XenonES3

Do any of you know anything about those ST lowering springs? I've never heard of the company yet they claim to have 35 years experience. A 2" drop for $120 is a steal!

Badams- no problems with the IS rims yet? I wonder if on very tight high speed turns the rims rub the suspension......?

ES3

Hey, thanks for the info. After having friends with IS300's who tried to drive here in the midwest on stock rims and wheels, I have to say you must be a talented driver, do you put extra weight in the trunk? One of my friends, who's been driving in Michigan winters for years, took about 10 minutes just to get out of his subdivision afer a snowfall that was only about 3 or 4 inches!?

badams

In response to XenonES3

I have a hairpin turn/off ramp on the way to my house that I drive on every day. It is posted 15 MPH, I take it at around 35-40 MPH...it doesn't rub when I take that turn.

With my old stock rims/tires I would've ended up in the bushes if I tried 35-40 MPH...or upside-down. (this was done for educational reasons, not recommended for daily driving) <--- disclaimer

I don't think I could make my rims/tires hit the suspension if I tried to. After approx. 9 months with the IS300 rims/tires I show no wheel well or suspension rubbing anywhere. I know the pics I posted show not much clearance, but I can actually get my whole hand (thickness wise) in between the tire and the strut/spring area. I'm 6' 1" and 184 pounds and I got some pretty big hands!

Stop dilly dallying, just buy the IS300 rims and tires. You'll be SO happy with them!

badams

squarehat

Another benefit of 215/50-17 besides odometer accuracy and slightly softer ride: the availability of all-season tires, most notably the Michelin Pilot MXM4 and Sumitomo HTR+. After reading almost every review for both of those tires (the MXM4's are OEM on the Acura CL-S and TL-S), I decided that the Sumitomos would give me better grip in bad weather that the Michelins, at about 40% less cost, too.

I still have my stock rims and tires in my garage, if these turn out to handle poorly in the lake effect snow here in NE Ohio, I'll bolt the stockers back on from late December-late March.

xsohaib

ES3, I have never put any extra weight in the trunk of my car, I hate the look of the car when there is weight in the trunk. Plus in my opinion with sand bags in the trunk for example they are just projectiles when and if I have to slam on the brakes, hence I find then to be scarier. But I must say that the IS300's trac control helped immensely. Also, in the snow I never ever slam on the gas, in other words accelerate like the geriatrics population from florida (no offense to anyone). As far as the benz is concerned I did have to put studded snow tires although now weight in the trunk, that is because it neither has a limited slip diff nor a trac control. My father, about two years ago, drove around in a little ford escort on summer tires through even up 10 inches of snow, although the car eventually got stuck on the driveway. But in general Front heel drive cars are not too much of a problem plus with the ABS the car remains in control when you have to slam on the brakes in snow.
Oh and by the way I saw a guy today with a black ES300 with 17 inch rims and 40 series tires with a 2.5 inch drop (he claimed he cut the springs --> not too good for the chassis). But it did look sweet. I have the ST springs just need to install them on Aug 2 when I get to TX (thats where my lexus is sitting in the storage), then I shall let you guys know about how I feel about those. Also I talked to my friend and I think I am about 85% that he is going to be getting rid of his stock IS300 rims because he is upgrading to better rims. Hence I shall inform you guys about my impression of the ST springs combined with the IS rims

Hope this helps

Sohaib

m0mentary

Heres a picture I dug up of the Es300 with the Platinum Series/03 Avalon rims. These are 16 inches.

XenonES3

Beautiful.

xsohaib

Man, those look sweet especially that ES in the back looks really really sweet.

Thanks
Sohaib

badams

I think the one in the back has been lowered, whereas the one in the front looks like stock height. The distance between the tire and fender on the back one is very minimal.

I agree, the one in the back looks very nice. Would look even better with 17's in my opinion.

badams

squarehat

I remember seeing that pic a while back, and was searching for it fruitlessly when I was weighing the 16" Platinum Series wheels against non-OEM 17's. I ended up going for a more aggressive look with some 17" split spoke Mille Miglias, but the Platinum rims look great. They really modernize the car. I would have thought I was looking at a 2001 at first on the pearl white car in the foreground, until taking a second look at the lights and realizing it was a 92-94. The gray car looks great too, with the drop and that lower lip.