Mugen_1

I don't want to roll because I don't want to spend money doing bodywork. Indeed, the body shops around here fall into two categories: crappy, and overly expensive.

I'm a bit confused though: the higher the +#, the LESS aggressive?

What, then, would be the ideal setup for 18"s and Megans? 20"s and Megans?

I'm not looking to go VIP with the wheels; more or less, something to freshen it up to keep me from trying to trade it on an STi.

Anyway, about the bushings...

I appreciate all the help and input guys

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

check the cl forum for your region, they'll be able to direct you where you can get your fenders reliably and cheaply rolled/shaved. all four fenders shouldn't cost you more than $200 total, there's no paintwork involved if done right.

the offset ("+#" as you called it) gets more aggressive the LOWER you get, as the LOWER the offset the CLOSER the lip of the rim sits to the fender itself. meaning a +45 is tucked well inside the fender towards the centerline of the car but a +20 sits MUCH further out, giving the car a wider stance, and closer to the fender. there are limits for each car but offset is not SIZE dependent, only width. basically, a 20x8.5 +30 will sit the same in relation to the fender as an 18X8.5 +30 will. however, a whatever x9 +30 will sit further out, being more aggressive.

a good halfway decent fitment is a x8.5 +35 front and x10 +20 rear with rolled fenders all around.

my fitment, is a 20x9 +30 front, 20x10.5 +12 rear, with stretched tires front and rear.

Mugen_1

Ok, I understand how offsets are measured now.

I checked the CL area-specific forums...closest place I found to the po-dunk town of Murphysboro, IL was in Chicago. I didn't see anything even towards the St. Louis area. I'll start trying places within 100 miles I suppose to see what that turns up.

You say a halfway decent fitment is x8.5 +35 front and x10 +20 rear with rolled fenders all around. Now, according to b2designs here on the forums, the MRR GT1s come in:

18 8.5 and 18 9.5 offsets: 35 F and 45 R
20 8.5 and 20 10.0 offsets: 35 F and 43 R

The fronts seem to meet your criteria for aggressive fitment, but 45 and 43 in back seems a little...non aggressive, if I get that correctly.

What do you do to adjust the 45 down to your suggested 20?

Also, I was re-reading an earlier response of yours in this thread, and you said that I could run 18 x 8.5s all around and be happy. I'd prefer this, as I could actually rotate the tires to increase longevity. Even if you run the same width of wheel in the back as in front, can you push the rears further towards the fender for the wider look?

Sorry if I'm asking a lot of stupid questions, but like I said, I'm new to the whole wheels/tires/offset/fitment thing, so I just want to make sure everything will work out.

Can somebody please tell me what size bushings I need from Energy Suspension? I've found fronts with 13/16/20.5Mm, 3/4/19Mm, 7/8/22Mm, 11/16/17.5Mm, etc. I've been so far unsuccessful in locating ones for the back.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

custom offset wheels are usually custom ordered...IIRC MRR doesnt make custom offset wheels. unless they are multipieced...but the GT1s arent.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

if you run different offset wheels in the rear with the same width, you could still rotate the tires to get more life out of them but you would have to pay to have the tires dismounted and remounted to the front wheels to do so.

MRR actually makes the GT1 in 18x8.5 +20 offset, except it's for BMW/Mercedes fitment

if you want them kind of flush in the rears, you can order them in 8.5 +35 all around and put a 15-20mm adapter on the rear wheels so you can freely rotate all the wheels and still have an effective offset of ~15-20 in the rear.

Mugen_1

The 8.5s in back with 15-20mm spacers in the rear sounds like a plan to me

Now another presumably stupid question: with the Megans, I've seen reports of 1.5" - 1.8" drops. With an increase to 18" or 20" wheels, I'm not going to run into any rubbing issues, am I? I know the damping force is 32-way adjustable, but as far as the ride height itself...

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

if u roll it..shouldnt have any issues...i dropped my car probably 4-5 inches from stock height and can go wayyyyyyyyyyy lower but then i cant turn .

j three

Mugen, Here is one thing to think about, if you do go with 20's you do not have to lower the car as much to have a nice squat. You will be much lower to the ground with the 18's depending on the series of tires you choose. Like they said before the rubbing is dependant on the wheel / tire setup.

Also another thing to consider for your ride quality is tire selection. My dad has some nexxen tires that came new on his car (stock sized)when we purchased our cars (both 99 LS's)in september and my 20 inch Yokohama S.drive tires were smoother than those when I was rolling at stock height for the four days I was waiting for my megans.

Quality low profile tires can still be smooth. I have read good things about Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta and the Nitto Invo as far as smoothness and quietness with excellent performance and a good treadwear rating. Yokohama S.drives are pretty good in my opinion and I would recommend them.

Falken FK452 has also been pretty popular. My friend is getting a Genesis soon and has some 20 inch work's with FK452's waithing to go on it, so I'll see how they compare to my Yoko's.

