David M

On the flagship of Lexus' cars, some of them do *not* have chromed wheels? That is amazing. The whole car just looks so much better if the wheels are chrome.

drink300

I agree. It looks horrible without Chrome. Can't believe Lexus produces it. It was one option I insisted on when purchasing my 03 Lexus. I was just lucky they were included with the 04 I bought also.

However, there are a lot of people who don't want a flashy car. They want to drive incomfort, unnnoticed in traffic.

GeorgeT

That's your opinion. Some people like the look of a cast aluminum "mag" style wheel better. On some cars, chrome wheels make them look like pimp-mobiles.

Alexis-LS

Werd. I like the look of hyper silver and polished lip more than chrome.

SH212

alexis-ls, your signature is too big, you should fix it before the mods say something,

go to the photoshop album im sure one of the guys there well be happy to resize it for you

Carmelstev

David-I used to supply chrome wheels to Lexus dealers. I can tell you that there are pros and cons to chrome wheels. What many people don't understand is that chrome wheels are just alloys that have been chrome plated. The process is very complicated and depends on every step being done correctly. If they are not, the chrome will "peel" after a year or two. Actually, virtually all chrome will peel eventually, it's just a matter of how well the chrome was applied and how well the wheels are maintained. Most people will get about 4-7 years before some peeling starts.

Most people agree that darker cars look better with chrome. I actually don't think most silver or white cars look good with chrome. I didn't put chrome on my silver LS430, but have chrome on my other cars, as they are darker cars.

The chrome wheel phenomenon started in SoCal, and many new cars down there have chrome or custom wheels or both. Up here in the Bay Area, it's much less common.

Another thing is the cost. I can tell you I sold my wheels to the dealers for about $500 per set. They asked $2000 and used it as a bargaining tool, sometimes going down to about $1400 or so, and telling the customer that they were selling them at cost.

Just my 2 cents. Steve

LSorBS

Carmelstev I agree with you about the lighter cars. I've seen a few LS430's around with Pearl White paint and the brushed factory 18's, I think it looks really classy. Especially in bright light, glossy white/silver cars with too much chrome don't look good at all. Obviously Lexus wouldn't offer brushed metal if people didn't want it, and with the 2008 IS refresh, we can obviously see that they do.

Alexis-LS

Thanks Shlomboy.
Fixed.

mikepae

iTrader: (1)

hahh my silver LS came with chromes and i couldnt wait to get rid of the oem 17 chromes to buy oem silver ones. ironically, my first set of aftermarket wheels were 20" mrrs in chrome. my gf talked me out of the diamond cut finish i originally wanted saying my car would look "washed out" whatever the f that meant. i ended up buying 2.5 additional sets (10 wheels) of the exact same wheels in chrome for replacing damaged/stolen wheels. i always wished i had stuck with my first choice the entire time i had chromes. silver/brushed/diamond cut/polished for life

David M

that's a new one on me, mike.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

Chrome or not is 100% depends on personal preference and what the car is.

Before I got my LS430, I REALLY HATED chrome wheels, I won't have chrome wheels on my car even if someone pay me for it. All my previous cars has painted wheels.

But when I buy my LS, since it is a 05' Ultra, just about 98% of them come with chrome wheels, I couldn't find one without it. So I got one with the chrome and was planned on swapping them out with some silver painted stock wheels. And believe it or not, after living with the chrome wheels for a few months, due to the amazing quality of the factory Lexus chrome plating and the nature of the total luxury image of the LS really make the chrome wheels fit the car REALLY well. For this car, I think the chrome looks good on it, it shock the hell out of me that I would ever like having chrome wheels on my own car. I also think me getting older have something to do with the preference change though.

mikemareen

I have the 16" OEM chromies, excellent shape with new tires. I'll trade for 17" with silver and equivalent tires.

Boomer01

I have the 17" chrome oem wheels and love them. I have always had a thing for chrome wheels though.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

I agree. And that's why chrome wheels come with either a lifetime membership to AARP or one of these...

David M

I6, you're saying that the old folks (I'm in AARP too) want the pimpmobile look? That seems anathema to me. Teenagers are the ones who want that look.

Hadn't considered chrome and white. Maybe the mag wheels or the diamond cut are better with the very light colors. I'll keep an eye out.