neova

Well said. Any modification to your car comes with inherent risks. Lexus engineers spent thousands of hours ensuring that each part is tested for safety and endurance within the specifications for its intended usage.

No one is against modding cars, nor do people who point out safety issues are automatically conservative and drive stock cars.

Some people see what looks cool and wants that mod automatically. Some do thorough research and evaluate the pro's and con's prior to deciding on the mod. VIP style certainly requires a lot of research in order to find that perfect balance between wheel width, offset, tire widths, suspension height, and fender work in order to achieve the look. But what's often overlooked is the weight distribution of the vehicle's weight onto the sidewall of the tire. Just driving "slower" and less "aggressive" will not prevent the problem.

Finally, there are more young IS owners in their 20's than there are for GS, LS, SC, etc, so naturally they may be higher priority for what's cool rather than what's safe

Again, i think the front wheel/tire combo looks great, just the rear that looks unsafe (although it looks cool)

cheers

RocketGuy3

iTrader: (1)

I don't like the way the rear looks very much. The tires (and especially the rims) should not stick out beyond the outmost point of the fenders... and they look like they do in that pic.

speedaddic

iTrader: (10)

wow, if I'm ever bored and looking for drama...I'll be sure to look up the 2IS guys....

Fitment is very nice btw! I personally love the VIP look.

onihc

iTrader: (1)

actually, there are more GS, LS, and SC owners that go for the aggressive set up when picking wheel and tire fitments. usually the vip crowd is older and have more experience in modding cars. they know what's safe and what's show purpose only. i rather listen to people that have real world experience dealing with running on stretched tires than people deeming it unsafe based on theory.

2IS owners need to venture beyond 2IS section and checkout other forums.

GS, LS, SC owners and Norcal folks are laughing at us.

9520G

I think it looks awesome and as soon as someones tell me the offsets and tire size I'm going to do the same.

MrMark

iTrader: (3)

Because not everyone has the same goal in modding a car. I don't have a chain link steering wheel, but you might.

...uh....no.....

I don't have air suspension, but you might.

On the IS...uh....no.....

I might have bigger sway bars, or Ohlins/Penske/Moton suspension, but you won't feel they're worth the effort. You might put on a BBK because it looks impressive, and I might use a smaller brake because the series I'm racing in doesn't need even the stock brakes to do the job.

VIP is a tiny fraction of the cars on the road.

....I think I said it was GAINING popularity....


So are mechanical performance mods (although I suspect if you include domestics, there is a much larger market than VIP). Just because I wouldn't do what you like to do doesn't mean anything to anyone. It just means I would not choose to mod a car your way because the car won't do what I want it to do, and you would not mod a car my way because it would not do what you want it to do.

....This is true....

You value fashion and style. I do not care one way or the other, and there are others even on Club Lexus who share this view. You bought a Lexus as a status symbol, and modding it to appear unique adds to your perception of status.

.....totally wrong.....I bought it to help promote certain manufacturers help advertise their product....

I bought a Lexus because I needed a four door car and I didn't want FWD, no power, and I (above all) wanted Toyota reliability with a 2UR-FSE.

.....great...hope you accomplished your goal....

You pondered which color to buy to send the world the "right" image about you.

.....uh...no, I bought it because MR would look good to promote the bodykit manufacturer, and I was tired of the same old VIP black...

I asked the wife what color she liked so she'd be happy because I couldn't care less what color the car is. I really couldn't care less if the orange in the taillight shows or if my lights are stock or not, or any of a host of other fashion mods, but I would consider a mod intended to show those taillights to cars who would otherwise not see them. I buy wheels by size and weight first, appearance is totally secondary.

.....cool, stick with stock then....

And everything stays stock until there is a need for the car to DO something different, not look different.

....again, cool, stick with stock....

So my comment about not on my dog's lawnmower reflects my personal bias about fashion related mods. 10 years from now, VIP will be old school and you'll have to buy something new.

....just like any other "trend"....

10 years from now, 306hp will still be 306hp and my four door sedan will still accomodate 4 -5 people and get them where they need to go quickly, reasonably efficiently, and comfortably.

