I am thinking of filling my ls 430 fender gap with coil over and 18 inches stock wheels. I know many peeps like to upgrade to bigger after market wheels. However, i am trying to stay with oem wheels as much as i can because of the suspension , bearing will last longer with oem wheels than going for bigger wheels. Any feedback will be appreciated.

 

this whole thing about bigger wheels ruining the suspension and ruining the ride quality is blown WAY out of proportion.

your 18 inch wheels with a /50 sidewall is the same size as a 20 inch rim on a /30

it makes no difference

 

I have 255/45/19. Will that fit the ls 430 without any modification? if i choose to go with bigger wheels

 

When you increase the wheel diameter and simultaneously keep the tire OD the, you are decreasing the tire height (sidewall). When you decrease the sidewall you have less flexing of the tire. Consequently, the tire is stiffer and that will give a stiffer ride.

I can't quantify how much that affects the ride, but the more you increase the wheel size, the less sidewall you will have, which will result in a further increase in the stiffness in the ride.

 

yes your right , u lose some of the cushion that the thicker tires give you .

you do lose SOME of the comfort,,,the ride changes a bit, but u also get better handling.

People just make it sound so much worse then it actually is , once u get used to driving with 20's going back to stock feels inferior.

 

You will need to consider offset of wheels in order to decide the right tire size. There's a guy selling a new set of coil overs on vipstylecars.com also that fits our cars, just fyi.

 

Thank will check it out.

 

The other is wheel-tire weight. The stock combo with the Michelin MXM4 is going to weigh in ~54#'s. A target weight to maintain suspension feel over rough roads is going to be a similar weight. Lighter works better but often, going +2 sizes comes with a weight penalty. Some feel itm others don't. YMMV

 

Does the coil over really improve the handling through corners compare to stock?

 

This is not true at all. side wall size DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN RIDE QUALITY. I have 20" rims with low profile stretched tires so I am in the big rims camp but spreading misinformation like you are doing is just not right.

if you have an 18" wheel on a 50 series tire or a 20" wheel on a 50 series tire then YES the ride quality is pretty much the same. This is not possible to do though as everyone knows if you go up in wheels size you must go down in tire wall height to keep the same overall standing diameter.

But a 50 series tire compared to a 30 series tire is not the same when it comes to comfort. assuming both tires are 225mm wide, a 50 series tire will have a 112mm sidewall will a 30 series tire will have a 67.5mm sidewall. That means the sidewall is nearly HALF as tall. LESS SIDEWALL equals less road noise and vibration absorption which means ride quality suffers.

 

Also you are clouding HANDLING and COMFORT. Yes, larger wheel package is better for handling and the car feels much more responsive and agile. Comfort is another thing all together. No one can say with a straight face that a larger wheel package will provide the same amount of comfort.

Drive over a 3" deep pothole at 60mph and tell me that 20" rims on low profile wheels feels the same as a stock wheel setup......it is just not true

 

Agreed with you on this. I have bent 2 pieces forged wheels those are +2 sizes over stock ones over a pothole that why now i am always think twice about going anything like +2 and up over stock wheels.

 

im not spreading misinformation, ive driven on many sets of stocks and many sets of 20's and I know exactly what im talking about.

yes it does make a slight difference, but nowhere near the point of what people make it out to be

Im not sure why but people like yourself seem to want to scare people off from larger wheels, and ive seen on these forums MANY cases where people want to get bigger wheels but are talked out of it by the masses.

They say ridiculous things like a set of 20's will ruin your suspension, it will wear out your bearings, it will completely ruin the quality of the ride ,,,its all BS and misinformation.

 

this is what im talking about , you cant blame larger wheels for the fact u smashed into a pothole and damaged your wheel.

That is like saying one time I had my car painted and I scraped a bush,,,, and it scratched my paint,,,,, so don't ever get your car painted because it makes ur chances of getting scratches higher.

Yes you have a lower sidewall and you should take a little extra care, but it has nothing to do with the larger diameter wheel.

If you guys want to make your argument valid you shouldn't talk about the size of the wheel ,,,but only about tires with a lower widewall. (low profile)

 

Hey, I say take it to the extreme cause that's what these LS430's are all about!
In Dallas last weekend, saw an '02 TownCar with 24's & basically no sidewall....
Looked fabulous ya know & I'm sure it rode about the same.........
The LS is the wrong model for this nonsense IMO...
But, as always, to each their own style during your limited time in this World!!!
RW