Rim Upgrade 18' Or 19"

[dave.md.nguyen]

Hi All!

I am relatively new to the forum and the information provided has been amazing and much appreciated. This post might be somewhat redundant but here goes.

I have a 2001 GS 430. Silver Exterior. Black interior.

Just got it July 5th after totaling my car.

I have the Stock 17" rims currently and was debating on upgrading the rims. Before I do i just wanted to ask the forums opinon on the differences between getting 18" and 19"

I would like to put on the Petrol Vengence, Metrix or the Nixon. Thoughts?

Vengence: http://www.wheelsnext.com/wheels-tires-pac...ypersilver.html

Metrix: http://www.wheelsnext.com/wheels-tires-pac...ypersilver.html

Nixon: http://www.wheelsnext.com/wheels-tires-pac...ypersilver.html

I believe the stock rims are 17"x8"

My main questions are the following.

1. Upgrading to 19 do i have to change any suspension?

2. Upgrading to 18 is it worth it? Or just leave it at 17?

3. How wide can i go on tires? should I just leave it at 8" wide?

4. What speed rating on tires are recommended? and or tires in general.

Thank you for any respsonses. I appreciate your efforts.

[sakataj]

imho dont understand why anyone asks someone else's opinion on rims.......the MOST important thing is that YOU like them and dont give a crap about anyone else!

1. no you dont have to......but it will look lifted so i would suggest at the least you would get some aftermarket lowering springs and from what i know are factory strust dont like to be lowered so some aftermarket struts too! me personally i would go with some coilovers!

2. i would say yes but thats a personal opinion! i like 18's more than 17's!

3. i think dont quote me or anything but i think u can go up to 11" it maybe 10.5" though

4. depends on how fast you gonna go! like for some reason my stupid governor kicks on at 122 so i dont need v,w,y rated tires (i did give it a little cushion and went with h rated tires) here look at this website

http://www.dunntire.com/Learning_Center/Tire_Speed_Ratings

and theres my $0.02. hope some of that helped. oh yeah welcome to the club and congrats on the new car! if u sell old rims i might be interested in them!

brian

[dave.md.nguyen]

imho dont understand why anyone asks someone else's opinion on rims.......the MOST important thing is that YOU like them and dont give a crap about anyone else!

1. no you dont have to......but it will look lifted so i would suggest at the least you would get some aftermarket lowering springs and from what i know are factory strust dont like to be lowered so some aftermarket struts too! me personally i would go with some coilovers!

2. i would say yes but thats a personal opinion! i like 18's more than 17's!

3. i think dont quote me or anything but i think u can go up to 11" it maybe 10.5" though

4. depends on how fast you gonna go! like for some reason my stupid governor kicks on at 122 so i dont need v,w,y rated tires (i did give it a little cushion and went with h rated tires) here look at this website

http://www.dunntire.com/Learning_Center/Tire_Speed_Ratings

and theres my $0.02. hope some of that helped. oh yeah welcome to the club and congrats on the new car! if u sell old rims i might be interested in them!

brian

Thank you for your reply! Your information and feedback is much appreciated.

I posted pictures and links just to see if anyone has had experience with these specific rims.

1. So 19s would look lifted eh? SHIZA! Coilovers going to make this upgrade way more expensive. If I get 18''s and get springs would that be ok for the car? or would I still need to upgrade the struts?

2. With 18"s it does offer more of a choice. If I went to 18"s would the car still look so lifted? Or would it actually minimize the gap a little bit?

3. Width was more of a question to see if i had any options for different rims.

4. Speed rating guess more of a personal choice for the tire style and what fits the rims. Plenty of these rim/tire packages come with pretty high speed ratings anyway.

Thanks again for your response, it is much appreciated.

[Neo]

I would like to put on the Petrol Vengence, Metrix or the Nixon. Thoughts?

Out of the 3, style-wise, I like the Vengeance. I have never heard of the brand so I cannot give feedback on quality.

1. Upgrading to 19 do i have to change any suspension?

Only if you want to although it is recommended. If you swap out the springs to lower, it is better to upgrade the shocks too. The change in the springs will probably decrease the life of the OEM shocks. You can wait until the shocks fail and then replace. You will just have to pay for installation twice (once for springs install and later for shocks install).

2. Upgrading to 18 is it worth it? Or just leave it at 17?

Any change is a change. Only you can decide if it is worth it. It was to me. :)

No matter what setup you decide, the wheel gap will NOT change UNLESS you change the overall wheel diameter. If you get the appropriate tires, ground clearance and fender gap should stay the same. It will only LOOK lifted because of the more metal/less rubber aspect.

3. How wide can i go on tires? should I just leave it at 8" wide?

I would go for a staggered setup. I would go with 8.5 or 9.0 front and 10 or 10.5 rear. With these setups, offsets are important. The three wheels you listed did not show offset info so you are taking their word that things will fit. It also comes down to how aggressive/flushed you want the setup. Do you want bolt on or you are willing to take a few steps to have it more flushed?

4. What speed rating on tires are recommended? and or tires in general.

Best you can afford for the conditions you plan to drive it. :) Tires come into play for going AND stopping.