Johnhav430

As far as wheel diameter goes, I thought that C&D cleared this up 15 years ago? They took a 5 series and put 4 different diameters on the vehicle. What they did was to confirm physics. Wheel is more dense that tire, so increasing diameter as a general rule increases unsprung weight. The assumption is that the different rims are of the same material and construction.

I don't think 19's existed back then so what I do remember was that 18 was not the optimum, it was probably 17, and that was back then. If you want to see physics being defied, look at rims on a 991, they're not going to be 17 or 18 today.

I wouldn't worry so much about it, it's unlikely you're going to take your LS500 to an autocross (one guy on the 3rd gen LS forum was offended when I said the 2001-2006 is not a car designed for the autocross, go figure). I would be concerned with damage as far as scraping the rim, but in general, go with what looks good to you. Large rims are for looks. But, if the LS500 F Sport has staggered tires that are wider than not, go for that if you want it. Understeer should not be introduced when this is coming from the factory....

Johnhav430

On my '06 LS430, I run the stock 245/45-18 in the summer, but have 225/50-17 snows. The rims for the snows are actually wider @ 17x8, just how the cookie crumbled, optimum is probably 7". It would not surprise me if the skidpad number would be .68 or something poor like that with the snows, maybe even less. I was careless and scuffed the rim even with 1" more tire on my snows, but such is life. When you get into 19 (like my wife's) and 20+, curb rash is going to come into play....I've told myself someday, I will have a car with 315's or wider on the back. My money is on the under, I bet it never happens...

SW17LS

Large rims look good, but they absolutely decrease ride quality compared to smaller rims on the same car.

Johnhav430

Thank goodness that when I ordered my BMW in late 2006, 17 was standard, and staggered 18's were optional, that's it. It was later in the model year that 19's showed up. I'm a *******, I know that had the 19's been available, I would have checked off the box and ordered them. Then I'd be stuck with all that extra weight and expense, no performance gain, and likely scuffs on the metal (in almost 11 yrs., I've been careful and only nicked the RF ever so slightly with the 18's. On this car, my snows are also 18's, I did not do the -1, but the snows are skinnier and square....

mmarshall

I don't even think they look all that good, but, of course, that is a subjective matter.

One thing did truly surprise me, though....the relatively smooth ride that went with the last-generation BMW 335i's large rims, even with the 35-series Sport-Package....classic rubber-band tires. I had sampled the M3, which, for that generation, like the Mitsubishi Evo, handled like a Go-Kart but beat the hell out of you on bumps....it was, IMO, more suited for a glass-smooth track than the street. The 335i, I thought, was a true chassis masterpiece.....tactile-feel-steering, handling almost as sharp as the M3, and a M-U-C-H smoother ride. I liked the 335 so much I considered buying an AWD version of it (RWD is out for me)....but the price tag (close to 50K), snooty BMW dealerships, and poor reliability stopped me.

SW17LS

I can’t think of a car that doesn’t look better on the larger wheel option...

Johnhav430

I've got the 35's on the rear, but went to non RFTs and Pilot Super Sports. The oddity was that the original RE050A's were 140 A A. They went over 40k miles (showing that UTQG is almost useless), with the rears being shot, and the fronts still having about 6/32, but I had plugged them myself (most say don't do that with RFTs) so I let them toss them. The steering on the 335 is supposed to have the edge over the same gen M3, but that's subjective. If I could redo my life, I would have purchased a E92 M3 stick brand new, just too chicken and the stars were not aligned.

I think the 335 was the best purchase I've ever made, and have no intention of ever getting rid of it. My kid will be 20 and I'll still have it (he's 3 now)...

I'm one of those who would never get AWD, when the vehicle is RWD based, in my mind. RWD is probably going the way of the manual tranny as HPs keep climbing...LS500 would be a tough call, I think RWD even though I live in the Northeast...

SW17LS

You’d have to special order a RWD one in the Northeast or get one in the south.

Sulu

Larger rims on an up-sized tire (maintaining the same tire diameter) are not just for looks. They bring benefits: greater dry-road traction and better handling.

The wider tread puts a larger footprint on the road, giving better dry-road traction (but tends to float on wet or snowy roads). Staggered rims put the wider tire on the drive axle. I once saw a FWD Ford Probe with staggered rims -- the wider tires on the front.

The lower sidewall flexes less, especially side-to-side, which helps with handling.

Johnhav430

Wider tires, yes, there can be benefits. Often, with many makes, the larger diameter rim has the same width. This latter is not useful imho, except for looks. On my BMW 335--17 was 225/45-17 all around square. 18 was 225/40-18 front, 255/35-18 rear. 19 was 225/35-19 front, 225/30-19 rear. I would not order the 19's unless I think they look better. 1" more rim, 1" less tire, encourages scrubbing curbs etc. Plus an unsprung weight penalty. Normally, having a wider rear tire introduces understeer. With my wife's car, 19's were standard, 20's were optional, same width tire, lower profile on 20's. I searched high and low to get 19's, wasn't easy as 20's were more popular and more expensive.

Gojirra99

x 2 ..........

Johnhav430

Gotcha...marketing has taught us that we love AWD and automatic transmissions living in the northeast....every once in a while I remind myself that's not the case lol

For the complexity alone not being there on the front end, it's nice to have a RWD car...right now we have 2...my wife has the AWD....

mmarshall

...and, in this case, the marketing is mostly correct. Subaru, for example, sells a high percentage of its standard-AWD vehicles in the Northeast.....especially New England. Colorado and the Northern Rockies, two other areas with a lot of heavy snow, also sell a lot of Subarus.

SW17LS

Having had an AWD LS and two RWD LS’s, all things being equal I would always choose the AWD. It’s just worlds better and more drivable in the winter with virtually no drawbacks.

Toys4RJill

Pricing for the LS500 has been released in Canada.

$102K start for 500
$134K all in price for the hybrid.

No RWD available in Canada.