Knowing when to replace your wheels and tires is a critical component of car-ownership, especially if we’re talking about a vintage car such as the 240Z. A stock 240Z requires a tire-size that is quite unusual today, so a tire change is not necessarily as simple as it would be on a modern vehicle. However, the guide below should serve as a helpful resource in identifying the right replacement wheels and tires for a 240Z. We will provide recommendations for the best-value replacement options and how to choose the wheel-tire combo that will maintain originality and performance for your 240Z.
Wheel and Tire Sizes
Before you even begin to consider the best new set of wheels for your 240Z, you should familiarize yourself with the sizing you should be looking for and how to interpret it. If you don’t care so much about these measurements, you can scroll down to our “Best Tires and Wheels” section to see which wheels and tires we recommend for your 240Z.
The Datsun 240Z features a 175/70R14 size tire. For those unfamiliar with tire sizing standards, this refers to the following:
- A width of 175mm, meaning the width of the tire from sidewall.
- An aspect ratio of 70%, meaning that the tire’s height is equal to 70% of the width.
- A radial construction, meaning that the layers of the tire run radially across the tire.
- A diameter of 14″, meaning the size of the wheel from one end to the other. A 14″ tire is meant to fit a 14″ wheel.
The wheel sizing for a 240Z is a 5.5Jx14 ET15, meaning a 5.5″ width and a 14″ diameter, with a 15mm offset.
Best Tires and Wheels for your 240Z – Our Top Recommendations
#1 Wheel Recommendation: 15x7J KS Competition Works Rally Mags
So I will admit that I am a bit biased here — as I sell these wheels on the ZCarGuide store but they made it on the store for a reason: when I saw that someone had reproduced these historic wheels in Europe I had to get them on the store and make them available to US customers. These wheels were seen on numerous competition and promotional S30s (primarily 240Zs) throughout the 70s.
These were reproduced beautifully by a company in Europe and I worked with them to become a US distributor of this item. Production of these wheels involved X-ray scanning to inspect the metal quality as well as extensive “destruction testing” — literally compressing the wheel to destruction to determine exact physical properties under stress and to ensure they met the standards my partner was looking for. And of course, the design was replicated beautifully. This is one of the higher-ticket items available on my site but I have received nothing but positive feedback so far. Please take a look on the store to see if this something you would like to outfit your Z with!
#2 Wheel Recommendation: 14×7 Aluminum Slotted Mags
Aluminum slotted mags are a classic, timeless option for wheels on your 240Z. In the American market, they actually offer a sense of originality on your 240Z despite not being the original set of wheels the 240Z came with from the factory. For more information on originality, check out our ‘Original Wheels and Hubcaps’ section below. These particular wheels are no longer produced actively, but you can certainly find great examples on eBay by running a quick search for 14×7 aluminum mag wheels. You can expect to pay somewhere between $50 and $100 per wheel on these, and they may require some restoration, but they will go a long way in preserving the original look most people remember from the American 240Zs of the 70s.
#3 Wheel Recommendation – Panasport RS Watanabe
The Datsun 240Z always had a thriving mod community, those who built up their 240Z hot-rod style in both the performance and cosmetic categories. The 240Z was a prime mod candidate, especially in Japan where it was known instead as the Fairlady. The choice of wheels for such a 240Z: The Panasport RS Watanabe. As Dave Sholz, owner of a beautifully modified 240Z, said: “Quite honestly, the artists had that wheel and tire combo drawn on that vehicle.” The Panasport RS Watanabes are difficult to find nowadays, and even more difficult to find affordably. You can find them on eBay, such as this pair of off-brand Watanabes.
Choosing which tire to outfit your 240Z can be a difficult process, especially with a vintage car like the 240Z and a slightly-unusual tire-size like the 175/70R14. You may notice that the tires below are all linked to online listings and you can purchase them online. We recommend buying online as it is generally significantly cheaper and you won’t run into the issue of your local shop not having a 175/70R14 available. Typically, shipping makes this an expensive thing to purchase online, but most Amazon retailers offer free shipping on tires. Another new feature offered by Amazon is the option to have your tire shipped to a local installation center and to schedule an installation time all through Amazon! Just click a ‘Select a Service Option’ on the tire you wish to purchase to see which options are available in your area. In my area, they charge approximately $15/tire through this service — All in all I recommend buying through Amazon to make your tire purchase and installation significantly cheaper.
