I'd love to get a set of $2,000+ wheels, but my budget is down at the bottom end of the price range. I've located two that I think would look good on my silver '03:

1. MOMO FXL-1 $146 each, including shipping, from Buy Wheels Today. (I may use a different seller, especially if someone's had a negative experience with this one)
Here's an eBay link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18x8-...Q5fAccessories

2. American Racing AR95T $159 each, including shipping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18x8-...mZ150484422731

I have looked at the tire fitment threads and believe these will work, although I have noticed that the offset on one is 40 and the other is 30.

So I have a few questions:

1. Are these wheels safe for an SC430? I am familiar with American Racing products from way back, so that had some influence on that choice. I'm not an aggressive driver, but I will put my foot down on occasion. Alabama roads aren't the best, either. (Earlier this year, a woman passenger was killed by a piece of asphalt or concrete knocked loose from a pothole on an Interstate highway that I regularly use on trips to Georgia.)

2. Would I be better off saving $500 and buying the twist center caps for my old wheels? I have the painted wheels, not chrome, and the twists I can find are chrome.

3. How about investing in coilovers? Lowering the body is an issue because I have a steep driveway with an angle at the bottom that already scrapes slightly. Since I just bought tires to replace my RFs, I don't want to go to a bigger size of wheel. I might be able to catch a set of wheels and tires on eBay from someone upgrading.

4. If I use either of the two above wheels, will I need to paint my brake calipers? When I was looking for my SC430 back in July, I drove a silver/black that had custom wheels and heavy-duty brakes, but the calipers had been painted red, then allowed to fade, so they looked somewhat tatty. I didn't buy it because of the black interior, but that's an entire new and longwinded thread. I guess I could paint the calipers black if I needed to.

5. With my stock tires, can I go to a 9.5-inch wide wheel? I don't recall that issue being mentioned in the fitment guide. I'm hoping to save $$ at the tire center by having the wheels replaced when it's time for a rotation.

Any advice?

As usual, thanks for sharing your experience.

 

I don’t have answers to all your questions because I’ve been struggling with some of the same concerns. I’m just a guy who’s got pie plates and some ideas at this point. Well, one thing I can definitely offer is that if you change out the pie plates with anything else, including the twist style caps you will see more of the brake calipers. So you can start putting a plan together for them. My thought is to do them in black when the time comes.

As far as the choice of wheels goes, I worry about quality at the very lowest price points, notwithstanding that they may have appearance issues as well. Obviously the biggest concern would be structural failure resulting from poor casting technique or substandard metal. Even if the manufacturer (like American) guarantees the product against such failure, they will exclude consequential damages – like my car. Since the static load on each front wheel is over 1000lb, I’ve decided to avoid the $150 wheels. The dynamic loads will be many times higher in almost any driving situation, let alone in an environment with poor roads (ours aren’t that great either). I am not sure just how much more to spend or what manufacturers to look at right now. When I do replace my wheels it will be with units which exactly match the geometry of the stock wheels. It will not be a deal breaker if they don’t accommodate the TPMS sensors. I believe I read somewhere that the 245 tires may be OK with a 9” rim as a maximum; however, you should do your own additional research to confirm. There is a sticky post with the fitment possibilities.

Like you, I have the painted alloy wheels with the pie plates and can only find chrome-ish twist center caps. The look of that is probably no worse than the chrome style pie plates in the same situation, but I was hoping for something that looks less like a mistake.

My personal position on coilovers is that I’m not going to use them. If you’re on a tight budget that decision has probably been made for you as well. Your driveway won’t help you either. Just my random thoughts. Maybe others can share some of their wisdom.

 

Hi ausbun,

Back in '02 I was in the same boat as regards the '97 BMW 840 that I had just bought. I eventually went with a BBS wheel from Tire Rack ( BBS, I 'understood' ) made wheels for BMW. They never really felt 'right' to me; and I had to use some spacers. I eventually went with a factory BMW, but different, wheel that was an option on another version of the 8-series.

For me, it comes down to safety: the more you pay - the more you get.

IMO, go for something from Lexus, if you can. I got a set of '06 wheels from another guy on here who was upgrading to something else. You might ask here if anyone has a set of '06-'10 wheels for sale from an SC430.

Doesn't cost anything to ask.

Jerry Baumchen

 

Another thought - the Lexus Tourmaline style wheel is really nice. About $250 each from eBay sellers. Probably about $350 from Lexus dealers. Something to be said for predictable OEM quality.

 

I really dig the Momos, was thinking about getting them myself.

However, I found 4 brand new twist caps.



The twist caps might be a decent upgrade till you have enough to get your $2000 set you want.

 

the momos look pretty nice

 

Iamtheodor:

I wouldn't mind that look at all! Just not chrome on the twist caps.