I am thinking of upgrading my stock "98 GS 400 with some 20 inch wheels.

How bad will the ride be? Is it really rough?
What are the best specs and sizes and offsets?
If I get L-tuned shocks and springs will it make it better or worse?
What is the best idea not to loose too much of a softness in the ride? Other than stay with 17s

 

No matter what you do, just getting 20's alone will increase the ride harshness, thats what you get when you buy large rims. Adding aftermarket suspension will increase the ride harshness even more. So you can forget about ways of making your ride feel like 16's with 20's on.

 

personally.......would you rather impress people with looks or a smooth ride
i think more women would like it if it looked phat
usually they only want to be in ur car when its parked in a dark parking lot and no one is driving and the two of you are in teh back seat......
unless ur married of course

 

Get 18" wheels. I have 18" on my M5 and, with the Bilstein shocks and Dinan springs, it is pretty damn stiff. In fact , sometimes I wished I stayed with stock 17". But...the 18" BBS RC's look very sweet.

Another benefit of 18" is that tires aren't that much more expensive than 17".

Honestly, anything beyond a 17" is really just for show. However, the BBS weigh equal to or less than my stock wheels which are forged alloys. Best bang for the buck in my opinion.

 

What does that have to do with anything?!

PaulV, like KKelly said, you might to go only up to 18" if ride is such a huge concern...however, I think 18's look dinky on the GS!

I have 20's and a cr*pload of suspension mods and I don't think my ride is bad at all...but that's just me, you have to try it out to see for yourself...if I'm ever in the Bay Area (which I am at least a couple times a year) or if you're ever in LA, leave me a PM and we can set up some time if you want to try out 20's...

 

Some of you guys have a different perspective than me. Damn I am old. 20" wheels on the street are just extreme in my opinion. A little sidewall flex is actually okay and I think good 20" tires are insanely expensive.

I prefer more a sleeper or moderately enhanced look vs. pimpy. I think real low with big 20" wheels borders on pimpy. IMHO. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Whassup Paul! It's me again! I think my car looks great with the 20's on it. You've seen it on the freeway, so it speaks for itself. As far as ride, I have TRD shocks with Eibach springs...it is of course a little more bumpy, and you can't avoid road noise when you have less tire to absorb it...but I would never go back to my stocks! When we meet up you can take it for a spin and feel for yourself...that always helps in decisions!

PeAcE OuTsIdE!

 

my personal opinion is that 19s look better on GSs than 20s. it fills the wheel well perfectly when lowered right and the ride isn't too harsh. 16s on the GS is waaay under-tired. my GS with 16s felt very unsafe.

 

I was thinking of getting 19s at first. After talking to a few people I was told that there is not much difference between 19's and 20's in price or ride, so now I am in the market for 20's. Will it be absolutely terrible without doing anything to the suspension and leaving it stock? I might be getting some L-tuned springs and shocks. How will that feel? Thanks for the offers to ride on some 20's, I will definitely take you up on those.