Yet another Panasport question

[ROOPZ]

Hi Everyone,

I did a search and still have a few questions.

Is there a ride quality difference between the 15 and 16 inch wheels? (Still have the 14's on my car so curious how much of my luxurious ride quality I will lose! )

Is there a potential for rubbing with the 16 inch panasports and stock suspension? I spoke to a guy with them and he wishes he had bought the 15 inch wheels.

If I go with 15 inch, should I get the 15x7 or 15x6?

Is there anywhere to buy them other than MSA? I think they are always marked up so much on their items even though I order quite a bit from them. (Just not a 1000 dollars worth of rims!)

I just dont want to order one and wish I had ordered the others!

Thanks for any advice!

[Bambikiller240]

Rubbing issues will depend on width of rim and backspace.

As for ride quality,for a given fixed circumferance of tire wheel combo, you'll obviously lose an inch of (flexible) tire sidewall with 16" wheels while gaining an inch of (inflexible) wheel. Will it make a difference? Yes, but only you can say if it will be too much for you.

FWIW, I would go with 15" wheels unless it was a track only race car, but that's just my opinion. I like a bit of comfort, especially for longer cruises. Some people buy 17" wheels for Z's so................?

[seerex]

if you go to panasports website I am sure they have other dealers than msa

http://www.panasport.com/

[Marty Rogan]

I would go with the 15 x7 rims. 16's will give you somewhat of a harsher ride and you will have more potential for rubbing. I had 16's on my blue 70 when I bought it, and took them off. You are limited to no wider than 205 wide upfront to avoid rubbing. Plus it just looked weird to me on a 240.

By the way, the springs are not usually the rubbing problem, unless you go with some strange offset, or crazy wide tires. It is usually the front lip of the fender in the wheel opening that rubs if you go wider than 195. 205 MIGHT fit, but not sure. This is for a 60's series tire. If you go with a 50's series tire, you can go up to 225 wide, but you loose some ride comfort (and gain performance).

On my blue Z I have 15 x 7 Panasports with 216/60/15's. I had to roll the front lip of the fender. I like the way it fills up the wheel well and the ride is great. Performance is good too.

On my Yellow track Z, I have 15 x 7's with 225/50/15's. I believe this tire size will fit with no rubbing. I rolled the lip on this car anyway, because I had the other tires on there for a short while. Check my gallery to see how they look.

So it depends on what you are looking for, ride comfort or performance.

I bought my last set of Panasports from Les Canaday at Classic Datsun. You should check with him on his current pricing. I know he was significantly cheaper than MSA: http://www.classicdatsun.com/

Well that's my 2 cents worth anyway.

Marty

[ROOPZ]

Thanks guys! That is what I was hoping to hear.

I searched the panasport website and dont see a list of dealers.

Marty, tell me again what size tires are on your blue Z I dont recognize the 216/60 size. How much larger than stock are these and did they affect the speedo?

Will you post a pic of where/how you rolled the fender?

I was leaning towards the 15 inch but was undecided on width. Does everyone agree that the 7 inch is best for a daily driver? (Maybe occasional spirited driving!)

Thanks agian!

[Marty Rogan]

ROOPZ,

That was a typo on the tire size. It is 215/60/15 Yokohama AVS. I believe that is equal to the stock size diameter, but am not positive. It has been a while.

I had a body shop roll the fender lip. I don't have a pic here, I'll have to look into it. As I recall, He tapered it, so that by the time you reached the bottom, the width of the lip was folded inward. Hope that makes sense. It's kinda hard to describe.

Definitely go with the 15 x 7 for better performance. You won't be disappointed.

Marty

[Marty Rogan]

ROOPZ,

I will try to attach some pics of the fender. Sure hope this works!

Marty

[Marty Rogan]

Looks like it didn't work. How do you attach a picture to a post? I tried the attach file feature, but it didn't seem to work.

Marty

[280z]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7934070794&category=6763&sspagename=WDVW#ebayphotohosting

[ROOPZ]

Well, I plan to buy the 15x7's from Les at classicdatsun.com He is very quick and courteous and I like that! Plan to order on Monday! WooHoo!! Cant wait to get some nice wheels on her!

280z, thanks for the link but I want the 15's.

Everyone have a great weekend!!

[Greatwhite]

Don't know if this was asked on another thread but, I'll ask anyways. On the Panasport website, they list some wheels as track wheels only. What makes them any different from your regular wheel? Are not street legal?

Thanks,

Justin

[Bambikiller240]

Probably not D.O.T. approved. (US Department of Transportation)