RX300SS

I've been in the market for new tires for about a month now and with the seemingly limited choices available in 225-70-16 I decided to look into plus sizing. After checking out lots of wheels I ordered a set of Helo Bezel in 18x7.5. These are the same ones that I have been admiring on Obidon's RX. Ordered the same offset he reccomended fitted with Nitto Extreme 404 tires in 255x55x18. It's a V rated tire with nylon cap plies over the steel belts to keep the tread flat. They have a UTG wear rating of 420 and are said to be very quiet with a directional type tread. I will take pics when installed next Friday. Got a price of $1350 including locks and lugs at Americas Tire.

Link to tires: http://www.nittotire.com/tire_nt404_overview.asp
Link to wheels: http://www.carxpressions.com/wheels/helo.htm

ObiDon

RX300SS,
I was just going to respond to your message when I saw this thread about your new wheels. You will like the way they look and the way your RX will handle. I have had mine for over a year and they are still like new.

RX300SS

Well the 18" Helo Bezel wheels and Nitto Extreme Force 255x55Vx18 tires came in a few days early and I got them installed on Wednesday. What a diference in handling, no more slushy turning response or tracking the rain groves on the SoCal freeways. It still rides nice and is very smooth and quiet but a much more controlled feel going down the road. And they look real sharp too, although only slightly larger at 28.9" compared to stock Integritys at 28.4" they seem to fill the wheel well better. And no clearance problems with the rear strut and no spacer needed, just like ObiDon said, and thanks ObiDon for posting a pic on these wheels!

I opted for the free tire replacement too at only $16 each, if the tire gets damaged in any way and can't be patched Americas Tire gives you a "new" tire not pro rated no questions asked. So it came to $1414 out the door, very reasonable I thought. I will put some miles on them this weekend and take some pics.

Roofless

Nice!

jeffg

What do people think of the attached for my Harrier/RX300. I'm not totally convinced about the looks, but they are the only thing I can find down in this part of the world (New Zealand) that do the 20mm offset in a 18" x 7.5" rim, even then they have to be made to order. Spacers are illegal down here (saftey concerns) so it's this or stay with the standard wheels.

As for getting 18" tyres to fit - the best I have found so far are road tyres, Pirelli P6000 or Pzero Diallos. I can't find any A/T tyres locally in the necessary sizes - 245/50 or 255/50 . 255/55s are just a bit too large for the Harrier - they had 215/70s as standard rather than the 225/70s on the RX, and presumably the speedo calibration was adjusted to suit.

jeff