RudeDoggy

Hi CL wheel experts,

I am thinking of getting MRR GT1 rims in 19x8.5" in chrome finish as seen here:



They come in +35 and +45 offsets. I am a newbie to rims but will these clear my calipers (2008 GS350 AWD)? What does the offset mean exactly? Do the +35 offset rims stick out more from the car compared to the +45 offset rims? Will either of these offsets cause rubbing?

I am riding at stock height (may lower in the future if F Sport springs are available for the AWD GS --for insurance purposes otherwise I would drop it tomorrow with Tanabe NF210) and plan to use 245/35R19 all around.

I had my heart set on TSW Snetterton chrome 19x8" but after waiting more than 10 weeks (!) with no ETA, I've decided to go with something different.

Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. Does anyone know where MRR wheels are made? China? USA? Another country?

P.P.S. Anyone recommend any places to order them online? elementwheels.com (first hit on a Google search) sells them for $331.20 USD/each shipped within the US and my local tire dealer wants to sell them for me for $420 USD/each. To save approximately $250 USD for the set of wheels (assuming the wheels are made in China and I have to pay 8% duties to import them into Canada), it makes it worth it for me to drive an hour to Niagara Falls, NY.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

google is always your friend
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=101

1) lower the offset, the more it sticks out
2) offset and widths go hand in hand
3) offsets do not determine if the wheel will clear the brake calipers or not. it's the disk type. you always need high disk wheels to clear big brakes

ASSUME the wheels clear the brakes (that's something you will have to find out), i would go with +35 and use 235 or 245 tires. front is a bit close but i think should be fine.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

I know members on here are using them on the IS350 so they make them to clear BBK. I am not sure if they have different specs for their rims and I have never owned any.

If you don't lower the car stay with +45. If you lower then go with the +35...if you don't lower I think the +35 will look out of place.

I helped a member from IN lower his AWD in my garage with the Tanabe NF and its a nice subtle drop and he has no issues with the ride or rubbing.

spine911

iTrader: (4)

+35 offset won't clear the front brake caliper of the 350s/430s, you will need spacers for the front.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

^ offset has nothing to do with it clearing the front BBK. We have +45 on the OEM rims and those clear. Like Rominl said its the Disc Type.

Iocca

iTrader: (2)

call element wheels, they can probably give u an even lower price, they have great prices on wheels. ask for chris or robert and tell them anthony with the white gs sent u

spine911

iTrader: (4)

On the 350/430s.
+45 will clear OEM brakes AND BBK because it is 10mm AWAY from the center (brakes, suspension).
+35 will not even clear the OEM brake caliper since it is 10mm CLOSER to the center(brakes, suspension).

I have +35s on my 300 (which has the smaller OEM calipers than the 350s/430s)and it barely cleared the front calipers by a mere 1-2mms.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

^The offset has nothing to do with it. If the rim is the same the +45 will allow the same clearance as the +35. Only difference is the +35 will sit closer to the fender. If they are made the same, only one disc type, then there is no difference in what one you get. Now if they offer different disc variations that is why they barely clear yours.

the rim still has to bolt to the hub, you are just moving the center point of the rim outwards with the +35 meaning you have more inner clearance not more clearance from the caliper.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

I got on the MRR site and they offer 2 different size lips for each size so you can order them in High or Low disc "or" as Work Wheels calls it R disc or O disc.

Low disc you get a larger dish (lip) the you will with the high disc. I have R disc on my fronts and O disc on the rear of my car so you see the difference.

RudeDoggy

Thanks for the tips rominl. I saw the tirerack link before but it seemed to complicate a pretty straightforward question. Well, it explained it in more depth than I needed anyway.

I cannot find that information on MMR's website . So does this mean that I could have low disc in the rears and high disc in the front to have a staggered look but actually have the same 8.5" width rim?

