Well, with the mighty CDN dollar doing it’s thing, I decided this was my chance. Now after a few weeks of waiting, my new 19s finally arrived all the way from Florida on Tuesday! Even with winter on its way, I had to put them on just for a couple days.
And here’s a pic of the stock rims just as a reminder, which I’m now sporting again for the winter:
Edit: Forgot to mention about my choice … I picked these because with a 4-door sedan, I didn’t want to go too sporty, since it’s not like it’s a Skyline I’m taking to the track on the weekends. I wanted something that was a little bit sporty, but also a bit elegant. Something that would look equally at home blowing by someone on the highway as pulling into a fancy hotel. Believe it or not, that’s a helluva hard combination to come up with.
That’s a good eye … I noticed a slight difference too when I was changing them, so I took the measuring tape out and measured. The new set is actually abut .5" smaller in overall diameter, even with the 2" larger rims.
I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do about it, if anything. I’d like a drop, but not 2". I still have to drive this car in the winter. Plus, I have a new baby coming in a month, and after buying these rims, it’s going to be hard to convince the wife I need new suspension too. I may leave it as-is, or look at seeing if I can trade the rubber in for a slightly higher-profile set.
still the car needs to be lowered to complete the look … the gab is too much unless you are showing off some baller suspension parts we dont know about
You could just go with a different size sidewall to get the overall diameter back to original. That saves money, your rims from Edmonton’s roads and will make sure your speedometer is still accurate.
^^ Thanks. I like the factory rims too, but I needed something to make the car stand out in a crowd. The majority of Altys on the road are the 2.5, but there’s still enough 3.5s around that I needed to make it different.
As far as the speedo goes, I’m not super worried about that part. The new tires are only 25" diameter instead of 25.5". That half-inch is a total of 2% of the overall diameter, so if that translates directly (and I’m not sure if it does - anyone know?) then that’s only 2km out of 100 that my speedo will be over, which is pretty manageable. I’d rather have it reading slightly fast than slow.
However, I’m mildly concerned about the look (if it’s not lowered), and mildly concerned about the beating they might take on Calgary roads. Anyone know if any tire shops will take existing rubber as a trade-in on new? Particularly since it’s still 100%?
Last weekend I managed to make it to Edmonton (through a surprise blizzard on my summer tires, no less), and met up with Colin (Smokebaby) to put on my new Nismo suspension.
First off, a HUGE thanks to Colin for offering not only his garage, but his expertise on the suspension, since he’d already done it on his car. It was especially appreciated when we had a bolt shear in half that was WELDED to the godamn car, and I ended up staying a little longer than planned. The last thing I wanted was for Colin to have to explain to his wife why some guy’s car is in pieces in his garage overnight.
Also props to Andre (darkblueangel) who showed up just in time to help out with a service manual, and some runs to Canadian Tire!
Anyway, let’s move on… the Nismo kit gives the Alty a 1" drop in the front and a 0.5" drop in the rear, which definitely helps. Not to mention the much tighter cornering response on this massive car. To be honest, I don’t even really think the car looks lowered, but it definitely gets rid of some of the wheel gap that you see pictures above.
1st: a picture of the car back in Calgary, 24hrs after getting the suspension on. Not even time for a wash after the Edmonton blizzard (note the lack of snow back in Calgary)
2nd: taken a week later (this weekend) after the car’s had a week to settle, and been washed up. I tried to match the angle of the “before” picture as close as possible.
Doozer the car looks good with the much needed drop how is the ride quality? Damn 4x4 Altimas my wifes car looks the same wat with her 20"s on. Its embarrassing but I dont feel like spending cash on her car any more.
No kidding, that wheel gap (especially on the front of the Altys) is just brutal! I don’t know what they were thinking at the factory, but I could fit my entire fist between my tires and the fender before I put this kit on.
The ride quality definitely changes. Colin could probably give you a better assessment since he’s had his Nismo kit on for over a year now. But so far, I’ve noticed a distinct different both at high and low speeds. It’s significantly bumpier ride at low speeds (over speed bumps, sidewalks, alleys, etc). Some of that is probably because I got so used to how soft the car formerly was on bumps. At higher speeds, the car feels a lot more planted on the corners. I don’t feel the same body roll I had before, and the nose feels happier about going to wherever I point it.
I had to delay the alignment until next week, but Colin says the alignment makes a big difference too, so I’m excited to see how she feels after that.
Update: Well, after humming and hawing about it over the winter, I finally decided to get new tires that have the proper diameter. No place would trade, so I had decide whether it was worth buying new ones. It’s a tough hit on the pocketbook to replace something that shouldn’t have needed replacing, but I found a good deal at a shop here in Calgary, and also found someone willing to buy the smaller ones so I’m coming out close to even.
There are a ton of different sizes that could’ve gotten me close, and the 225/40 was the best bang for the buck. My first choice for a replacement was actually a 235/40, but they were simply too expensive. It seems that they’re just not common enough. Another option was a 245/35, but I’d still be over a half-inch smaller diameter.
I’m getting them swapped tomorrow, so I’ll update with pictures afterwards. I’m looking forward to seeing another inch of the wheel well disappear. :biggrin:
PS - I also decided I might as well upgrade the quality too, so from the generic Nankangs that were too small anyway, I went with some Kumho SVT KU31s, which seem to have some pretty decent reviews.
It’s just a crappy pic from my blackberry, but it’ll have to do for now. Took this last night after I dropped off my old tires with their new owner.
I’ll try and get some better ones later, but this does that job. It’s a subtle difference, perhaps more obvious in person, but I’m definitely much happier with this fitment.
