October 30, 2012

I purchased the Enkei Raijin-19 wheels and wrapped them in 245/40-19 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires, and I absolutely love the combination. I wanted a subtle but clean look for the wheels, and the Raijin-19's fit the bill perfectly as they look as if they could be OEM wheels on your modern day sports sedan.

There are some performance benefits to the wheels too, as the wheels & tires felt lighter than the smaller stock 17" wheels & tires from my 2007 Infiniti G35X. It's not dramatically lighter than say BBS forged wheels, but enough to noticed when I installed the new wheels. Then again, the Enkei Raijin-19's are nearly one-third the price of those forged wheels. In all, I'd guess I'm saving about 3-4 lbs per wheel over the stock 17" wheels & tires, which is a definite plus.

When it comes to the quality and finish of the Raijin-19, they look to be holding up fairly well. I've only had them for about a month now, but I have driven over some rough & gravely roads, and I haven't noticed any nicks or dings yet. The wheels appear to accumulate less brake dust than the OEM 17" wheels, but they take a bit longer to clean.

And lastly, the dome-shaped center caps of the 18" Enkei Raijin wheels will fit the Enkei Raijin-19's perfectly. You can buy them separately here on TireRack, and in my opinion they look so much better than the black flat Enkei center caps that are included with the Raijin-19's.