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Bought Rims and Tires 20 inch NICHE and Coilovers to lower my Ride
Hopefully I made a good choice. First time having a car Lowered. Using Chris at Elite Importz. Bought 20 inch NICHE M116 staggered Setup Anthracite, and Tires. Plus Coilovers and Springs, he said that was the right way to do it with adjustable Dampening I think it was to make it stiffer or softer ride. Never have a lowered a car but he said I would really want to have my 2002 Lexus GS300 Lowered with these rims and a staggered setup. He is also doing my Front door actuators, already had a new 200 amp Alternator put in, then IM REAL CLOSE to being done. I hope the LOWERING and THESE RIMS AND TIRES are a good choice. Chris seems to know his stuff so putting my faith in him, it was a big price for me to pay, hoping with only 64k miles on the car it has YEARS LEFT once I make it look how I want it to look. He gave it the A PLUS OK for the engine, tranny etc so we shall see, will post finish pics soon as they are complete. Anyone else lower theirs, any issues with the RIDE and FEEL? GOOD CHOICE for COILOVERS and springs, sounds like basically new shocks I guess, not sure what coilovers were but just trusted him vs using just SPRINGS to lower it. Are these SOLID RIMS, NOT CHEAP RIMS ?
As long as you stay on top of maintenance the drivetrain should last a long time. The suspension components are generally the weaker areas of these cars though, but theres lots of info on here that'll help out with that. Make sure you take care of those lower ball joints. Coilovers also seem to be the best way to lower, the adjustability is great and theyre not super expensive. My car is pretty damn low and it doesnt ride as smooth as factory, but i love the look so that doesnt matter to me really.
And about the rims though, I kinda like some of the designs that Niche has but the general consensus is that they make cheap wheels and theyre pretty damn heavy too. (personally I would pick up a used set of Works or Volks instead). Im sure theres a couple of guys on here who'd have a few choice words about the wheels. But its your car, the only thing that matters is that YOU like the wheels at the end of the day. Looking forward to the pics
I was putting my faith in Chris at elite importz. There was an Infiniti there that just used niche staggered and lowered looked sick so I went with the Misano m117s. I knew about them in the 90s when I got my first car and they were still around and we're not cheap so figured they were good. Lifetime warranty. I know a huge company makes them same one that puts out most of the big rims for mercedes and bmw lexus etc. A company called MHT. I looked at the worx too. These are anthracite and my car is graphite grey pearl color so hopefully they come out nice staggered and lowered. Coilovers from what I read caused much less issues than just using lowering Springs but again that was more expensive too but I went with what Chris recommended. He has won many shows and contests. Specializes in tuners but usually I just spend 1k on some rims and tires 18s and put them on my cars. Tint. Sound system and that's it. This was the most I have spent on rims tires and I'm getting it lowered so pretty nervous and praying it's worth it and a good choice.
What brand are the coil overs? Coil overs themselves are a great choice. Depends on quality of valving and spring rates. If you've never had a lowered car before, start with the car a little higher than you'd like it and learn to drive it. If you dump it straight away you'll likely break something (dent a fender, crack a front lip etc).
Wheels are okay. Look nice. They're just a cheap-ish cast wheel. They'll last but are "entry level" compared to a three piece work wheel for example. You'll be paying probably three times the price for those so you get what you pay for. The wheels are still round and will balance fine so don't stress...
My 2007 Saab that I own is really low to the ground, there is no WAY I could lower it and I tore the front ground effect all up over the past 4 years. LOVE my saab, but moving to this Lexus. I think it will be around the same from the ground as my Saab, I just didnt have to lower my Saab it is a 2007 Saab 9-3 Aero so I assume already low. I didnt think I would have to lower this with 20s. I had planned on getting 18s to keep the quality soft ride, but He assures me this is the right move and HE came Recommended from this forum, Chris at Elite Importz. Looked him up, great reviews, won plenty of shows, the cars he has there look awesome so kind of just having faith in this guy but now Im nervous. It wasnt freaking CHEAP. Paid 2500 for the rims and tires mounted balanced and installed. Paid 1000 for the coilovers springs, installed, I believe they were Tein but didnt focus on it, Just assumed EVERY CAR I have seen at his store is LOWERED LOL, so took the chance and his recommendation. I cant AFFORD more than freaking 2500 for Tires and RIMS. I remembered the rims from back in the day so hoped they were solid. They look sharp and have a lifetime warranty but the biggest thing definitely is not breaking and able to BALANCE PERFECTLY so there is no shake in my car. Praying I dont regret this but, Paid for NOW lol. I will ask and confirm the Coilovers. THE WORX rims I looked at were about the same price and they all seemed to be built for trucks, on the two Sites I tried, they showed no Worx rims for my lexus. ENTRY LEVEL RIMS I was looking at only cost 600 to 700 for a set of 4 so I thought, 1100-1200 for the rims was a decent step up and not cheap, but hell I have only bought 4 sets of rims in my lifetime lol. Hopefully the Niche are better than American Racing I was looking at and MOTEGI which were much cheaper, these were more along the lines of the ADVANTI that I have had I thought and I have had Lexani Rims before, I was told the Niche are better than the ones I was looking at hands down. But who knows I guess. Read some reviews, read some on here and people had them said they were good but I know everyone has different experiences and preferences im sure. I couldnt pay 500 to 800 a rim for 3 piece though. Not for a 2002 Lexus lol
LOL "Worx" and "Work" are two VERY different companies man. Quality rims are very expensive, Id bet that everyone replying to this thread including me has paid around 500-800 dollars per rim for a nice set. So by that comparison, 2500 for rims AND tires is relatively cheap. Not trying to hate here. Im sure your rims will hold up fine with regular driving, and if they dont you mentioned theres a warranty so you should be fine.
