lex430

Hi all,

for those that have tire sizes that are different front and back, which I just learned is the "staggered" look, I was wondering, how do you perform rotation, and buying tires? do you get 2 pairs of difference sizes? how about spares? 3 pairs?

and for those that have same sizes all around, when you purchase your rim/tires, do you get set of 4, or 5 rims/wheels?

I want to move from my stock 16' to 18', and I am trying to find out what is the most cost-effective way of doing this,

thanks all,

GS4Will

if you go "staggered" you cannot rotate the tyres.

if you have the $$$, just get the extra one in the front wheel size for emergency.
245/40/18 qty. 3
275/35/18 2

no need really though, imo.

for the unifomred size, say 18*8.5 F+R, you can get the 5th one also 18*8.5, if you have the budget. or , if the wheels have to be sepecially imported from overseas, this would be a good idea to save future trouble if you need that ONE.

TMitchell

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lex430
[B]Hi all,


and for those that have same sizes all around, when you purchase your rim/tires, do you get set of 4, or 5 rims/wheels?

I want to move from my stock 16' to 18', and I am trying to find out what is the most cost-effective way of doing this,

thanks all,
[
I made the mistake of only buying 4 wheels when I upgraded my 540i. Two years later I decided to buy the 5th wheel just in case. The wheels had gone out of production, so if any thing had happened to one of the wheels I would have had to buy another set of wheels.

lex430

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TMitchell

Quote:

I made the mistake of only buying 4 wheels when I upgraded my 540i. Two years later I decided to buy the 5th wheel just in case. The wheels had gone out of production, so if any thing had happened to one of the wheels I would have had to buy another set of wheels.

the problem is, if you staggered the wheels, then wouldn't you need to buy 3 of the same sizes in order to have spare for front and back?

or as gs4will suggested, just get spare for front?

anyone else has suggestions?

thanks,

chino78

You can rotate staggered wheels and tires, its just a little more expensive and difficult. Some tires are directional (they're only made to rotate in one direction) so what you have to do to rotate is dismount the tire and switch from right to left. They're made to be mounted on right or left just as long as you have them going straight. Most tires shops will charge around $30 to rotate and balance. My dad had the problem with his tires on his M3.

Johnny Mo

I don't have the staggered look..(trying to be cost effective and for rotating purposes) went with 17" x 8 all around. 245/45/17 Pirelli P7000 Supersports on OZ Racing's Competition rims.

As far as the 4 or 5 rims dilema goes definitely buy the 5th rim. Rim styles get discontinued sooner or later, and inevitably $h1t happens. You will thank yourself if you have the extra rim. BTW, my spare 17" fits in the trunk, but depending on your offset you may need to get a different spare tire screw down retainer. I used one from an RX its about 1 inch longer and worked perfectly.

RealMarty

I'm far from an expert on rims, but in reading some of the back posts it seems that a good compromise is to go with 5 of the same size and use spacers on the rears for the "staggered look". From what I've read you may have to install longer studs on the rears to use the spacers.

If I were going to do rims and the "staggered look" mattered to me (and I was convinced the spacers would not put undue strain on the rear axles) that's the way I'd go. Seems like the best of all worlds (so there must be a catch somewhere, but I haven't found it).

lex430

Actually, the staggered look is not important to me, I am not a huge performance enhancer. I look for the luxury side of the GS and wanted a classy look, and through the process, if there is added enhancing, it would be bonus.

From my readings on this site, I am planning to do 18x8.5 all around w/ 245/40/18, seems like the best combo for cost and maintenanace reasons, and that I would not need spacer, or other additional modifications. please speak up if I am missing something. The hardest part right now is finding the right rim!

I have to say this is the most informative AND polite site I have ever been to!

thanks,

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

I like your choice on the tires and rims. Same size tires, excellent for people like you and me who don't want to have to worry too much about their car (low maintenance). 18" rims instead of 17, 19, or 20. 17" would be just like the so many other GS's that come with stock 17" chromes, and 19 and 20 are just too much to be ok for everyday driving, in my opinion. 18" rims are just the right size !

But upgrading from current stock 17" chromes to 18 wouldn't be too wise, in my opinion, because you only gain an inch of wheel size and maybe a different style but paying over 2k for them ! If you have 16" then you can upgrade to 18", and it would be worth it since they 16" look pretty bad on the GS, in my opinion.

As far as what rims to choose, simply ask manaray, he knows so much about rims that he could probably be hired as some chief lexus wheel guy !

First off, what color is your car? If its silver, then the silver polished rims look good and probably better than chromes. But if it is black, then I strongly suggest you get chromes !

And from what I have learned from this site, you also need to decide one which of the three basic designs you want your wheels to be. Spoke? (like current stock 17" chromes) Disk? (like most benz rims I guess) or Mesh? (like the bmw rims) But again, remember I am no expert on this stuff, I am just trying to give you something to think about before the rim-gurus speak up

lex430

nanotech
thanks very much for your suggestions, I have been following all of the threads on here, and actually been narrowing down my choices.

I have a black GS w/ stock 16', so I think the 18's will be good choice for me. personally I like high polished rims, diamond finish, or whatever the name is (the finish last longer/better than chromed supposedly), but it's still a debate if I wanted to go bling bling

I am looking into basic 5 or 6 spoke, with studs around, and somewhat of a deep lip look, I am looking into Racing Hart, manaray, maybe Volk..., I am taking my time, I figure I got at least a year before I need to replace my stock 16's. This site has been a tremendous help in educating myself in all aspects, probably better than any dealer, svc dept, shops that I can go to..,

btw, what are offsets? how important is it? and Do I need to worry about it if I am going w/ 18x8.5, and 245/40 all around? and for those people that have the same setups, I am wondering how long do your tires last on the average? I am wondering if I should go that low of a profile on tires, maybe 245/45 or 245/50?

thanks,

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

you know what, to tell you the truth, I don't really understand what all this tire numbers thing is, 275/50 and all, what is 275? what is 50? and what about that 18/8.5 deal? I know the 18 means its 18", but what is the 8.5? does that mean that the wheel is 8.5" wide?

Overtaxed

8.5 is the width of the rim in inches.

275 is the width of the tire in millimeters.

50 is the height of the tire sidewall in percentage of the tire width (in this case 50% of 275).

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

so a 275/50 tire would be 275 wide in mm and the part of the tire from the rim to the edge of the tire (I guess thats called the sidewall), would be 50% of 275, or 137.5mm sidewall?

You want your width (the 275 #) to be as large as you can get it to be right? so that you have more traction? and you want the sidewall to be short or tall? I think a sidewall that's too big wouldn't look good, a small sidewall would make the wheel look bigger, right?

RealMarty

In theory, the shorter the sidewall on two similarly constructed tires, the more responsive the tire to turning input.

On a 40 tire there's less sidewall to flex than a 45 or 50 and less flex means more of a direct connection between the rim and the "contact patch". The contact patch is the part of the tire that is touching the pavement at any given moment. So the shorter sidewall will produce a "crisper" turning feel and better handling. And IMO will look better.

There is a downside. The shorter the sidewall the less compress area you have between a pothole and your rims...thus increasing the chance of damage to the rim.

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

thank you for the explanation real marty, what size of tires would you put on the stock 17" chrome wheels?

245/45 all around?