shox

Will 17" wheels work on the 3rd gen RX? I'm looking to downsize wheels for winter, in turn, will save me money on winter tires as well. 19" winter tires are hard to come by, and I can't find any and a local shop found one set of 19" winter tires for $1200CDN. $1200CDN can pay for new wheels, 18" or 17", with winter tires from TireRack so just curious to know if 17" will fit. TireRack recommend 17" and 18", but I wasn't sure if 17" will fit.

It recently snowed a foot here, but snow drifts are upwards of 3-4 feet. A friend's 3 series BMW is buried from snow drifts over the roof of his car, he's not getting out anytime soon. He just dug out enough to see his hood!

timgs300

iTrader: (22)

You should go to miati tire calculator. That will make sure you use the correct profile tire so you don't mess with the speedo.

SALTY2

I just put on my 17" snow tires myself and they fit like glove. Actually for snow tires it's a good idea to downsize (I remember the saying from my military days "Snow down, sand up". I got mine from tirerack as well. God bless them the whole thing including Alum. wheels and shipping came up to 995USD

tonyhui

I also have 17 inch snow tires on my 2010 RX450h. They will work but you must be careful if the rims are balanced by the double sticker attached weight. The clearance is so tight that the attached weights must be at least 1 inch from the inner lip of the rim. I had to manually shift the weight half a inch after they arrived from Tirerack. The difference is so small and the rim plus snow tire weight so great (about 61 lbs) that moving the weight slightly shouldn't cause any vibration. I tested at all speeds up to 85mph the the snow tires are as smooth as the original tires.

shox

Ok I will look for that when or if I get 17's. Thanks for the help!

acemann7

An aquaintance of mine has 17" lexus OEM rims with winter tires on them from this 2009 RX 350. He no longer has the RX, thus has offered them to me.

I called the dealer and they said "we tried some 17" rims and they rubbed so we do not recommend them".
This rubbing... is it what was mentioned above with the weights?

The tires were:
225/65 17
on original 17 x 7.5 5x114.3 bolt pattern lexus rims.

Can anyone explain better the weight problem above or where this rubbing might happen.

This is the best forum on the web.

nsxmannyc

If your still interested in another set of 18 inch OEM rims and snow tire I have a set in great condition in the forsale rx section..

let me know if you or anyone is interested

tonyhui

If you can try putting on one rim first then you can be sure they will fit. However, the 2009 had smaller tires so you will need to replace the snow tires. In my RX450h there is a bolt that get really close near the inside lip of the rim. Tirerack stop recommanding 17 inch rims after they sold the set to me.

Tony

rcy

If your RX came with 19", you might be better just dropping down to 18" for your winters. As others have posted you 'may' run into clearance problems with the 17" (likely the wheel balancing weights are hitting the caliper).

Luvmy350

iTrader: (2)

I have some 17" wheels that came off my RX and GS. They fit fine. Didn't rub on either car.
$350 for all for. No tires.