I'm at a bit of a loss here. I bought a set of 20's that I was about certain would fit my '04 LS430 with the 'sport suspension.' They are 20x9 ET34 and 20x10 ET38. From what I gather this isn't a very uncommon fitment and somehow people have run MUCH less offset. These came off a GS430 and the fitment looked a TON closer to being flush or inside the wheel well, but I don't have really great pictures of it. Unfortunately, the fronts are at least 0.75, it not 1.0" outside the wheel well on my LS430.

Today, I tried a set of stock G35/350z wheels, 19x8 ET30. These are pretty close to 'flush' with the fenders. Is this something different from the 'sport suspension' cars vs the air-ride cars regarding offsets? The offsets I've tried don't seem very aggressive compared to what others are running, yet they are flush (19x8 ET30) or stick past my fenders a ways (20x9 ET34.)

Enough rambling. Is the fitment below what you would expect to see from a 19x8 ET30? I'd be trying to make the stock diameter work with these; 245/40/19.

 

Is the pictures with load on the wheel?

I was running 20x9 +9 on 225/35. Slammed ish. At full lock my tires would rub my fenders a little.

 

I did have a jack under the a-arm, but it doesn't have the full weight on the front wheel.

Will the front of the wheel tuck in a great deal as the suspension compresses?

 

The wheel should camber more when the suspension compresses, put a block of woodnor something like that under the wheel and bring it down gently. To run wide wheels you will likely have to run some degree of negative camber especially of you're lowered

 

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I'd also like to add your 20x9 +9 wheels are a full inch farther out compared to mine and mine looked like they were a solid 3/4" in out. Unless the wheel moves inward a mile with a drop, something is wonky with my fitment.

Can you post pictures showing your ride height and how much the wheels poke/tuck (similar to my photos above?)

 

Sorry I don't have the pictures you need. This was my old set up. Front x9 +9. Rear x10 +17

 

Double check the measurements on the front, but they absolutely will camber in under load and should clear. My wheels are 20x9 +35 with a 235/35-20 tire on it.

Front suspension is completely stock arms, just factory air with an air ride controller.

 

Also, I measured the 20's personally with a pretty high level of error (tape measure with 1-16ths) and came up with 32.5mm offset. I trust the error is mine and they are truly 20x9, ET34.

A bit of research last night indicates the 'sport suspension' cars have a-arms with part numbers vs the other options. Does anyone know why and and if the arms have different geometry?

 

Unsure but it would not surprise me if they are simply a stiffer durometer suspension bushing in them than standard. Any geometry changes should induce additional caster and negative camber which would only help your installation.



For what its worth here is how my 20x9 +35 front wheels looked with the car sitting level on wood block before having tires mounted. I think you need to lower yours down correctly to get an accurate look at how they'll sit.

 

Paranoid quesiton, but is it acceptable to lower the full vehicle weight on a couple of point loads via blocks of wood? I'll throw the 20 back on and take a picture of it ASAP to see how it looks.

 

It didn't do a thing to my wheels and only put tiny little marks in the wood.

 

OK, I finally mounted one of the 20x9's to the car to see how they fit the fenders. This is on the stock 'sport suspension' as far as I can tell. This is with the full weight of the car on the front suspension.

For what it's worth, I have ordered RS-R springs to give it a better stance and I would expect this to help the looks considerably for minimal cost.

The first set of pictures are with my current 18x8 ET35 wheels.







The second set of pictures show the 20x9 ET34 wheels.

 

So did you decide to use your old struts with the new springs?

 

Yes. There's nothing wrong with them, it rides fine, and others have had good luck with the RS-R springs and OEM sport struts.

 

Makes sense!
just note that if your struts are original they are 15+ years old now and would need to be replaced sooner rather than later already. lowering springs are going to add stress to them which will hasten failure, but based on cost it might be worth rolling the dice and just replace them if/when they fail in the future.
either way you'll love the look, these cars look even better a couple of inches closer to the ground!