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

^ according to their site yes. xx" X 8.5 1, 1/2 lip size. Larger lip will be low disc or what ever they call it. So you can have a 1" lip in the rear and a 1/2 lip up front. At that point I would just go with a larger rim on the rear. Do 8.5 up front and 9.5 in the rears?? you can still do low/high disc for your brakes You have options as to what you want but since you wont be able to rotate the wheels I would go with the wider rims in the rear.

RudeDoggy

I see the size as 1.5" for the 19x8.5" rim. I think the comma is being used here to separate integers and fractional numbers (i.e. what the US and English-speaking Canada use as a decimal). Also, I don't really want to go staggered since I have an AWD. I know some guys here with AWDs run staggered setups but I'd rather not...

As for +35 and +45 offsets, this represents only a 1 cm difference. Will this make that much of a (cosmetic) difference? I'm a newb so I don't know at all.

And as for tire size, rominl suggested 235 tires but when using a tire calculator, 225/50R17 (which is what my car came with) most closely matches up with 245/35R19. Should I go with a higher aspect ratio tire (40) to close the gap? Like I said, I want to drop my car but only when F Sport springs come out (if ever) for insurance purposes.

Will 245/35R19 rub? My tire guy said they wouldn't.

Thanks

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

well my 18" OEM was 245/40 and still is for the winter That is +45 but 8" and not 8.5"...

unless I am reading the site wrong its 2 different type rims. one would be 1/2 inch lip the other one would be 1". I do know IS350 owners are using these rims so they do MFG something that will clear the BBK on your fronts.

As for staggered. IMO if you dont go wider in the rear just keep them the same so you can rotate. I think it will "look" funny to have the same 8.5" rim but to stagger them. Yes it will work but you can see it from the rear and not just the side. I see this a lot on cars here and from the rear it looks out of place. Also IMO you are still messing with the AWD if you have different offsets as you are transferring the weight and how it rotates compared to stock. Just go WIDE

Tire I would use 245/35R19 but that all has to do with lowering the car also. That is the closest tire you will get to your current OEM! you can plus size to 40 series and that shouldnt cause any issues but ask the others I have no tried it.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

first of all you should take a closer look at the calculation of offset. a +35 wheel actually sticks OUTBOARD more than a +45 and i have stated that in my first post. you clearly have mixed it up completely. one thing always true: for the same widths, the LOWER the offset number, the MORE it sticks OUT. always

secondly, again, offset has LITTLE to do with brake clearance. it's something i always stress when telling people. you can have a wheel with low offset (again, that means it sticks out a lot) but it doesn't clear any bbk at all. on the other hand, on my previous gs400, i had 8.5 +42 and it cleared my ap racing bbk with flying colors.

so again, disk type is the key in clearing brakes. you need high disk wheels to clear the calipers. the same wheel, say 8.5 +35, can have BOTH high and low disk setup. the difference of disk type is how the spokes curve. on high disk wheels, they curve OUT more to create the necessary space to clear calipers. but you give up some lip size. on low disk wheels, the spokes are flatter allowing more lip size, but not able to fit over big brakes

hope this clear everything

no problem, wheels and type and offsets are nothing easy, it took me a while to understand everything and able to "vision" it.

if you are getting non-staggered setup, imho i would not get different disk type wheels front and rear. that allows you to rotate the wheels, makes more sense.

i'd only get different disk type wheels if i go staggered. for example all the wheels i have had on my cars, they are all staggered, and i always have high disk front, and standard / low disk in the back

RudeDoggy

Thanks for all the help/tips guys (passnu2 and rominl get honourable mentions).

I think I will go with the 19x8.5" ET +35 in 245/35R19 all around unless someone has any other brilliant suggestions...

I am hoping that Lexus doesn't back out and not provide lowering F Sport springs for the AWD GS. They provide lowering springs for the IS250 AWD which gives me hope. So for now I'll be riding stock... I also wish it didn't snow here 6 months of the year, otherwise I'd get the RWD version. Speaking of which, passnu2, I'm sure it snows quite a bit down where you're at. You're a brave person.