knip21

Does anyone remember the IS Long Beach Grand Prix pace car from a few years ago? I remember it having BBS wheels -- 18"F and 19"R The new Corvette is also set up that way. Can I pull this off with my Sportcross. I am currently running 18x8F and 18x9.5R (shaved the rear fenders of course).


Wadaya guys think?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yes you can always do that. the nsx has the same setup too with larger wheels in the back (at least the new one).

i am not sure how it would look though. if you think about the vette and the nsx, their styling design basically help them to make this setup looks good, wth larger wheels in the back. but the is300 (sedan or sportcross), i am not sure if having 18 in the front and 19 in the back would look good. provided that you have the right tires on both, the front will seem to have a lot of tires and the rear would be on rubber band

and you can't get more rubber in the back otherwise you are just like running 20s -- bad idea

knip21

thanx for the reply romini--

i think it will look fine on my sportcross (er... my wife's). originally the rear of the sportcross is set higher than the front. i had lowering springs installed so that the front and rear sit even -- by doing this i noticed the rear roofline slopes down instead of parallel to the ground. this gives the sportcross more of a wagon look from a side profile rather than a sporty hatchback. i think going with 19s in the rear will raise the roofline and give the car its original aggressive stance.

SoCalSC4

I wouldn't stagger the diameters on any Lexus car. The C5, C6, NSX, and Carrera GT have this type of set-up, but they were designed for it- the front wheel arches have a smaller radius than the rear, and the computers "know" the front and rear tires are different diameters..

The big issue on the Lexus is maintaining the tire diameters so the TCS and ABS functions don't freak out. To do this, you'll need to run something like 225/40-18 front and 225/35-19 rear- this means the rear tires will have a lower profile- this is necessary to maintain the same rolling diameters (circumference) front and rear.
In my opinion, using lower profile tires on the rear is NOT a good look.

Also, you'll need to slam the front of the car to maintain a consistent rim-to-fender look. Due to the taller front tire and smaller rim, the front wheels won't appear to 'fill up' the fenders as much as the bigger diameter rear wheels.

A few 2nd generation MR2 guys have done the 18' front/19" rear thing, and it looks HORRIBLE!! The rear wheels fill the fender arches nicely, but it looks like they couldn't afford the matching front wheels! Also, keep in mind, an extra inch of wheel diameter can significantly affect the styling of a wheel- in some cases, 18" and 19" versions of the same wheel look quite different, due to the length and width of the spoke design.

I would run 19s all around on the IS. If the wife is driving it, chances are 18s front & rear will be more practical.

Captain Bone

I believe Dex or Drew used to have it with his blue gs400.

Check out the gallery for some pics.

-Anthony

knip21

good point SoCalSC4. this is the kind of feedback i was looking for. if staggered diameters will mess with the car's computers (brakes wise) then i don't think it's worth the bother. the staggered set-up on the IS300 Long Beach Grand Prix pace car looks really nice, but i'm sure they modified other things beyond just slapping on the wheels and replacing the suspension. if i knew exactly what to do to accomodate a staggered set-up then i would do it... since i don't have that kind of know-how then i'll just leave the 18s alone.