What do you guys think of these 18" x 8.5 Rims? Ugly? Good looking?

[MaxT]

Hi guys,
I have a 2009 SL black.
I want to get some wider tires than stock 235/65/R18. I will be going with 265/60R18 Michelin LTX MS2 tires (once i catch them on some sort of sale / rebate). I have pretty much decided on this tire.

That means the stock 18x7.5 wheels will not work. I would like to get a set of aftermarket wheels. But i never bought custom wheels before and have no idea what is considered good/functional/bad/ugly. I am also not trying to spend a fortune. I found some a fairly nicely priced set. I can get them for under $120 shipped per wheel.

Here is the link: Stern ST8 Black Wheels 18x8.5 Boltpattern 5x4.5 (5x114.3) Offset 35 Hub Bore 73 Partnumber ST885851435BK

From the specs looks like it should fit the MO and that particular tire.
Does anyone see any problems with this? I know taste is subjective, but what do you guys think? Are these good for the price? They should match up well with a black 09, right?

Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks.

[njjoe]

Max-

Looks good, but....

the OEM hub bore is 66.06mm. The wheels you selected have a hub bore of 73mm.

-njjoe

[red kiosk]

265/60-18 tires will fit on the stock 7.5" rim and are in the recommended wheel width range (7.5" to 9.5"). Hope this helps and take care!

Jim

[MaxT]

Originally Posted by njjoe

Max-

Looks good, but....

the OEM hub bore is 66.06mm. The wheels you selected have a hub bore of 73mm.

-njjoe

Thanks for catching that. There are tons of places selling 73mm wheels saying they are compatible with the 09 murano. Strange. I guess they use spacers, which i don't want to use.

Guess i'll have to start my search over.

So 66.06 is the same as 66.1? I don't really see any 66.06 for sale.

Never mind! Found some answers. Just for reference for other newbies like me: 60.06 is not the same as 60.1. There is actually a hub ring to go between the two. So it looks like no matter what wheel I pick, i will need to use a hub ring with it. I guess that is why all those places advertise the 73mm and other hub bore wheels as compatible, since they assume you will use the rings.

Thanks again! I appreciate the help!

Question now is: metal or plastic rings? Any thoughts?

Found some answers again : adonized aluminum is the way to go. Polycarbonite sometimes melts or cracks. Adonized aluminum does not rust due to metal differences and holds up much better.

[MaxT]

Originally Posted by red kiosk

265/60-18 tires will fit on the stock 7.5" rim and are in the recommended wheel width range (7.5" to 9.5"). Hope this helps and take care!

Jim

If it fits, wouldn't the tire itself stick out way too much to the side? I mean 8.5 seems like the right size (right down the middle).

I mean what are the drawbacks of such a wide tire with such a narrow wheel, if any?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, i am still researching the wheel tech, heh.

[Phatty McPatty]

Great visual learning tool:

Wheel / Tire Size Comparator

EDIT: I replaced the original link with the free version, however they no longer offer offset comparisons for free.

[MaxT]

Originally Posted by Phatty McPatty

Great visual learning tool:

Wheel / Tire Size Comparator

EDIT: I replaced the original link with the free version.

Thanks! That does help quite a bit!

So i just negotiated them for $100 per wheel shipped.
I think I will bite.

Two more questions:

1) I hear they are fairly heavy. I am not sure how much more than the stock OEM wheel, i am trying to find out. Any problems with heavier wheel/tire combo?
2) Lug nuts? Can I use the original OEM ones or do i need to get something special?
3) I can get the current TPMS sensors taken out of the old wheels and put them into the new ones, correct?
4) These are rated for 1500lb max load capacity. Any problem with this?

Thanks, appreciate the feedback before I pull the trigger!

[red kiosk]

Originally Posted by MaxT

If it fits, wouldn't the tire itself stick out way too much to the side? I mean 8.5 seems like the right size (right down the middle).

I mean what are the drawbacks of such a wide tire with such a narrow wheel, if any?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, i am still researching the wheel tech, heh.

MaxT,

Yes, 8.5" would be the optimal fit, but when there is a range provided, you can SAFELY mount your tires on a wheel width within this range. There would be more "bulge", but that also saves your wheels from curb rash. Even though my OEM wheels are 20", they are 7.5" wide and I have 265/50-20 snow tires mounted. Here's two photos of my summer and winter wheel/tire set-up, both with OEM 7.5" wide wheels. The 265/50-20 snow tires are on the car. The 255/50-20 summer tires are sitting in the crawl space under my house. Hope this helps and take care!

Jim

[MaxT]

Originally Posted by red kiosk

MaxT,

Yes, 8.5" would be the optimal fit, but when there is a range provided, you can SAFELY mount your tires on a wheel width within this range. There would be more "bulge", but that also saves your wheels from curb rash. Even though my OEM wheels are 20", they are 7.5" wide and I have 265/50-20 snow tires mounted. Here's two photos of my summer and winter wheel/tire set-up, both with OEM 7.5" wide wheels. The 265/50-20 snow tires are on the car. The 255/50-20 summer tires are sitting in the crawl space under my house. Hope this helps and take care!

Jim

That does look pretty sweet! But i heard the best defense against curb rash is not to hit the curbs

By the way Red, your MO is sweeeet! Nice job on the mods!

[red kiosk]

Originally Posted by MaxT

But i heard the best defense against curb rash is not to hit the curbs

For some reason my wife can't comprehend that! Take care!

Jim

[MaxT]

I found pretty much all the information with your help! Thanks guys!
Last concern i have is about the load capacity. Does anyone know what the OEM 18 wheels are rated for as far as load capacity goes?
Is the 1500lb capacity on the aftermarket wheels ok for the MO?
What capacity are your aftermarket 18" wheels are rated for?
Let me know before i pull the trigger on these.
Thanks!

[MaxT]

So much information to learn, heh.

Looks like backspace with stock wheels is 159mm. These will be 3mm shorter at 156mm. I am also looking at the same wheel in hyperblack (looks much better), but that has an offset another 3mm shorter, for the total of 153mm.

Question for the experts here: Would the backspace being 6mm off put any stress on the wheel bearings or any other parts?

Never mind: i found the same wheel in hyperblack finish with 35mm offset. That is only 3mm shorter backspace, so should not have any problems.

[MaxT]

Originally Posted by MaxT

I found pretty much all the information with your help! Thanks guys!
Last concern i have is about the load capacity. Does anyone know what the OEM 18 wheels are rated for as far as load capacity goes?
Is the 1500lb capacity on the aftermarket wheels ok for the MO?
What capacity are your aftermarket 18" wheels are rated for?
Let me know before i pull the trigger on these.
Thanks!

So, it took me a full day to research this, and here is what i came up with: GVWR of my MO is 5236. Divided by 4 = 1309 lb per wheel. Assuming the MO is loaded to the max allowed capacity, which is unlikely, since the curb weight is only slightly over 4030.

Next is GAWR. Front max GAWR on my MO should not exceed 2728. Divided by 2 that is 1364 lb per front wheel. Rear max GAWR on my MO is 2558. Divided by 2 = 1279 lb.
I understand these numbers are not as straightforward, and during cornering these numbers change dynamically.

But i came to the conclusion that a good quality 690KG (1521 lb) rated wheels should be fine for 09 AWD SL. The tires I am getting are rated much higher.

This may be complete rubbish, but it's the closest scientific guess I could come up with.

I am going to get AVN Motorsports - XXR Wheels, ADR Wheels, Stern Wheels, Primax Wheels, Custom Rims, Cheap Rims, Discount Rims, Chrome Wheels, Truck Wheels Should look great on a black MO.