Sasnuke

The F Sport rim specs are:
F: 18x8 +45
R:18.8.5 +50

So answer you second question, no it won't poke out from the fender.
I'm not sure if anyone has tried the rear rims on the front...may only concerns would be if it clears the brake caliper and if it hits the steering knuckle.
Certainly you can put the front rims on the rear for a square setup...that's not an issue. It may look a little funny though.

kj07xk

I don’t know if the non-Fsport wheel specs are the same or not, but I did put my 2014 IS 350 AWD rears (18x8.5) on the front while investigating front wheel noise (which turned out to be front tire feathering), and had no issues with rubbing anywhere.

Sasnuke

The specs are the same for the non F Sport wheels...so that does answer the question.

Did it look funny though?

sunamer

i run 225/45-17 on oem 2012 lexus 17x8 inch wheels on my ‘15 350 f sport, and it clears front calipers just barely.

kj07xk

To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I was doing this at night, so I didn’t stand back and take a look. 8 vs 8.5 isn’t going to jump out and grab you by the eye ***** anyway. Hardly a stagger, more like marketing hype. Have a 1” diff on my other car, and that you can see.

Sasnuke

Thanks for the feedback. With the 0.5 inch difference and the +5 offset difference, the two things pretty much cancel each other out...in the end there's probably a 1mm difference...like you said, you won't notice it.

Raghza

Got my 215/45/18 winter tires mounted.
The fronts are a bit fatter than the original size and the stretch of the rear tires is barely noticeable.
Hopefully they will cut through snow better than the 235 winter tires I've had the previous years.

Some pics, sorry that the car is dirty and there's a lot of mounting grease on the rims and tires, just got them mounted 5 minutes ago.
215/45/18:

PJSnow

Just got the winter wheel/tire setup mounted on the 2016 IS300 F-Sport. The setup is stock 2014 IS250 (non F-Sport) wheels 17x8 +45 with Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 225/45R17 all around. Best part about factory wheels is the "no drama" install. The bolt pattern and center bore are stock and they bolt right up without issue. I also got TPMS sensors but will be posting in a separate thread about those.
First time with a winter tire setup and they have only been on there a day but they feel more comfortable than the F-Sport (most likely because of the taller sidewall compared to F-Sport 18" wheels). I can follow up on the performance after we get some snow if anybody would like but previous reviews of these tires seem good.
Now some photos:

Overall photo - We miss the darker wheels from the F-Sport but these are not bad for a winter setup.

Single Wheel - We got the wheels used from a 2014 IS250 base model. Some curb rash but I'm sure they will take more of a beating during the winter.

Tire Specs - Brand new Blizzak tires we got with a black friday discount for $138 each.

Front Caliper Clearance - Here is a photo taken while sticking my phone in between the spokes looking down at the caliper. They seem to have a good amount of clearance, I'd say around 1/2".

SMA300

Hi all
for normal driving around GTA, is it advisable to get winter tyres on IS AWD?
would snow mode with all seasons do the job?

m1919

AWD and snow mode doesn't stop you from sliding into other cars.

Get some proper winter tires, they will save you in actual snow and ice.

robawrench

In actual snow and ice, snow tires will outperform all season tires. They have a softer rubber compound and more sipes.

wthrman2

SMA300 - I agree with other - Winter tires will give you the peace of mind you need. Now if you have another vehicle and that the IS is not your only vehicle, you might be able to pull it off. As you know, in the GTA, when it snows, of course winter tires are strongly advisable but as with most major cities, after a snow storm, roads are cleared off fairly quickly and are back to asphalt ... But no doubt, winter tires will be far much safer.

Sasnuke

Snow tires a must as the GTA covers a lot of geography.
Maybe if I lived in downtown Toronto I might chance it with the all seasons, but then again I may not even have a need for a car at that point.
But anywhere outside the downtown core, you need them snows.
As mentioned above, the stopping is where it's gonna be make or break...literally.
Snow mode basically starts you off in 2nd gear and deactivates certain functions like distance control on the cruise.

wthrman2

^^ True, I guess that the GTA covers from London to Barrie and Trenton (lol) - I keep forgetting about the variability in the area.

Now maybe I am just used to driving in snow because of where I grew up, but I have driven FWD with non-bald all season tires and never had any issues, now I also recognize the IS have very wide tires in the rear and thread depth aren't that of a conventional all-season tire...so I will retract my suggestion and go with Sasnuke

athanato

snows are a must, my blizzak's paid off last week when roads were covered with ice.
I haven't noticed any diff with snow mode on with the AWD, on my old 2IS RWD you noticed the reduced acceleration immediately. what does snow mode do with the 3IS AWD?

Edit: noticed Sasnuke basically pre-answering my question above