I just picked up a 1982 280zx. It needs new tires but I found these localy and wanted to know what you guys think.

$300
Or Best Offer- 16" Riax wheels and near new tires
16" Riax wheels (four), with two almost brand new tires- 205/55R16. They take four lug nuts, they were on a Civic, but will also fit other small imports.
$300 or Best Offer, call Ben or Andrea at 801-652-3652

I have been looking through the site the last couple days and decided to become a member. I look forward to hanging out with you guys.

Thanks

 

I doubt they will fit. You need to find out the offset of the wheels. If they were on a Civic, odds are they are like a +40 or so. That wont fit without a big wheel adapter. And if by magic they do fit, you will be a battleship captain.
Personally, I think they're ugly lol.

Get a set of Sportmax wheels. They are cheap and they look good.

 

Thanks, what is a good BS for these 280's? They are 4x4.5 right? What do the Sportmax wheels look like, do you have a link? I will post a car that I really like the look of that I saw on this forum.

 

Welcome to ZDriver!

Yeah... that's Chinesekid's 280zx. Have you checked out www.thezstore.com / www.blackdragonauto.com or maybe our WHERE TO BUY PARTS FOR YOUR 280ZX thread? https://www.zdriver.com/forums/240z-280zxt-s30-s130-tech-tips-275/where-buy-parts-your-280zx-18264/

Also... you can google "Sportmax wheels" and get the pictures.

 

one thing you will learn in owning a Z over a Honda is proper (aka non rice) wheel choice...

sportmax's and rota RB's are pure sex

btw welcome to ZDriver

 

4x4.5 is the bolt pattern
The offset on a 280ZX is usually zero or close to it. around +10 to +20 at the most.

That bolt pattern in zero offset is not used in late model cars and wheels for the 280ZX are hard to find.

Rota and Sportmax make some wheels that fit the 280ZX. Once in a while you'll find some racing wheels that fit. There are a set of used Simmons Racing wheels on another website for $1200. They are 16x9 in front, 16x10 in back.

Generally speaking you will want a max of 8 inch wide in front and 8 to 9 wide in the back.

 

Thanks guys. I love those rims. That is the look I want to go for. I have the original Datsun five star mag wheels that look pretty good I think I will polish them up and run them for now. I need to pick up two new tires and I thought where these had good tires I might look at trying them. I think I will just get to tires and call it good.

Where do you guys get the headlight covers?

 

< cough ... cough >

 

you can buy hub adapters that will allow you to put almost any FWD offset wheel you want to on your Z safely.

16" wheels are sooooooooo 2002... 18's or go home

 

^ yeah just be prepared to replace wheel bearings often.

 

As long as the offset of the wheel is the same as the depth of the adapter (or very close), there is no more stress on the wheel bearings than normal.

I had a rear bearing fail once... and the replacement turned out to be defective forcing me to replace it again, but considering the first one had almost 250K miles on it I ain't complaining.

Since that time, I haven't had any issues.

 

How big of a tire looks good on the back of a stock 1982 280z with the stock 14" mag wheels. The car has p205/70r17 all the way around right now. I need to new rear tires so I thought I would go a little bigger in the back if it would look cool. What do you guys think?

 

Save your money for those 16's!

I would generally say a smaller tire looks better. Are you talking width-wise though?
For the stock 6 inch wide wheels stick to what you have. 205 is plenty wide.
205/60-14 is a pretty good size and only slightly smaller diameter than stock. If you want your speedometer to read more accurately go with 205/65-14 (I'm not sure if that size is made anymore though)

 

The front has brand new TOYO 205 70 r14. Should I just match that in the rear or go a different size? Or are you saying put the 205 70 r14 in the rear and get smaller tires up front? Thanks for the quick responce.

Edit: Yes the width wider

 

I went ahead and got some matching 205 70 r14 for now, in hopes of bigger and better rims in the future. Now I just need to win the lotto as this car is getting expensive.

 

205/65-14 would look a little better up front then put the 70-series in back and burn them off quick.

You can still lower it to improve the looks quite a bit.

OH, are you going to post pictures of your car?

 

So does anybody have 18's just curios because i wanna know what size they used?

 

Yes, Rod has 18's on his '80 280zx now. Also Bleach has had them on his previous '82 280zx. Anyway that may work for them but not me. In my opinion: anything bigger than 16's on a Z from the 240z to the 300zx. Are just too big for the car in design. Thus to me, it just doesn't look right. But no offense to anybody that has wheels larger than that. It just doesn't float my boat.

 

You have to remember that it's not quite as simple as just throwing a set of 18" wheels and tires on the car. I spent weeks coming up with just the right width and aspect ratio to make sure that the final "Rolling Radius" of my tire/wheel combo was virtually identical to the stock Rolling Radius.

My wheels/adapters are also the perfect depth/offset to make sure that they stay in tolerance with factory outer track width. Both my final Rolling Radius and Final Outer Track Width are within 3 Millimeters of the factory spec.

In doing it the way I did, I'm not putting undue strain on any part of the car with the exception of the brakes. Fortunately, I was smart enough to upgrade those BEFORE I did the wheels and tires

I also corrected the suspension Geometry (post lowering) by installing the lower ball joint "Bump Steer Spacers".

When that car is on the road, it's tight as a drum and rock steady.

Cutting corners or going half-assed when selecting wheels and tires is a bad idea on many levels.