Gs Rims On Es ?

[shahab_b]

hi everybody , I own a 1994 es300 , I bought these used chrome gs300 rims in a really good condition, but they dont fit on my car !! I dont know the offset but the tire size is 225/55/16 , thats why I though they should fit easily but they dont !!! I dont know why I didn't try them before I buy them :cries: Front is totally fine but the rear tires rub to the struts !!! just the tire though , I even got spacers ( 6/15" ) , but they still rub , the reason I bought them because I though 225 fit on ESs easily , my guess is that the problem should be between 1/2" to 1" , I dont know what to do , if I go with 2 spacers then the bolts are gonna be way too short and dangerous and there is noway that I can make the bolts longer !! I can sell these rims but I really like the look , please help .....

[Neo]

I don't know enough about the ES so you will have to help me out a bit while I give you some suggestions. There are also a lot of ES owners on board and I'm sure they will chime in.

First, the OEM GS wheel offsets are +45. When you put the wheels on, how much is left before the outside of the wheels are flushed with the fenders? I am trying to determine how big a spacer you can put on. Are you dropped?

How much do you like these wheels? Meaning, how much more do you want to invest to make this work before moving on to other wheels? Depending on how you answer these questions, two options that may come into play are larger H&R spacers ($100-$150 depending on size) and shaving your fenders. The larger H&R spacers have bolts attached to them so mounting should be no problem. Fender modification only comes into play if the wheels will overlap with the fender lip if pushed out that far.

[SKperformance]

UMM ,neo i think you are misinformed

the GS has a lower offset around -35-38mm if it was higher you would rub more on the outside of the fender not the shock

the H&R spacer is the only solution to make them fit.

they are about 100 and are never instock anywhere ,so good luck getting them

it is not the 225 tire as i have 225's and not a single rub as i have the exact offfset for my rims/car/tires

[shahab_b]

Thanks NEO for the help , first of all I am pretty sure tire won't touch the fender, I remmember there was pretty enough room for the tire , if I am right the OEM tire size of my ES is 205/65/15 . and this one is 225/55/16 , so there souldnt be that much difference between the radiousesof the wheels and tires together , I think the problem is what you said , offset +45 is way too big for this car, but I got the best deal on these rims and I am willing to even invest more to make this happen. I think the H&R spacers that you talked about should solve the problem , but there is a few questions here:

Isn't spacers dangerous ?? a rimshop person told me they are dangerous and thats he doesn't sell them , even my mechanic said they are !! but my question is if they are dangerous , how they sell them everywhere ?

my other concern is the look , eventhough I really like the look , but with adding this spacer , I dont want the tire to stay any out of the fender , thats gonna look really ugly and I guess then there is noway to findout than try them on and see how they look !!!

and also how can I get these H&R spacers ???

thanks again.

[SKperformance]

their are spacer plates ,which are dangerous and i assume you already have.

then their are H&R hubcentric spacers which are aluminum plates that blot onto your original bolts ,then it has additinal bolts to attach to the wheels .

A totally different design and just as safe as many racers use them

[shahab_b]

Thank you from both of you guys !!

the thing is front is ok , I could turn the steering all the way and nothing happened , I am saying this because I drove a little bit just on front ones and tested them!!

the problem is just the back , when I first put them on, the tire rubbed to both struts , the horizontal and vertical one , and it wasn't possible to turn the wheel by hand , even the rim rubbed a little bit to the vertical strut too , but with the 5/16" spacer , just the tire rubbed to the main strut or vertical one and it was pretty loose that I could turn the wheel by hand , but still rubbed , I am pretty sure with just one more 1/4" or same 5/16" spacer it'll be fine , there is lots of room for the fender , the problem is just bolts which are too short for adding another spacer!! and also I am pretty sure they won't stay out the fender even with two 5/16" spacers.

what do you think guys ?? should I give up and get rid of them or try some other solutions ??? I am not familiar to the brake and axle system , is that possible to make the bolts longer ?? or those H&R spacers are the last solution ??

I really appriciate your help!!

[eman_be_lexin]

Lets not mention the fact that the ES is a front wheel drive car and the GS is a rear wheel drive car. Wheels are made specifically for that purpose.

[NeiLtYmE]

not completely true.

I have LS 400 wheels. Perfect fit

[shahab_b]

yeah , I agree with NeiLtYmE , these wheels are all the same , I think it has nothing to do w/ the front wheel drive or rear ,

[SKperformance]

front wheel lexus and rear wheel drive are not the same offsets

I am pretty sure that was already explained to you above.

The more spacer plates you add the mroe dangerous it is to drive.

options

1 buy new rims

2 get H&R hubcentric spacers

3 add another plate and wait for it to fall off

4 nothing

[shahab_b]

thanks alot guys, I guess I have to go with those H&R spacers , I'll go see if I can find any tomorrow , If I can make this happen I'll put some pictures for you all to see here, thanks again.

[Neo]

It seems I missed a bit of discussion. :) I usually only check in once every night.

skperformance was half right. I always thought the OEM GS wheels were +45. They are actually +50. I checked on my 16s sitting in the garage and with a friend who has the 17s. They are not in the 3x range, however.

The issue of FWD and RWD wheels are misleading. They have nothing to do with how the wheels work. Companies that do not offer custom offsets or ones that try to simplify by not having offset numbers use these FWD and RWD offset terms. These terms just translates to offset numbers. As long as the wheels fit the car, a FWD wheel will work on a RWD car and vice versa.

The option list from skperformance is what you are basically left with. It seems like you are leaning towards the spacers. Make sure you get the H&R ones.

The problems with many generic spacers are that the OEM bolts can accomodate only so much and that they cover up the hub making the wheels lugcentric. The former can lead to dangerous situations if large spacers are added while the latter leads to vibrations. The H&R takes care of both these issues.

Here is a pic of the spacer:

Good luck.

[tundra-lover]

Everyone I know that has run spacers has had vibration issues. Being on the rear only, don't know?

[1SICKLEX]

Everyone I know that has run spacers has had vibration issues. Being on the rear only, don't know?

←

I have 16" SC 400 wheels on my 92 ES. They do rub with passengers in the back. Otherwise fine. But like you, the front clears fine, the rears are inset. You can see that the offset is wrong.

A way to have them fit is possibly a lower profile tire.

[Neo]

Everyone I know that has run spacers has had vibration issues. Being on the rear only, don't know?

←

I don't usually recommend front spacers either but on the rears, it should be fine. Do the people you know that have spacers have the H&R or something similar that keeps the wheels hub-centric. If the wheels become lug-centric, you will get vibrations. The amount of vibrations will be somewhat based on how centered you put the wheels back on since you are now counting on the lugs to center the wheels.