sluggo42

After 6 hours of search and read, I'm dizzy drunk with info.... It's all become a blur now.

I have stock 16" with tall tires. I love the smooth ride. (Im old) But, I would like a sportier look, but I don't want to mess with springs or shocks.

Would 18" ISF wheels bolt right on, and do you think I could fit 50's for the smoother ride? Would it fill up the well a bit more, or would it just jack the car up into the air another 2"?

It's all so very confusing...

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

IS-F wheels should fit with no problem with their stock tire sizing. I'm not sure if it would fit with a 50 profile tire though.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

That's my thoughts exactly. Remember all SCs that the right side sit higher than the left. So that may be a little more gap on one side. I have 19's with a 245/40/19 F, and 275/35/19 rear, which feels the gap. A good lowering spring will help any foreseen gap for your taste without hendering the ride quality. Jmo. Good Luck!

sluggo42

Lowering springs...
So, you can change springs, but keep the stock shocks, and get the car a little lower?

But, I really don't want to start changing parts and altering. To change springs, wouldn't you have to take each wheel's entire assembly apart? Or is there an easy wany to install springs?

I guess my quest is to get a cooler looking stance, by use of wheels and tires alone.

Is that not possible, and one has to "lower" the car to acheive that look? And if that's true, just tell me, I know absolutely nothing about suspension. I just don't want to have to spend an arm and a leg and hire a shop to do it...

my car is a 2000 sc400 if thats needed info... I ask because some guy that works at a dealership is trying to sell me some brand new 18" IS wheels, and is telling me they will bolt right on and look totally cool. I currently have the 16" chrome 5-spoke wheels that I actually kinda like...

SCrollinSD

if you're not going to go any lower I would suggest going with 17s max, simply from an aesthetic perspective.

you don't have to hire a shop to change out springs or do a coilover install. with a bit of inclination and research you should be able to handle it all on your own. that's why we're here on the forums to help each other out.

however, keep in mind that most lowering springs do not match up with the oem shocks/struts in terms of spring ratio, and in many cases just using lowering springs can wear down your oem gear even faster.

I would recommend doing either a spring/shock combo or just getting some coilovers so you can have full adjustability and peace of mind over your setup and what you would like to achieve.


but yeah, 18s on stock suspension is gonna look a bit... off...

sluggo42

ok cool,

I'll start reading up on the suspension sticky, don't want to look like a dork with a cool car eh?

thanks

MrBrock

Here's mine w stock suspension, SC430 wheels and Nitto 555 245/40-R18. Rides just as nice as when it was on 16's and that tire size has the same diameter so the speedo is still accurate.

CalitriSC

iTrader: (13)

Do you mean the stock 19" IS-F wheels? There is no 18" IS-F wheels. I put mine on my SC one time and they looked huge! And thats with the car very low.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

When you use those larger wheels without a drop it makes the car sit too high IMO. I start thinking Radio Flyer wagon.

If you use 35 or 40 series you will get away with 18's at stock height. Here's mine as an example.

- V -

iTrader: (1)

Im in a similar situation. I plan to change my wheels and i want a staggered set. The wheels i want dont come staggered in 17" so im going 18". I did alot of reasearch on the suspension wheels shocks and so on. From what i gathered so far, Eibach Pro kits for our cars seem to be the best way to go in terms of compatablity. Here are a few link for you to go through that helped me out a lot. After you read through come back here and post any questions you might have. Regardless of what you do, dropping the car will give you a sportier look than just the wheels. Fully Adjustable Coilovers are great and are easy to install because you dont have to compress the springs to get them into the shocks but from what i heard, they ride stiffer than lowering springs. Problem is that what me and you may consider ruff might not be the same thing, so if you are concerned about a soft ride you would need to find a tread that compares shock, coilover and spring softness. Ive been looking but no luck so far. Anyway, thats all the info i got at the moment, ill update you if i find out anything new.
Good luck!

http://www.intellexual.net/faq.html

http://garage.projectraine.com/conte...ng/spring.html

sluggo42

WOW, I would totally be stoked if my car looked like that, well actually the car does look like that, but minus the wheels.

How do you post a picture in here, I do have an iPhone. I'll post a pic of where I stance now...

BTW, you guys are great with your free-flow in helping a newbie out, highly appreciated.