starbai

iTrader: (1)

dont know where in PA you are, but a quick search of philly turned these up:

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/pts/5097565658.html

$10 worth of plastidip and call it a day lol.

Snowrydr01

Ive seen those before but i wasnt in love with the is300 wheels. If i cant make my mind up (and dont need to step down in size) i still have the 18s from my old rx8 but i really wanted to run 17s for a bigger sidewall in winter.

starbai

iTrader: (1)

All due respect bud, and to each their own, but I think you're over thinking this. They're winter wheels, they're gonna get trashed anyway. Get something decent, not amazing. These beat up IS300's are perfect, they're the right bolt pattern/centerbore, already somewhat trashed so you dont have to feel bad if they get knicked up... but most importantly, they're cheap!

Snowrydr01

when comparing cheap craigslist stuff against tire rack its also important to factor in mounting and balancing, if i get $200 beat up CL wheels and spend $200 mount and balance then i might as well just have bought the $400 cheap wheels from TR got them balanced for free and had one less thing to do myself.

My RX8 wheels allready have a set of Conti DWS all seasons on them which would be good MOST of the time but likely not too good for a rwd is350 when it snows for real. But they are free since i all ready have them and i have a spare 5th one in case one ever gets damaged.

In fact i think im talking myself into them. ill toss them on the car and drive it for a few days to make sure everything clears and then start sanding off the curb rash and start prepping for paint.

starbai

iTrader: (1)

Well I mean if you're looking to put on snow tires etc I'm inclined to agree with you. If you didn't really care about a dedicated snow tire for now and just wnted to ensure you didn't damage your current wheels, then what I posted makes sense. Conti DWS are actually pretty darn good in the snow, I had my father put them on his AWD GS350 and he lives in NYC. They're no dedicated snow tire, but they do the job.

End of the day, and to your point, I think you've answered your own question... you've already got some wheels with some decent tires on em' that should hold their own in the snow... seems like a no brainer to me.

PS.... I dont recall what the mazda centerbore is, but Im fairly positive its larger than Toyota/Lexus centerbore... so you may need to get yourself some hub rings. Amazon usually has great prices on them if you're a prime member.

Good luck

Snowrydr01

I like the Conti DWS and we have run them on a first and second gen tsx but i can still initiate wheel spin (some areas outside of philly are pretty hilly) even in the FWD configuration. My wifes tsx wagon uses the DWS for three seasons and then blizzaks in the winter and even as a seasoned "car guy" it blew me away just how good the blizzaks were even over a decent tire like the Conti DWS.

More relevant to the Lexus though, if i get wheel spin on a 200hp fwd car with all that weight over the drive wheels then i dont expect them to hold too much traction when 300hp is applied to a lighter rear. Blizzaks for the RX* wheels run around $160 each and my dealer mounts and balances cheaper then tire shops so itll probably still be around $800.

Ive never used hub rings on my other cars. I have always used acorn lugs and torques down in 3 stages and never had an issue with vibration.

Answer

Snowrydr01: A friend of mine has RX8 wheels for sale.. I could get them for 200 bucks. Have you test fitted them? The are 50 offset so 5mm closer to the suspension. I wonder how they would look.

Snowrydr01

I haven't test fit them yet and probably will not for a couple weeks. I've only ever seen pictures on older is models but will definitely take a couple for reference.

Answer

Just FYI, RX8 wheels (18x8 +50) do not fit. They do not clear the big front calipers on the 350 (would mostly fit on a 250). Something like a 5mm spacer would be required to clear the calipers.

Snowrydr01

Not that i dont trust you, but is this from the specs or have you or someone actually tried them?

Answer

I personally tried one.

Snowrydr01

Damn, looks like im back on the hunt. I was hoping i could A spend less and B not have to sell the wheels and tires i already have left over.