1998 Ls400 20" Wheel Problem

[dflemLS400]

My brother just got me 20" motoring wheels for my 1998 lexus ls400, and I was EXCITED to see them on there.

We have a problem though. There is slight rubbing on the lining on the inside of the fender, which is not that big of a deal. It only rubs hard when I cut it on a sharp turn. The major problem is that we had to put in 1" spacers so that the spokes would clear the calipers. That causes the tire to stick out about a 3/4" outside the wheel housing (or whatever you call it). That in itself creates the biggest problem. Whenever I hit a pot-hole or any dip in the road, the top of the tire grinds against the outer-edge of the body (I can attach an image if needed).

what should we do? Sell them? change calipers? new tires? I would modify the body/suspension or brake system to be honest. However, I do want chrome split 5 spoke rims for my ls400 like the ones I have. Are there any wheels split 5-spoke that work for my car? preferably 20" but if 19 or 18" is the biggest I can go, no problem.

Thanks in advance for any help... :)

[VMF]

cant really change calipers, these are 4 piston calipers and changing them would sacrifice a lot of breaking perfomance. plus its not gonna do much anyway.

not sure what can you do about the caliper or the wheelwell. ive seen LS with 20 inchers, but only on pictures. not in a real life.

i would suggest going for a smaller size

[rwallican]

Funny, I have 20's on a 96ls and don't have those problems. If it's not simple to fix and if you can sell them, go ahead and then buy some 19s. I have 245/35/20's all the way around.

[sonyman]

Different wheels have different clearances. It's not the size of the wheel; it's that particular wheel I'm afraid. Sell the wheels and buy different ones that clear BBK-spec brakes.

[SKperformance]

It all depends on how much the wheels stick out . If it is less than 1/2 and inch the fenders can be rolled to cover then up . I have mine pulled out in front about 1 1/2 inches to clear as i have a 15mm spacer for the brakes and air suspension.

[Lexuses71]

It's problems like this poor guy is having that made me research rim fits for my '98 LS400 before buying anything. Tirerack told me the Zilinx 18" Modena rims I was zeroing in on had a very tight fit gap but would clear the calipers, and they do. I've heard some folks have not had issues with 20's (but more that have), but I wasn't taking any chances. 18" looks good enough for me. And no rubbing issues whatsoever.

[SKperformance]

The problem with a 95 and newer LS 400 is they have 4 pot calipers so the x factor/ back spacing needs to clear them. Then the over all offset of the rim then the width in that order are how you find out if they fit. A good manufacture makes a wheel with disk clearances in lo medium and high to clear brakes.

The overall diameter of the rim means nothing and will not affect rubbing in any way.