1998 Ls400 Alloy Wheel Fitment

[Rob00158]

I am looking for some new alloy wheels to tidy up my LS. I've spoken to Rochford tyres this afternoon who have advised me that many wheels do not fit this model of car due to the large brake calipers, even though the offset is 50??

Anyway....I am looking at a set of IS250 alloys on eBay and I was wondering if anybody could confirm if these will fit an LS400 and clear the brake calipers?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Rob.

[T7RY B]

You should not have a problem with these wheels. Same PCD c/bore and the offset should be okay

Other wheels that fit okay are Mazda RX8. There are some pics on here somwhere with them fitted look pretty good too.

I put 18"s on my LS400 no problem. (Going back a few years) They were off an IS200

Just had a look at those on eBay Good price at the moment.

[Manc]

Hi Rob,

try the forums i saw a couple on wheels - sizes are a problem but mazda were mentioned a lot. I was just looking at the pics under peoples names and ask them

Hey T7RY B,

where did u get that pic from, the rx300 cartoon squashed one. They are brill

Go on, let me in i am your neighbor after all :)

[T7RY B]

They don't do the LS for some reason but they do all the other Lexus models.

Link here....Lexus cartoon cars

[MAT_8N]

rx8 wheels dont fit straight on a mk3 for the reasons you said, you need spacers, they do look good tho.

its a right carry on tho, i got 20mm bolt on spacers but the original bolts are too long!! so i've now got 10mm on too!!

pain but worth it

[flotsam]

I'm assuming you've got a MkIV, in which case you've probably only got about 4mm between the standard 16" and the calipers.

I'm thinking about buying the 17" DHP wheels which should clear the calipers with no problems and would be designed with the car in mind, though they would have stiffened and lowered springs etc.

Some alloys are chrome or aluminium finished without paint and these may be more resistant to corrosion. Alcoa, for example, say theirs aren't painted:

https://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/europe/en...hnical_care.asp

"Alcoa wheels are uncoated. The highly corrosion resistant alloy that is used for Alcoa wheels minimizes oxidation. Maintaining the original lustre of the wheels is easy with ALclean and ALpolish, which will keep your wheels bright and shiny for years.

See maintenance section for more information on ALclean and ALpolish.

Corrosion

Due to aluminium's natural resistance to corrosion, Alcoa forged aluminium wheels do not need to be painted. Certain environments, such as livestock hauling, can lead to corrosion. Other potentially corrosive materials include salt, highly alkaline substances and chloride compounds."

[Jackdaniels]

Hi guys, just to double check i have been offered some oem is250 rims with 2 wheels 245/45/R17 and the other 2 at 225/45/R17. Will these fit straight onto my Mark IV Ls?

[Haylands]

Hi guys, just to double check i have been offered some oem is250 rims with 2 wheels 245/45/R17 and the other 2 at 225/45/R17. Will these fit straight onto my Mark IV Ls?

Hi

The wheels will clear the calipers but the tyres may rub, especially the 245 ones... there is really only one way to find out.... try them.

There are differences between different makes of tyre, not all 245/45/17 are exactly the same size....

I changed make of tyres on the 430 and although they were the same size the new ones rubbed the wheelarch on full lock.....

Good Luck

Pete

[Jackdaniels]

Hi guys, just to double check i have been offered some oem is250 rims with 2 wheels 245/45/R17 and the other 2 at 225/45/R17. Will these fit straight onto my Mark IV Ls?

Hi

The wheels will clear the calipers but the tyres may rub, especially the 245 ones... there is really only one way to find out.... try them.

There are differences between different makes of tyre, not all 245/45/17 are exactly the same size....

I changed make of tyres on the 430 and although they were the same size the new ones rubbed the wheelarch on full lock.....

Good Luck

Pete

Thanks for that, i'm going to pick them up tonight so hopefully they wont rub. They have Dunlops on them at the minute, they are the standard wheels that came with the is220.

[MAT_8N]

i've got 240x 45x18's?, cant remember exactly. but i did need to steer away from a low profile as it was a lot smaller than the standard 16" tyre. i should have gone bigger on the profile or width as the are still slightly smaller rolling radius.

if you are going for 245x45x17 then they will look tiny in your arches and you'll be reving a lot higher and your mpg will go even lower!

i did try a 225x45x19s and they were minute!!!!

i looked into it long and hard before i changed mine as they can look so wrong.

also i'd double check they do go over your calipers? and check the offset. the LS is a lot bigger car than the IS so the wheel set up will be quite a bit different.

just because its the correct pcd and off a lexus doesn't mean they will go straight on.

[Jackdaniels]

Hi Mat, just did a quick search and found this thread

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=57280

where Steve said that his celsior tyres are 245/45/17 and 255/40/17.

I cant find a definative answer so will have to bite the bullet and buy them as they are at a good price with tyres.

[steve2006]

To help you decide here are some pictures of my wheels.

The suspension is standard coilovers with TEMS there is plenty of wheelarch clearance and I can get my hand between the calipers and the rims.

In fact if anything I could do with lowering a bit.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e191/ste...uswheels002.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e191/ste...uswheels001.jpg

[MAT_8N]

i think mine are 245/40/18? i should have gone for 245/45/18 as i think they are to small.

i think you'll end up getting bigger wheels but they will look smaller.

go here to compare your old and new tyre sizes

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

judgeing by old tyres which were 225/60/16 i think?(i think yours will be pretty similar) the 245/45/17 should be okish but the 225's will be way to small and need changing, dont forget to figure that into your pricing. but if your old tyres are 235/60/16s then they'll all be to small(i'm away so cant check my old tyres)

just tyring to help buddy, i know how much of a nightmare it is!

[Jackdaniels]

Hi Mat, Thanks for all your advice i checked the tyres out on my car and they just looked small so i didnt buy them in the end. I can get the alloys on their own for cheaper as i will have to fit my own tyres.

If anyone is interested they are these ones on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...amp;mfe=sidebar

[Jackdaniels]

Well i managed to pick up a nice set of lexus rims on the weekend.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...amp;mfe=sidebar

They didnt come with any nuts or anything, should i get a new set or can i just use the ones already on my stock alloys?

Also the tyres are not exactly right for my car they are 4.5% off but checking it states that if my speedo says 60mph i'm doing 57.5mph. Is this ok or am i gonna be doing some serious damage to my car?

Thanks again

[passman53]

Is this ok or am i gonna be doing some serious damage to my car?

Hello.

You have actually lowered the gear ratios slightly so you will have increased the fuel consumption as at a given speed you will be doing more revs. It will accelerate slightly quicker for the same reason. However the differences will be very small and will not cause any problems. The wheels are the same as I had on my Mk111 with 225/55 tyres.

The sat nav may be out a little on the distances

[Jackdaniels]

Thanks for the info! I will hopefully make the change to them shortly. Is there anyone that i can goto to get the wheels fitted and balanced for a decent rate round london? I phoned kwikfit and they want £11.16 a corner.