Mugen_1

So with rolling the fenders...how can no paintwork have to be done? If I force the fenders outwards, won't I risk the paint spiderwebbing and cracking? How much would I have to roll for the 20" x 8.5"s? Would I have to at all for the 18"s?

Pure, with your setup, do you have any rubbing issues as far as either turning or bottoming out? My dad swears up and down a 20" wheel with a +35 or +20 offset will rub every time I turn a corner, and that turning into any kind of alley or road where it dips will cause me to rub the tire against the top of the fenderwell. He thinks having to modify the fenders just to fit new wheels is stupid. Of course, he's against me doing all of this entirely. Some people just don't get it...

If I went with 18" x 8.5" all around with a 40 series tire, I could just drop the car the 1.5" - 1.8" Megans reportedly drop and use spacers to push the fronts out a little, and the backs out a bit more, withOUT rolling, yes?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

go look up the difference between ROLLING a fender and PULLING a fender.

all you're doing when you roll is flattening the inner lip, you arent pulling the metal outwards. often you will have a little paint chip when rolling, but when done right that will only be on the inside of the fender where you can just touch it up to keep rust at bay and not on the outer part of the fender.

again, ROLLING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DIAMETER. it has to do with the OFFSET. provided you run an adequately sized tire you'll be fine. i'll tell you now that if you run a 245/35-20 front tire and try to get really low, you WILL rub both at full lock (when parking) and possibly on the top of the fenderwell during heavy heavy braking if you try to run as low as i do. on my old setup, when i was ~1inch from the wheel i didnt rub on the top of the fenderwell at all.

if your dad's paying for it then it's his call. if you're paying for it then it's yours. it's a pretty simple system....how canyour dad swear that it will rub unless he's been fitting wheels to the LS for the past few years?

in my rears, i run 10.5 +12, with a mildly stretched 255/35-20 or 245/35-20. if you run an 8.5 +20 effective offset you'll STILL be over 1.25 inches FURTHER INWARDS FROM THE FENDER than i am.i would venture to say that you could run 245/40-18 without rolling the fender but you prolly would hit depending oon how low you went.

again, the offsets i gave you won't rub provided your not going to go stupid low on the fronts, which case whatever you run will rub. at my current height, with my current offset and stretched tires, i don't rub AT ALL. full lock, full braking, whatever.

you want kinda flush, roll the fenders and get some spacers (though i would say just buy properly fitting wheels in the first place, stagger it, and pay up to play, but your call)

you don't want it then ditch the spacers, run +45 offset, and move on.. you won't be able to run spacers in any real capacity without rolling the fenders.

Mugen_1

Oh no, I'm definitely paying for it all. I'm going to be a senior in college this fall, and I earn my money working in electronics at Wal-Mart and detailing cars. I wanted his opinion, and I got it...however wrong it was. He thinks I'm wasting my money. This coming from a man who bought a $45,000 GMC Savanna conversion van and upgraded the TV and audio, and NEVER drives it.

But back to the point...

Let me make sure I have this correct:

20" x 8.5" MRR GT1s with +35 front and +20 rear (with spacers), along with rolled fenders, and a 245/40 _20 tire being supported on Megans will NOT rub at full lock/heavy braking? And will look at least halfway aggressive?

Hell, I'm not even concerned with any of those other mods anymore, save for the Megans. I just bought a new passenger side mirror to replace my broken one, and I'm getting my rear brake sensor fixed this week at the dealer. Now if I can just find a good body shop.

I realize this has practically become a conversation between you and I, Pure, but I sincerely appreciate your tolerance of my ignorance


(Also, my Lexus dealer says they can't reset the computer to compensate for bigger wheels/tires as so the speedometer/odometer aren't thrown off. Did you have yours reset? Or do you live with the inconsistencies?)

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

for 20s you need 245/35 tires. they will likely rub at lock but it's very minor, and just really kinda annoying when you're at full lock parking and stuff, and limit to some degree how low you can go in the front.


that's a 20x9 +30 front wheel with a 245/35-20, and at that height i didnt have any fender rubbing issues, just rubbed the fender liner at full lock during u-turns and parking.

now that i'm not megans i switched my tire size down to a 225/35-20 front so i can get some extra clearance from the fender. basically you can run 245/35 on 8.5+30 and only rub a little bit on the liner, without tearing i tup or anything as long as you arent going lower than the above picture.

don't go to the stealership, ESPECIALLY for any work. read this instead. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ar-sensor.html

hahah, you're older than me

19psi

i dont' think you'll have any issues with rubbing anywhere.... a semi conservative fitment along with mild lowering should make it a pretty easy car to live with.
even under heavy braking, i never rub with an aggressive fitment and 3.5" lower at least.
of course that's on 19's which are probably a little smaller in OD than 20's. my fenders, that's a differnt story.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

mad noobs up in this thread.... .

19psi

actually the car will be higher up on 20's than on 18's... measuere from the middle of the wheel to teh ground. the 20 will always be lifting the car up off the ground compared to an 18. that's why i refuse to roll 20's. if i want ground clearance, i drive my truck!