....so will mine.....oh, I have a 250


If it includes 10.5" rims, they'll likely have 315's or 335's on them, not 245's like I put on my Scion tC. Again, it's a lowrider thing and it's been around for many years before VIP ever came along. Skinny tires on rims not intended to have such a narrow piece of rubber on them. I don't often comment in these kinds of threads - you don't see me commenting in the lighting threads, the taillight smoke or red-out threads, or even typically in the wheel threads, but this one is advocating ignoring basic engineering for style and compromising safety for looks.

..... I guess Falken should fire it's R&D and Marketing departments since they even advertise mild stretching and running with neg camber....


Finally, We might both be here to see if other people are doing things we are interested in doing to see how they did it, what pitfalls there may be with it, and any helpful hints on doing it so we can avoid common mistakes.

....then any mod can potentially be a mistake....


I'm not here to argue....just to bring some perspective to the VIP style. Again, if you want to keep your car stock, then by all means, do so.

Damn, I've spent 10 minutes of my life that I'll never get back on this damn response.... I gotta' get back to work.....

juin21

lobux racer is just trying to show people there is mis information about stretched tires being safer. I think he has a point to point out false info. I guess i'm in the 5 % that would rather have better performance and safety as well...

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I see nothing here supporting putting any 245 on a 10.5" rim. In fact, the narrowest tire they recommend for a 10.5" rim is a 265, which is not extreme at all. I have 265s on 9.5" rims right now and the rims look a little narrow. The tires in the pictures appear to be 245/35/20 on a 10.5" rim despite the recommended maximum rim width being 9.5".


Without a doubt - ANY mod can be a mistake or have unintended consequences.

Why do you keep repeating "if you want to keep your car stock" when I've clearly said I mod cars - just not your way. I've cut suspension pieces apart and welded them to make them stronger. I've added adjustability where none existed. I've changed shocks, sways, struts, and done things to engines you wouldn't want to think about. Stock? No. Just no appearance only mods. And that's where we truly differ.

XtrabOoSt

iTrader: (2)

To Much Of A Thread For A Teaser Pic!..*

speedaddic

iTrader: (10)

Look at their team falken cars and see the size of rim compared to tires on the luxury sponsored cars.....just gotta open your eyes and you'll find it.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

But the point is, if you ignore their official recommendations and you suffer a failure, they will not assume any liability. The tires meet the specs on their spec sheets when mounted according to their recommendations.

So marketing can say what they want about stretching, but engineering says we don't support it, and oh, BTW we don't support anything not listed here.

I'm a sales engineer by trade, and I've seen this many times - marketing & sales sell something engineering doesn't support. It's good for sales until something goes wrong.

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

You guys are 'discussing' two different sides of the issue. VIP styling is obviously a visual-only modification. Stressing the virtues of safety and reliablity to a VIP enthusiast is like trying to convince someone who has a mohawk that his hairstyle isn't functional. I think it's time to agree to disagree.

Javier

khmerguy

You guys are tripping, thats not even a stretch.

You can mildy stretch a tire for drifting purposes (especially for underpowered cars), and last time i checked it drifting was a form of motorsports/racing.

If you were to grip stretching would be idiotic.

But for wheel fitment if owners are willing to stretch and "risk" knick-ing their wheels thats up to them.



THIS is a stretch and still crappy fitment cuz its so wide.


I've seen a 195 on a 10" wheel so this stretch here is weaksauce.

It's all personal preference. personally i like stretch tires cuz i can fit bigger wheels.

My track wheels have a very slight stretch since they're used for drift/grip and i don't make a stupid amount of power.

lexy250

iTrader: (4)

dammit a girl freaking beat my fitment imma go cry now and my fitment was high 20's with 245 35 20 10.5" rears and it has a mild stretch almost flush cry hers is better...time to get back to the drawing board.

lexy250

iTrader: (4)

o and by the way SEXY!!!! love vip style love the rims love the stretch and love the flush fitment dont hit too many potholes tho or youll be replacing tires like me lol...