I'm thinking I wish I had gotten the factory chromes on my flint mica 3GS. Anyone know a reliable place in SoCal where I can swap my satin finish for chrome? Or is it better/cheaper to have my existing wheels chromed?

 

Yeah good question~ I was thinking of chroming my wheels but wondered if it defects the wheel in any way. I did this once a long time ago but it was on a lesser car and I didn't notice anything. I want my GS ride to be unaffected. I bought some chrome 18's for both of my 2nd gen GS's and on both sets I had a defective wheel which you can feel because Lexus is so smooth, you know the princes and the pea thing. Since Lexus has there new wheel balancers that tell you exactly what problems if any there are on wheels I have learned this lesson the hard way. By the time they got the machines I had already had my wheels past their warranties so I had to stick with them. The good news was that the new machines were able to compensate for the defects and made the problem somewhat invisible. I just want perfect wheels this time and not have that problem again. So back to what I was saying, I wonder if chroming wheels can cause any anomalies? Maybe just buying the chrome version is the best way to go and sell the stock wheels.

 

i did a chrome exchange w/ Darrel Diller of Sewell Lexus, lexus-parts.com. he is a CL vendor. price is great and includes shipping both ways, so it's competitive with buying from So Cal vendors. problem is most so cal wheel vendors don't have the wheels yet. i wanted them ASAP, and darrel had them in stock. so it worked out well for me.

raptor, not sure what you mean by lessen the ride quality - the wheels are the OEM style, just with chrome finish. of course they are not exactly new-new since they came off another car (probably one that got upgraded with tourmalines or g spiders), and then sent off to get chromed. they are guaranteed against defects, and look great. email darrel if you are interested - ddiller@sewell.com.

nothing is easier than doing the exchange. the wheels come to you, and you take them to have them switched out, then put yours in the box and sent them back pre-paid. if you try to chrome your own wheels, it takes usually 2-4 weeks. here is a pic:

 

Why are you thinking of changing to chrome? I ask because I’m in the market for the 06 18” satin finish wheels for my SC. Is the satin problematic? Or do you wish to change for aesthetics?

Thank you

 

Sporting some nice wheels there potna!

 

No probs with satin, I just like chrome a little better.

 

Outstanding! My tires have about 1,100 mile on them- I assume you swapped with zero miles. How much were they?

 

my wheels weren't new at all; it took me a while to find a vendor for them, so i think i had almost 2500 miles on them. my so cal dealer wanted $1200, and they didn't even have them in stock when the car was new.

my 2-month old wheels were in new-like shape though, no knicks or curb rash. the cost from sewell was just under $700,and then $100 for local installation (a little more than usual due to the air sensors).

 

since I am trying to buy the wheels from Darrel Diller, maybe he can just chrome them for me, then ship?

 

I would not advise getting your Graphite 18" wheel Chrome Plated. I have documented my issues with Porosity on these Graphite wheels in another Thread.

I think (IMO) that there is a flaw with these wheels that could be a major issue. I recently had my SECOND wheel replaced because of porosity pits in the wheel.

My plans are to hang onto these wheels until my warranty runs out (I've got 18K miles so it won't take too long) and replace them with Chrome. Who knows if I will need to have any more wheels replaced before my warranty expires.