot longer and can be used in very cold weather but not perform nearly as well. 15K miles is good wear for many performance tires. You have decisions to make. You can't have it all.

If you're asking for suggestions, I'd suggest you sell what you have and look for a good quality set of used wheels here or on other forums or on Craigslist. I love Volk Racing personally but they're not for everyone. Then get the best tires you can afford. Avoid junk and you'll be happier in the long run. But as I said everybody's budget is different.

Personally I'm ordering Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. They are not cheap. But If they are truly an improvement over the PS2 I'll be thrilled to have them on my car, no matter how short the tread life.

MistAminER112

Personally, considering you have the S Coupe with the bigger brake kit, I would recommend sticking with 19" or 20" wheels & tires. 19" tires MOST LIKELY will be more expensive since 20" tires are a more common tire size.

There are plenty of great Wheel companies out there, just to name a few popular ones from the forum, Volk Racing (Rays Engineering), Work Wheels, Vossen, iForged, Enkei, BBS, PIAA, etc.

If you're tight on cash def. check out the 'For Sale' section under Wheels & Tires, you will more than likely find something which will be an appropriate selection for your budget and G Coupe. You can also always go with Stock Infiniti Wheel from the Factory in 19" which is very popular amongst the Coupe guys, but again the tires prices MAY be more expensive than 20".

Most Higher Performance tires will not last long, as Black Betty stated but atleast personally when it comes to tires, I NEVER compromise on quality. The tires on a car are perhaps one of the most important components.

Good luck on your search

Jawjah G

Again I appreciate the comments.

What is the shortcoming of the Ruff wheels I have now? I don't mind buying expensive tires, but should I choose to stick with the 20's, why should I not stay with the Ruffs?

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

They are heavy one piece cast wheels. They are mostly knockoff designs of more expensive well known quality brands. I haven't seen any designs of theirs I really like. They have had reports of finish quality issues. They are far too cheap to be well made, so I'd never chose to put them on my beloved car which deserves much better. But these are my opinions. If you love them, more power to you.

Jawjah G

No I don't love them, I just own them lol. Thanks for the info - i'll be keeping my eyes open for something better !

Mike@Vossen

Welcome! Where in GA are you?

You need some Vossen's
Vossen Wheels - infiniti / photo gallery

Jawjah G

hook me up ! where is the nearest dealer to me here in west ga?

Jawjah G

So are Michelin tires the best anyone has found for performance?

Aboyle76

I am also very new to this and am looking for input for new wheels and tires.

I have a 2011 G37S 6MT with the larger brakes. I have staggered OEM 18's on it now and plan to keep 18's b/c of driving in the city and weight. My brakes obviously fit so i assume they would on your car as well.

I have been told staggering actually reduces handling by creating over steer.

I had a shop put the rears on the front, they fit as long as you remove a spacer. They suggested just buying 2 rear OEM 18x8.5 for the front.

What is the max width wheels can I go with on the front and back and offset so they are flush and what size and brand tires should go on them?

Any help would be great!