tonytony

Hi SC owners

I'm a newbie to the boards and been posting on the ES board mainly. Though I drop by the highend area for a bit since I have a few questions. Since I been lurking around here a bit, I know a lot of SC owners have purchased new wheels for their rides. I was wondering what people do with their own set? Do you keep them around or sell them? Do you keep one for a spare? Oh...are the stock wheels come staggered? or is that just something everbody does aftermarket?

I've been thinking about purchasing a set for my ES and wondering what pricetag people have been selling/buying them for. I was on Ebay looking through and noticed a set of wheels + tires for 900, but then another set for 2000, the difference being chrome. Does it make that much of a difference?

Finally, the "dinnerplate" covers. Why do a lot of SC owners not like them? Is it hard to maintain/clean?

Thanks for checking this out, I've always liked the curves of the SC..but I have to say I'm not a sports car kind of guy, and if given a chance would jump up to the LS =)

Gojirra99

The stock wheels on the SC430 are not staggered.

I' ve kept the original runflats and pieplates in my garage after I got my aftermarket wheels. I plan to put them back on the car when I trade it in the future.That's what some dealers prefer when they get a trade in. Some people have sold the stock wheels thru the internet.

Personally, I don't like the pieplates because I think they look dopey on the SC430. It has nothing to do with the ease of maintainence.

I suggest going to the photoshop forum to have the pieplates photoshopped on your ES and see how you like it.(actually, I think it might have been done before, maybe you can do a search)

Doc C

I saw a picture of the pieplates on an LS. They looked way better there than on the SC. I would call used wheel places in a bigger city. I know in Denver they had a bunch of the pieplates. So many, in fact, that they would not take anymore. I think you can get a set reasonably. I would try to low ball the Ebay person asking $2,000. I think those will be there for quite a while at that price unless there are some really good tires on them. Also, consider whether the run flat sensors are included or not. Those cost $165 each at dealer and you would have no use for them. I would make sure they aren't holding you up for those when you don't need them. I think they would look real good on an ES. Like I say, I thought the LS looked real good with them. Good Luck.
Doc C

tonytony

Thank you both for your input. SC430 wheels on the ES has been done, there is a fellow CLer, Frankwhite that has it in his signature. That's what turned my head in the first place. I'm trying to figure out what's best right now for myself because I'm trying to save money. The ones one ebay for 2k is described as "Factory chrome wheels ($4000 option) with Bridgestone Potenzas 245/40ZR18 runflat tires." But the person has zero bids and will be ending today. There is a new posting for a set with the Nankang tires for only 800, but with 200 shipping. Is that high?

Doc C

800 sounds about right for the wheels only, let alone the tires. Don't know anything about the Nankang tires, but if they have decent tread, use them up. The guy on ebay will have better luck playing pick up sticks with his butt cheeks than getting $2K for those wheels!!! Good luck.

dseag2

When I owned my SC430, I changed my wheels to 18" OZ Opera II's. Most aftermarket wheels are lighter than the OEM wheels, so there is a slight improvement in performance... not to mention appearance.

I kept the stock wheels in the garage and put them back on when I traded the car. (Actually, the Lexus dealership wanted the original wheels and would have deducted money for the aftermarket wheels.) I sold the OZ Operas to someone with an ES300!

Couldn't really use one as a spare because the trunk only accommodates a space saver spare. I relied on Fix-a-Flat.

tonytony

Doc C,
You seriously cracked me up with that comment about pickup sticks. People at work at looking at me funny.

dseag2,
Oh my, I've seen the Opera wheels and they are FINE =). I really like the deep dish look, actually the dish look is what really gets me going. I'm seriously thinking about getting the SC430 for regular usage and then I'm checking Wald Ds, OZ Operas, or the Work Euroline. And yes these will be for my ES300.

I don't know..do you think they will look funny on the ES?

dseag2

IMO it really depends on which generation ES you are talking about. If it's the first generation, they should look great. The OEM wheel was a fairly full-faced wheel. You can probably check the ES gallery and fine something similar.

The newer one... I'm not so sure. I've never seen one with anything other than stock wheels. Maybe you can go on www.tirerack.com and see the wheels on the car??