Didin

Right, sorted it guys. 7.5x19 ET45 with 225/35 tyres. They should go straight on without any faffing about with arches, and the Mrs can drive the car as low as she wants. Went for Kahn RS-Vs. They're not quite what she wanted, but settled on it to be "different". Thanks for all your re-assuring advice - will post pics once they're on. Cheers Diddn

Yeah, I've had a look at your wheels gord. Nice, but not what the Mrs would go for - she wants a split look with polished/diamond cut rim - these women eh !! But I'll deffo keep them in mind as I may not find anything by the weekend. I'll keep looking in the meantime.

He did mention I'll have problems if the car is lowered, so Like I said, those with standard suspension probably get away with those shallow offsets. Refurb, well thats where the saga started ........ The wheels went off to the refurb place on Monday, They got sand blasted and ready for painting when I got a phone call yesterday telling me that one of them has a "crack" on it. The refurb guys will not complete the job until it is repaired as they do not want to take any liability if the wheel falls apart. So they are on their way back to me - should have them by tomorrow to have a look at this crack. I thought I'd rather get a new set than have it repaired. So now the car is up on axle stands in my garden, and my wife is back from the States on saturday and needs to use it for work on Monday!! So I need to get some new wheels on it by the weekend!! The nearest one I've found that "may" fit is a 19x8.5 ET 43, but I'm still not sure whether to risk it. I just can't find any 19x8 ET45s anywhere, they're not even listed by the manufacturers. :(

You can run 225-235 tyres on the front with that offset and that size wheel. What 19s have you got, any pics? ← Yeah, I know I can go bigger on the tyres, but I didn't want to change the overall radius too much from standard, so went for the 215s. They're Wheel mania alloys (no sure of the name) but its a 9 or 10 spoke in Anthracite with a diamond cut rim. I bought them off a member on here a couple of years ago and not they'r looking a bit tatty - no pics I'm afraid. Its my wife's car, so admittedly I don't fuss about it too much and take pictures of it (unlike my car ;) ) Was just speaking to a Alloy wheel dealer who reckons he's put loads of 19x8.5 ET38 on the ISs with only minor rear arch rolling. He said the fronts fit perfectly flush with the arch and don't stick out at all. He actually said we wasn't allowed to sell any wheel that sticks out of the arches.

What width are your? 8 or 8.5? I can't understand how they are being sold with ET35s! They must be going on cars with standard suspension. I'm riding mine with the tyres just inside the arches at the mo, must be lowered about 50mm or so.

I'm already on Tein Coilovers and the current wheels are 19x8 ET45, running 215/35s causes no rubbing on either side, perfect fit. I just need a new set but can't find any at the same size and offset.

What I'm worried about with an 8.5" at a 42mm offset is it hitting the suspension. Other than your beasty wheels, theres not a lot of 8x19 with a 40mm offset, let alone 45.

Hi Peeps, I'm looking into getting some new Alloys pronto, and having a look at some of the manufacturers websites, they seem specify that a 8.5 x 19" rim with 35mm offset is suitable for an IS200/300. (eg, Antera & Kahn) Has anyone actually tried fitting a wheel of this size with a 35mm offset? Will it not poke out of the arch too much? I've read up on some of the posts here and the general agreement is that for an 8" wide rim, a 45mm offset is required, which will presumably keep it just inside the arch. So surely if going half an inch wider and moving it 10mm further out on the offset, its gonna stick out like 15mm??? I'm a bit confused.

Couldn't you go to a different place which has laser alignment equipment. Laser alignment equipment attaches to the outiside of the wheel, doesn't need to go between the wheel and the arch at all.

OK, I've move the pics onto photo bucket. Can you either see the pics or click on the links to see them now?

Wahey - got the pics working eventually. :)

it says: Forbidden You don't have permission to access /picture/sraid163/pabab77c827eee411f76c10edf66911cf/f49444be.jpg on this server. ← Yeah, I know (see edit in last post). I'm trying to figure out another wayof displaying the pics. Shame you can't add attachements here.

piccies. Before with the eibachs : After with the Teins : Edit: No one can see these pics on image station as access will be denied, and I don't know how to make it public. Any other way I can attach a pic here? Edit 2 : Yay, got the pics working. :)

Installed them on Saturday and lowered the car a bit more so that theres only just about a cm gap between the arch and the tyres. Looks pretty cool and you guys were right - the handling is absolutely superb!!! I'll post a couple of pics here when I get a chance. :)

Yay, I got delivery this morning. I'll be fitting them tomorrow!!! Marcus, I only get to drive the car on weekends/evenings if we go out as its my Mrs' car - she uses it for work everyday. I'm sure it'll be a big improvement though. I'm gonna lower it a little more (although riding on 19" rims) and see how I get on. With the eibachs on at the mo,I can have the car fully loaded at the back and boot, so much that the rear wheels are pretty much inside the arch and go over speed bumps and I've not once heard/felt any rubbing. I'll post a couple of pics of the before and after look. Cheers Diddn

Hi, I haven't checked back in here since I posted - but funnily enough, I went ahead and bought those exact Teins!!! The likes of Konis & Bislteins etc were coming up to £450-ish so I looked around on the Tein website and saw the basics for not too much more. Should have them delivered before the weekend - which means theres gonna be a set of Eibachs I'll need to get rid of very soon :winky:

Hi Peoples, Its been AGES since I posted in here!!! Anyways, its time to change the dampers on the IS200 as the ride its getting a bit wobbly, especially on the motorway. Just doesn't hold the road as well as a few months ago. The Dampers I'm assuming are the original ones as I don't have any record of them being changed ever - and the car is now on 95K+ miles. Anyways, its riding on eibach springs, and I want some dampers which will work well with them. Want something a little uprated from standard, but not too harsh as to lose too much of the ride quality. Any suggestions? Thanks Diddn

Hi, I fitted the new head unit over the weekend. What I found was that the front speakers (mid and tweet) work off one channel, but the rears mid and tweet are on separate channels - therefore you need a headunit with 6 channels - 2 for the front and 4 for the rear? Is this the case? What I've done is parallel connected the rear mid and tweet onto the rear channel of the head unit. Not sure if this will drop the impedance too much though - seems to work OK so far without any cut out. Its supposed to be a 4ohm load on each channel. Any comments?

Took me about 4-5 hours to do mine, but its was the first time I did a Lex - so a bit of a learning curve. If you've got decent tools you could get it done in abour 3 hours I reckon.

I've got the OEM springs off an Apr 2001 Sport sitting in my garage - I beleive they're 15mm lower ones if you're interested.

Great Rob, this is an excellent guide. Exactly what I needed. Thanks a billion mate. Didin

No articles there regarding how to remove the stereo :(

Hi Peeps, Is there a guide here on how to remove the OEM head unit from the IS200. I've tried searching, but can't find a guide of any sort. Any instructions would be welcomed. Cheers Didin

I'll go for one if its not too late and around the £30 mark too.

Hi all, I've fit the springs onto the car. Although the ride is firmer and it rolls less round the corners, I can't say that it looks much lower, esp on the rear. Does it take a few days/weeks for the springs to bed in and go a bit lower?