JMH0325

The last time I changed the wheels on a car from factory to something new was on my '73 Mustang (put directionals on it with a wider, 9" rim) back in '92. Wasn't anything to it, but with this car ('05 Es330 with P215/55R17 all around), I haven't a clue. What do I need to know to do it right and not eff up the car? Can I buy rims for a Toyota and change the center cap to a Lexus cap? What is meant by offset? If I go up by 2 or 3 inches, how different will the ride\handling be? What would be the long term adverse effects to the car from doing so?

Seize

I suggest checking out tirerack.com's Tech Center it may answer alot of your questions.

Here's the link

http://www.tirerack.com/about/techcenter.jsp

radiokilla

Basically when you read a rim size it will say something like 18x9.5 +25 or some variation of that. The first number is the diameter, the second is the width and the third is the offset. Offset is basically how far away from the dead center of the wheel the mounting surface is. Low offsets (typically about 25 and below) have the mounting surface more towards the direction of the brakes thus having the effect of "pushing" the wheel out of the fender well because more of the wheel will be outside the fender. A high offset wheel (around 25 or above) will have the mounting surface away from the brakes which has the effect of having "sunk" wheels because more of the barrel of the wheel is inside the fender. Another thing to think about is if you want to get a larger diameter wheel keep in mind that you will need a lower profile tire in order to prevent the tire rubbing on the fender wells. I hope that helps a little.

JMH0325

Thanks guys! This info helps.