03LX470

Thinking of replacing the stock 16inch wheels with some nice after market wheels in the 18 to 20 inch size range. Done want to go more than 20 as I would like to leave some rubber for the comfort. My criteria in the order of priority are as follows:

1. Best fit (vibration free, "ring" free installation)
2. Looks
3. Cost

Your recommendations (hopefully with pictures) would be appreciated
Thanks!

idsrvit

I have been checking back to your post for days now. I would like to do the same with my 99 but have no idea what is involved with changing the wheel size. I was hoping to get some answers. Will you please let me know if you get any pm's about this topic?
thanks and good luck.

03LX470

I will definitely keep you posted although I havent received any PMs and hope people will share their knowledge and experience on the forum.

Perhaps LX owners dont normally look for wheel upgrades or dont read this forum?

Thanks

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

goto d2autosports......or just search the forums for their posts. they are the wheel guru's

best of luck!
`R

nnnickkk

iTrader: (2)

very true.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

isn't 2003 LX470 comes with factory 18' wheels??? But if you want quality, yes, go to D2sport, HRE and Iforged are the best you can get, but they are expensive...

Milla...

I really like the way the MOMO storms (5 star) look on the LX. Theres a picture around here somewhere of it its pearl white, galary maybe, thats one of the best looking wheels on the LX that I've seen so far.

ShadyJC

iTrader: (2)

I've been keeping an eye on this thread as well, but I guess I honestly have to say that I don't look at my LX as a modding type of vehicle that I want to bling out.

idsrvit

I agree...although I am not looking to "bling out" my LX...I have stock rims that were previously chromed and are now starting to pit/bubble. The swap out chrome places will not accept previously chromed rims...so I am stuck having to buy new. Unless anyone has any other options for me they are willing to share. ( I cannot do more than a day or so of downtime with no car..so I thought this was my best option.) I am OK with the 16's...but like the look of 17's..18's a little more. This being said...If I have to buy new...may as well buy what I really like.

03LX470

idsrvit
can you share your experience with your current chrome wheels...were they chromed from factory or chromed later on? how long did the chrome last? just curious as i too am considering chrome wheels.

thanks

idsrvit

Sorry I cannot help you much. I am the third owner of the car so I have no idea who did the chroming and when it was done. It is a 99, and I bought it two years ago @ 54k miles from a private owner. When I bought it, there was a little bit of action starting to take place. I cannot describe what it looked like very well...but will give it my best shot. The wheels are the stock sort of star pattern. (when I first bought the car) a few of the spaces that are to the outer part of the rim had little blackish dots...sort of like mildew spots. Some were more noticeable than others...and some were actually more like a bubble but very tiny (about like a pencil point). In the two years that I have owned the car...the black dots surfaced, got bigger (about like a pencil eraser) and blistered if you will. Since the color behind the chrome is similar, it does not jump out at you...but is still noticeable. The outer surface is really not that bad, just sort of annoying and ugly. When I take a wire brush and scrape off the "blisters" or peeling, what is left is dull. The five spoke areas do not have any blistering, nor is there any to the center cap area...just on the outside. Maybe from water laying for too long???? I am in PA, so I am sure they get their share of road salt in winter.

What is equally concerning, I just took my car into the dealer to prep for vacation. I have about 83k and they recommended the 75k c/u which included a tire rotation. When I left , it was making a scraping sound. I went right back in and they pulled the rear tire where the noise was coming from. The service manager told me the same thing was happening on the inside of the rim, but at a much larger scale. He said the "bubble" was huge and was rubbing against the brake drum. They didnt think it was going to be a serious problem...other than the annoying noise, but said it could cause a concern if the chrome starts to flake into the brake area.????? They took a disc sander and ground down the top layer so I should be good for a while.

Sorry I cannot help you any more than this. I do see some of the chrome places offer a 3 year guarentee against this sort of thing if that helps at all.
Good luck
Trace

btutruckin

It's hard to define a "best" rim. We bought our LX a month ago with Chip Foose 20's already on it. Obviously, I thought that they looked pretty damn good. We were looking for classy, different, but not too much bling. What is the point in ruining the great ride on these trucks. IMHO, anything above 20 does that. It isn't a very good pic, but it should give you guys an idea. If it doesn't post, pm me and I will email it to you. Well, I reduced it 3 times and it was still too big. If there is an easier way please let me know. OK, I put a pic in the LX gallery.

Milla...

I too have the crome rims, I'm the second owner the previous owner good friends of mine took good care of the LX and I feel that is the reason mine is crack / fade or peel free. Its possible that the other owners didn't care or clean them all that much and allowed the break dust to cake & bake on and errode the rims. Have you thought about just getting some 05' crome stockies?

03LX470

20inch chrome with 295/45 Pirelli scorpions

Enigma869

I own a 2004 LX that I purchased from the dealer back in March of 2004. I paid an additional $1,800 for what I told were Lexus "factory" chrome wheels. They really looked sharp and I also had the gold package, so it really made the wheels stand out with the gold L center caps. After only about 10,000 miles, I had noticed the chrome had started to peel. I was not very happy. This truck is always garaged and maintained flawlessly. After bringing it in for service (a different dealer than the one I purchased it from), they had advised me that there was nothing they could do because the wheels were not Lexus wheels and were simply chrome "dipped". I went back to the original dealer and after making a great deal of noise, they upgraded me to the high polished 2006 wheels (from what I can tell, the wheels are the only new item on the 06 models). The 06 wheels really look classy and I wouldn't trade them for anything. By the way, they also refunded $1,000 of my $1,800 after I told them I felt as if I had been blatantly lied to when I purchased the vehicle. I made it VERY clear to them that I certainly wouldn't have paid that much money for dipped wheels when I can get wheels dipped on my own for about $300.00. I just think the LX is too refined of a vehicle to have pimped out chrome wheels on it without the Lexus centercaps. I think it kills the look of the truck (my opinion only). Just in case anyone thinks I'm a really old guy who doesn't appreciate such things, I am sort of old (closing in on 35 this weekend). That said, I also own a 2003 Denali with 22 inch chrome wheels and they look SUPERB on the Denali, but the Denali is a VERY different looking SUV than the LX.

John from Boston