And the ride on 20s wont be as smooth as factory thats for sure, but it wont be totally unbearable. Plus if the coilovers end up being Teins I think you'll be happy with them. Most of the people that run them have good things to say about them. Good bang for your buck.
I didn't know work was a rim lol. The worx rims are kinda pricey too. But yea I couldn't spend 3500 just on rims when my car was only 6700 bux. I paid 2500 for these rims and tires which is already ridiculous really but hopefully they work out well on the coilovers. I did research on this forum that's how I found the guy Chris at elite importz and most forum threads had good things to say about niche so for my price range I guess that was the best I could do. As long as the damn car doesn't shake. They look sharp and the lowering works out I will be happy. But I spend 3500 for everything rims tires and coilovers installed which is more than half of what I paid for the Damn car lol. Still will have to pay 150 for tint. Then install the sound system. So nervous that I should have just bought a damn newer car forental 11k instead of an older lexus and trying to hook it up. With 64k miles on it I just pray it's the right choice.
Spending money to fix up cars has nothing to do with the cars monetary value if it does... then folx need a different hobby. Plenty of us have poured more than $20k in our rides, thats what the sport is all about. Buying the right things and doing it right the first time. My tires alone cost $2000 lol but x's 2 on durability. My wheels were $800 a pop, but one stupid time (and the ONLY time) I hit a curb HARD! I'm like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Got out and saw the wheel and was like, OMG! Then I took a closer look, licked my thumb, wiped it and noticed that it was just curb dust. I turned around to look at the curb, the wheel took a chunk out of the curb LoL Not a SCRATCH on the wheel. A friend of mine took out a curb with some cheap off-the-shelf Velocity wheels with LESS force, took out a CHUNK of the wheel! Just be careful with curbs and potholes.
Hopefully you have a decent set of tires too. With my Pirelli's, I've hit huge DEEP potholes on the freeway at 80+mph with NO issues. One time I had an emergency and had to replace my rear tires due to a botched alignment and purchased some cheapos to get me by, they didn't last a week! I hit a NASTY pothole yet again (with all 4 wheels) Immediate wobble, didnt know till I got home, BOTH tires ripped at the bead as well as tumors formed. Nothing happened to the Pirelli's. A good tire protects the wheel as well, that same pothole event bent both rear 'indestructible' wheels.
Yea I haven't done this part yet. I usually buy my cars. Do tint. Sound system rims and tires but rims and tires never that expensive. I am far from rich lol. I just wanted a nice lexus and it was perfect inside. Leather. Wood grain real wood lol. 64k miles so I did it. It isn't as sporty as my saab so doing the lowering and rims tires. I hope there good. They are Chris elite importz house tires that he said he uses on most of the cars he does. My saab rims low profile same thing. Hit a bunch of pot holes. Once it cracked a rim but I got it repaired for 80 bux. No other issues. Tires have popped before and just used good tires. I'm going to get the name of the tires and the coilovers. I should have before I paid but I just took the recommendations from Chris which is really rare for me. I usually research the he'll out of ****. Too much. Lol. We will see.
Yea I caught that. They are real expensive. Worx are too but definitely not the same as work. Threw me off big time. I couldn't afford work rims though so worked out lol
You gotta remember, people are salesmen, they can see someone who doesnt know what they're talking about a mile away! They're only about making a sale. Good reviews from people are based on character what was sold to them. $1000 for coils installed, pretty certain they're the Tein Street Basis. There are some bad reviews on them. Its the cheapest line from Tein, you might want to research them before getting them installed. Theres a section in the GS forum of a member who bought like 4 different sets of coilovers and reviewed all of them. Nonetheless, $2k for a set of decent BC's and call it a day. Modding a Lexus correctly isnt cheap, $1k for a set of coilovers on a honda will give you gold... not on a Lex though
They were in the forum. Toyota forum as well and Google as well as yelp. Couldn't find 1 negative review which is rare so I trusted him but probably too much. If he does it all for 3500 and it looks and rides great I will be happy. I am emailing him now to ask. It was 1000 for the coilovers and 2500 for rims and tires but I know the rims and tires are not 2500 so some more of that is going towards the coilovers and labor for everything. Yea I've had people sell me. My saab guy is awesome which is where I tool my lexus to first to get checked out and have the alternator put in before I went anywhere to get any more info or thoughts on my car. Chris has offered to buy my lexus all 3 times that I was there before I bought anything from him which is a good sign for the car in general but if he is honest or not I guess I will have to wait and see if the reviews and forum posts match my experience with him.
07-30-16, 10:21 PM
Bought Rims and Tires 20 inch NICHE and Coilovers to lower my Ride
if it does... then folx need a different hobby. Plenty of us have poured more than $20k in our rides, thats what the sport is all about. Buying the right things and doing it right the first time. My tires alone cost $2000 lol but x's 2 on durability. My wheels were $800 a pop, but one stupid time (and the ONLY time) I hit a curb HARD! I'm like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Got out and saw the wheel and was like, OMG! Then I took a closer look, licked my thumb, wiped it and noticed that it was just curb dust. I turned around to look at the curb, the wheel took a chunk out of the curb LoL Not a SCRATCH on the wheel. A friend of mine took out a curb with some cheap off-the-shelf Velocity wheels with LESS force, took out a CHUNK of the wheel! Just be careful with curbs and potholes.
