Confession: I recently had serious thoughts about trading my '97 LS400 with 106,000 in for a 2003 Infiniti M45. I could have had the M45 for less than $2,000 after trading. It was black, voice activation controls, ultra clean interior, and that 340 horse V8. Very alluring.

Alas, I have decided to stick with my 'ol LS.

However, her OEM wheels have seen better days. I thought about ordering the Celsior center caps (I have Celsior badging on the trunk and a "T" in the grille) and then having all of them refinished back to their original luster.

But it seems I will ultimately end up purchasing an entirely new set of wheels and tires. My size preference is 18".

So my question is: what brands of wheels aren't worth it? Browsing the eBay wheels available, I came across many brands I've never heard of.

I saw while browsing some other posts that Zinik wheels weren't worth it, along with a couple others, due to the heaviness of our cars.

I also saw some people selling their later model IS/GS wheels, and the lug pattern was the same.

I know wheels/tires aren't cheap, but what brands do you guys recommend? I'm not a huge fan of chrome, fat lipped wheels, or staggered stances, if that helps narrow it down at all. If anything, I drive my LS somewhat aggressively, so something a bit more "sporty" would be more of my direction.

Thoughts/suggestions/inputs/donations?

 

wheels vary wildly in both price and quality.
how much are you looking to get? what look are you trying to achieve?

 

$1,500 for both wheels and tires is about the max I would want to go. I'm a college student working electronics at a Wal-Mart so my budget is far from limitless.

My car is Diamond White Pearl, and though I wanted a darker, even black set of wheels, I don't know how it would look with the two-tone paint.

I am also considering dropping the car at some point, preferably with a set of Megan coilovers. But honestly, I'm wagering between either wheels/tires or coilovers and a better set of 16" tires, like Bridgestone RE050As.

My dilemma is: do I go with wheels, which everyone who saw the car could notice, or do I drop it with the Megans and, while achieving a noticeable drop, be really the only person to appreciate that mod?

I just remembered too that I have a brand new wheel/tire under the mat in my trunk. Hooray full-size spares

 

the 03 M45s are nice, i like them and their rare to see. but just to let you know, the LS really isnt a sporty car so tuner wheels on it will look funky lol. maybe u can throw some volks on there since their light and may be of your pleasing.

i'd prefer to do suspension over wheels first.

 

i'd say for that price range you are best off with a set of either 18" LS430 sport wheels or 18" GS460/350 wheels.

going to be hard to find NEW wheels/tires for that price. even used, it's going to be hard to find wheels AND tires unless you go for used 1pc, and pray that they have good tires.

 

I know that some of the places I looked that did wheel/tire combos came with Nankang N2s. Five minutes on tirerack.com proved that these tires were barely passable at best.

I know the LS is far from the sportiest car, but so far mine hasn't had any problems holding its own. I suppose I could always just skip new wheels entirely for now, and buy the Megans, a Supra TT front strut tower bar, some better 16" tires (the ones I have now are Westlakes...not that great) and have the factory rims redone complete with Celsior center caps for a stock/unassuming look. But 16" wheels are tiny by today's standards...

I'd like to do exhaust at some point, but from what I've been able to gather, there haven't been any truly noticeable HP gains, just a meaner sound from the 1UZE, which I figure can be done by removing the resonators and putting Flowmaster mufflers on.

Anyway, I suppose I'll keep checking the ads on here and eBay to see if any real bargains pop up. Thanks for your help guys

 

I say to get megans for lower center of gravity and then get a set of supra tt wheels, should be had for around $1500.

Just to let know, flowmasters will make the car sound like a mustang. There's a video of a LS with flowmasters on YouTube and it sounds too tinny for me. Maybe later on u could try the s&s headers and do ur full exhaust then.

 

I just watched the video I think you're talking about with the LS400 and Flowmasters. If it's the one with the black LS and the body kit, you're right...kinda sounds like garbage.

The Megans I can get for $900 shipped, but I'd have to pay someone to have them installed. I think, and I could be wrong, I'd probably benefit from a slightly lower profile tire at that point.

I've read quite a bit about the Megans on the forums, and they seem to offer excellent performance at a reasonable cost.

 

yep thats the video i was talking about.

you could pay for someone to install or...or find someone local CL member and see if theyre willing to help with the payment of lunch and a 12pack lol.

yea megans are very good for the price.

 

looking at how ur suspensions is right now could help u decide on what to do. if your suspension is in good shape id say go with rims first and save up for the megans. but if ur suspension isnt all that good like mine id say go with the megans first. i made the mistake of getting rims be4 suspension and in some ways regret not getting the suspension out of the way.

 

I have seen Status, Ruff Racing, etc. for less than $2,000 with tires (18" and 19").

 

ls430 18s


3GS 18s

 

the ls430 18s = win but i prefer the GS350 18s instead of the new 09 GS rims.

the style like this, not the propeller style

 

i think you can get some MRR wheels for a good price on ebay. maybe even a vendor on here sells them iirc. mrr's look good on our cars.