I have the 16 inch oem wheels on my 02 Ultra I purchased earlier this year from a Lexus dealer. I notice the silver wheel paint has started to flake in a few places. Should I try to refinish these, or replace with a new set of chrome wheels...that is if there are any available in a 16. If I do refinish, would you guys advise going to a Lexus dealer or somewhere else?

I live in the snow belt, and have heard it might be best to stay with these wheels. I've also read staying with 16's are the best way to insure the most comfortable ride, which is important to me.


Thanks to all for your input and advice.

 

If you don't mind getting it refinish, then do it. A lot cheaper than getting new rims.

 

As long as they do a good job of refinishing. The previous owner had the factory 18's on my 05 repainted with the color of the factory 17's. The job was not that good but i must say i kinda like the painted color over the polished look that originally came on it and the spare.

 

Why would your Ultra come with 16s??

 

That would be because 16" wheels were standard on the 2002 LS430: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2002/2002LSspecs.pdf

 

Sorry...........I just always seen them on 17s........... i didnt know

 

Do they spot finish, or do they have to do the entire wheel? Does anyone have a ballpark figure for what it costs?

Thanks!

 

I have 18's on my 05 LS 430 and I have the same problem with flaking. I'm thinking about getting them powder coated. I don't want to pay high dollars for new chromes. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

I had a scraped silver wheel refinished on a lease car my son had for about $130 IIRC. There are mobile services that perform this service. Talk to some local car dealers about who they use.

 

An alternative would be to downgrade the wheels to winter wheels and get a new set.

 

Dealer charged me $150 to have one refinished. I believe they spot finished. Came back looking like new.

 

We reccommend using a national company called Alloy Wheel Repair. They do a professional job. In the case of a 16" it will be cheaper to buy a refinished wheel. If not we can get you the wheel at a wholesale price for being a forum member. Email me directly at
stockwheelsolutions @hotmail.com

 

'02 Ultras came with 17 inch wheels. My guess is that they were swapped somewhere along the line.

 

This sounds right to me as well.

 

Do you have any Lexus documentation on that? I've never seen 17" wheels shown in the feature list of the 2001-02 Ultra package. I do see that 17" wheels were a $100 standalone option on the 2001-02 LS430. 17" wheels were, however, standard beginning with the 2003 model year on both the standard and Ultra LS430.