#1 Tire Recommendation: Fuzion Touring All-Season Radial Tires
The Hankook Kinergy ST H735 All-Season Radial is a great option which offers long-life and good value for money. This tire will fit stock wheels perfectly and offer good performance. This option is available via Amazon and you can use the service options mentioned above for convenience.
#2 Tire Recommendation: Fuzion Touring All-Season Radial Tires
The Fuzion Touring All-Season Radial tire is a great-value option which offers long-life from an extremely reputable company. This is my personal top recommendation as it is the only tire I have ever run in my 240Z (and the previous owner) and has always proven to be of fantastic value. This option is only not “#1” here because I cannot find a good place to buy them online anymore — they used to be available on Amazon as well. This will fit stock wheels perfectly and will ensure the good chunk of change you will be spending on new tires will not go to waste quickly.
When to Replace 240Z Wheels or Tires
Generally, you can quickly tell that your tires need to be replaced by visual inspection and experience. However, if you are unsure, you should go by the rule that the tire tread should never go below 1/16th of an inch remaining, and this guideline comes with a handy tool you already have in your pocket: a penny! Insert a penny upside down into the tread, and if Lincoln’s head is entirely visible, you need new tires.
Other indicators that you need new tires and that you also have some other abnormalities that need to be sorted are shown in the diagram to the left (or above, if you’re viewing this page on a mobile device). This diagram comes from the Haynes 240Z and 260Z manual, our top recommendation of repair books for the 240Z. The abnormalities from the diagram correspond to: (A) ‘Feathering’ from front-wheels toeing in our out incorrectly, (B) Over inflation, simply deflate to remedy this, although you may still need new tires, (C) Under-inflation, which may also require new tires along with ensuring you are properly inflating the tires, and (D) Uneven wear due to worn or incorrectly adjusted wheel bearings, or excessive toe-in or incorrect camber.
Wheels should be replaced if you have damaged them somehow. What may seem like cosmetic damage, such as curb-rash, may actually also be structural damage that calls for wheel replacement entirely. Whenever your wheels are removed, you’re going to want to check for mud, break-pad dust, or rust, and repair at the first sign of any of these. Another important maintenance tip is to re-balance your wheels halfway through the life of your tires to compensate due to rubber-loss due to tire wear.
Orignal Wheels and Hubcaps
When every Datsun 240Z rolled off the assembly line in Japan, it featured a set of steel TOPY wheels and a set of “D” wheel covers to be installed at the dealer. One note to consider, there were actually two types of hubcaps for the 240Z: the “D” type you see pictured here, and another design used after 1971 that featured a triangle shaped slot instead and a red ‘Z’ emblem in the center. In the American market, a large proportion of Z-cars sold actually did not leave the dealership with this exact setup of TOPY wheels with hubcaps. Instead, many of the American 240Zs were outfitted with aluminum slotted mag wheels to cater to the American automotive tastes of the time. Because demand greatly outpaced supply in most production years of the 240Z, dealerships often offered tons of different add-ons to jack up the price on the 240Zs they actually had to sell. These add-on features were things like an installed air-conditioning system, or vinyl side-stripes, or these aluminum slotted mags. So many American Zs had these slotted mags in fact, that most automotive enthusiasts’ perception of the 240Z is that this was the original, ‘factory’ wheel.
So, if your Z does still have the original steel TOPY wheels and the “D” wheel covers, you can put a few points into the ‘originality’ column for your 240Z. These parts are often quite hard to come by, and even more so as a set or in any kind of restored condition. You can certainly still find some great parts on eBay, such as this set of hubcaps. Expect to pay a pretty penny for “D” hubcaps and steel TOPY wheels. These have risen in value pretty significantly over the past few years. The later hubcaps are significantly less expensive but even these have been rising in price recently.