Thank goodness my wife is very understanding about these things....I don't have to ask and I can't relate to how it feels. Sometimes I wish she were more watchful over how much I spend...I'd probably spend less.

I'd recommend the Bridgestone RE960's for tires. Nice riding tire that doesn't break the bank. 245-35-20 is $237 on Tirerack. I really like them. They had great ratings.

 

Dont worry about it, they do! Already had them spec'd for the large front caliper.

 

As time goes on, its gets harder and harder for these 1pc companies. There are some newer ones that are taking caliper clearance into consideration, such as VOSSEN.

Anyways, sorry about your wheel issue. The Lexus line is not as familiar to all companies as you would think (how many times have you heard a vendor say "yeah we have Lexus fitment" as if there is one universal setup for Lexus vehicles?)

As for the tire size, that mild rubbing on dips would be worse with a slammed coilover drop. Plus alot of people are not willing to accept ANY rubbing, dips or not, thats why I recommended the 30series for you, didn't think that rubbing would be ok for you.

Good luck with the next set!

 

Tony, I coined a descriptive phrase for Reggie, and even he got a chuckle out of it. I told him has a "discerning taste", he said yeah, I am picky as hell! lol

 

The rubbing is very minimal, none if I'm careful.

Derrick, after all the switches and waiting, I just want something with quality, easy and fast. That's why I'm thinking of the MRR GT1. Do you know if it will fit over the big GS350 brake?

 

Yeah I hear you the trials and tribulations can wear you kind of thin. The GT1's clear IS350 calipers so I'd imagine they are fine for GS350 as well. The problem is MRR changed chromers and they have had no chrome wheels for tha last 3-4 months. As of my last update they are SUPPOSED to have chrome wheels back in stock in 3 weeks or so. Silver and black are ready to roll, FYI

 

too bad they didnt fit properly, they look great on your GS

 

sooo, if another reseller of MRR GT1's tell me they have the chromes in stock what does that mean...and/or should i be concerned?

 

Nice rims!

 

Damn those rims look nice!! Too bad you're having those problems but it does boost my arguement not to mess with what Lexus' auto engineers (or any auto mfg engineers) have designed. For the sake of looks I won't sacrafice performance, i believe the size of the tires & wheels have been taken into consideration given all the other specs of the car. Now if it were a show car or one built up for the track then ok but my cars are daily drivers and just because it looks good on MTV whips doesn't mean it will perform well in real life day-to-day driving.

I'll have to hunt some of those down in the mfg suggested size of 17x7 if they are out there.

Thanks for the pics anyway.

 

Manufacturers don't choose the wheels/tires just because it's the best choice. They choose what works and doesn't cost much to mass produce or sub out. You can't convince me that bigger and wider doesn't perform better. Certainly, anything over 20 the performce aspect becomes suspect but defintiely a 19 on most midsize-to-large cars is going to provide better everything. Manufacturers have only recently provided better riding stock because of what the aftermarket is doing. But they still aren't gonna slap on some 20's without passing the cost to the consumer. So don't give me that stuff they know what's better. I have hung around dealers too long. They use what's cost effective first.

No offense, just wanted to get that in.

 

no offense back at ya but i hardly think that an extra inch or two of rubber on the road is the only criteria in designing a tire size to maximize the handling of a car. There are things to taken into consideration in the decision like the curb weight of the car, sidewall structure of the tire and on and on and on. Unless you are an auto engineer or designer I hardly think you're in a position to say you know more than they do and the 19" rim you just bought will maximize the car's performance.

I don't think some schmo at a tire shop can say that also, it only takes a little common sense, they find mickey mouse ways to adapt the wrong size rim to a car - hello?!?! You don't have to be Einstein to figure that out. You're going to tell me that adding adapters, extensions, whatever else they do to put on the wrong size rim is good for the car? Don't think so.


while cost is always a concern in any product one buys (you think those pricey rims you bought were mfg & plated here in the states? I guarantee you without even looking at them there were made in china...cost). But I hardly think that a mfg is going to ruin it's reputation on X car to save a few bucks, they will just tack the price onto the price of the car.

Im not saying that rims don't look good on a car I just don't think it's a good idea going outside mfg specs unless the car is being built up for some specific purpose -show, track etc.

 

I don't think I said anything about adapters, extensions or whatever. I'm saying a wider wheel is going to give better performance than the skinny wheels most manufacturers use with cost as the major factor in their selection. Larger wheels maintain speed better than a smaller diameter wheel. I wouldn't use any adapters or spacers or any of that stuff to make a wheel work. I let these bimbo's try it just so that I could tell the dealer I bought wheels from that I tried everything and the wheels don't fit....so refund all my money...no restocking fees or hidden costs. It worked. The first thing the dealer asked was, did you try......I could say, yes. But I only believe in proper fit.
In summary, I'm saying that a proper fitting larger wheel gives better performance than smaller wheels; and the reason most manufacturers don't put them out stock is the added cost. This is my opinion based on observation.

 

I agree with reggie to a certain degree...Say you have 16 or 17s on a car, an 18 inch rim with wider tires will probably give better performance, this may hold true to 19s as well, but most car manufacturers limit the rim size on their high performance / high end cars to 18s or 19s. One reason is that the ride comfort diminishes greatly and the handling is not significantly better. Also the wider the tire, the bigger the rim (heavier), the worse the gas mileage becomes...

 

Which further strenghtens my point. To get the benefits of better performance from the larger wheel, it would have to be as light as the smaller wheel. That would cost some bucks. The manufacturers are not going to spend that....especially since a lot of non-enthusiasts could care less and would not want to pay the premium.
At least some of the dealers have come around to the present. JMLexus sells 20 forged wheels with any car. They ain't cheap. They're from a company called Forgetec....not sure of the spelling....they cost 7K and are 1 piece....which I like. They look pretty darn good, too.