Hi friends,
may I ask you sthg. about wheels?
A guy told me the original 240 z steel wheels/rims (4,5J X 14) would impair driving qualities in compare to after market wheels. Is that true and if, what's the reason?

And the popular 16'' Panasports rims: did Panasport develop them for classic zedds specifically? As I know they were and are used mainly for racing.

Thanks for support!
Thorsten

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T. Link
Germany
1971 240z (HLS30-16506)

Well, they are small rims with fat tires. I can tell you from my experience that compared to my current setup, my old wheel/tires made my handling feel gummy and the car was much more "darty". Wider wheels and tires (and a thin sidewall) will give much surer footing, and usually hold a lot more power and G's before losing grip and breaking loose.... when its dry out. Steering seems to be heavier though...

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-Chris

Ja, Ja, a significant difference they make.

My 1970 car had two "non-stock" options when I bought it: Twin ANSA exhaust and 5-slot magnesium wheels. Simply because of those two options I was able to out-perform any other stock Z car.

Sometimes the tires would rub slightly inside the wheelwells during hard braking and turning, or when I had too many Hawaiian beach girls loaded into the cargo deck . But mostly those wider tires helped me stay on the road better than the stock 240Zs of that time.

When I got the car back last year, finding a set of "Old School" 5-slots was one of my first priorities.

Highly recommended, if you're gonna throw the car around for sport.
(But I see you already have excellent replacement wheels on yours, Thor. They look like PanaSports. They are better than my simple 5-slots).

Seems the classic OEM wheels are a weak point and also difficult to get.
What an excellent idea, Frank! I will make a test and load some big boned black forest girls in the cargo deck. I already wonder what happens....and if I stay on the road...

[/quote]

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T. Link
Germany
1971 240z (HLS30-16506)

Did you ever see the stock 175/R14 tires on the 4.5 inch wheels that came on the early Z-Cars?

UGLY!

These cars were meant to have some meat in those wheel wells!

_________________
John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

Amen!

1970/71 4.5"x14 steel, radial tire rated and DOT approved,
1972/73 5"x14 steel, radial tire rated and DOT approved.

Early 70 240Z's had 175SR14 {78 series} tires.
A bit later they were 175HR14's {78 series} tires.





Generally that is true -if the aftermarket wheels and tires were wider.

The reason is that a larger contact patch between the tire treads and the road surface - can be provided by a relatively wider tire running on a wider and/or larger diameter wheel. The larger contact patch provides more friction between the road and the tire treads, which in turn provides greater cornering speeds and shorter stopping distances.

One method used to measure the effects on cornering speeds - of the greater friction between tires on a specific car - that most car magazines use - is to set up a circle on the pavement of 100 or 200 feet in diameter. Then the car is ran at ever higher and higher speeds to determine at what speed the car loses grip and slides off the prescribed path. The diameter of the circle, the cars mass and speed are then used to determine the maximum force that any specific wheel/tire combination can hold before losing its grip. That maximum force {lateral acceleration} is expressed in terms of the mass of the car - 1 "G" is one times the weight of the car. The higher the "G" force the greater the grip of the wheel/tire combination.

The reason it is "generally" true is that you have to compare narrow and wider tires that have approximately the same coefficient of friction to the road surface.

In addition to the coefficient of friction provided by the tire itself - other methods of improving the "G" force include spring/shock combinations intended to improve cornering grip, improved front and rear anti-sway bars and even simply lowering the car - all of which are intended to spread the load more evenly between all four tires when cornering.

Most Road Tests of the day - reported the 240Z with stock 4.5"x14 rims and 175SR14 Bridgestone tires were between 0.72 and 0.73 G. With a full racing suspension, 14x7" wheels and E60-14 {225x60R14} Goodyear bias ply tires the 240Z produced 0.84 G... Additional suspension modifications and running on racing slicks produced 0.93 G


Like most things in life - too much of a good thing can turn out to be bad. Run too wide a tire and when the roads get wet, the possibility of setting up a hydroplane where the tire loses contact with the road surface and starts to ride on top of the water on the road - can happen. Running too wide a wheel/tire can also lead to a situation where the tires have so much grip that they want to follow groves and section dividers in the road - in which case you are always fighting the steering wheel to keep the car moving in a straight line. Most of the time, increased grip on the road surface also means a reduction in the ride quality, increased road noise and reduced tire wear.



I am not certain - - - but I remember seeing Minilite wheels from England having the "styling" provided by the popular Panasports long before I ever heard of Panasport. Minilite produced actual magnesium alloy wheels specifically for racing {and Panasport may also have done that}, then later provided them in the less expensive aluminum alloy for club events and street use. That was back in the early 60's. I'm sure that Panasport must have a market larger than just the early Z's for their wheels - although the bolt pattern and off-set of their wheels seems to be in line with what is needed for the early Z's. If a supplier ordered a large enough quantity I'm sure Panasport would build just about any combination of width, off-set and bolt pattern desired.

FWIW,
Carl B.

[/quote]

I would be glad to help relieve you of that overloading problem so you
don't wreck your new Z!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Rick~

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All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

That's true, Carl. My '70 has the genuine Minilite magnesium mags.
The first few times I saw Panasports I thought I was seeing Minilites,
and was baffled at how many people had them since I had heard
Minilites had been withdrawn from the market.

I can't comment on the difference in weight between the two, however.
But the Minilites, even with a tire mounted are unbelievably light, which
I have found makes a wonderful difference in ride and handling due to
the significant reduction in unsprung weight.

FWIW, ~Rick~

_________________
All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Hi Rick:
MiniLite did go out of business at one point - but then a new investor group bought the production rights - and ran a newer run sometime in the late 80's or early 90's. I can't remember exactly...

Nonetheless - if anyone wishes to have a Brand New Set for their Z - Aluminum Alloy 14"x6". I've got four of them with center hub's and lug nuts. $650.00 plus shipping gets them to your door.

FWIW,
Carl B.

SURE, RICK ~ HE TELLS YOU ABOUT THESE TWO DAYS AFTER YOU LEAVE HIS YARD!!!

Carl, I thought someone on zcar.com was looking for those exact rims.