17 Inch Wheels

[Oldcarlover]

Last year I purchased an 06 ls430. I saw the wheel size increase from 15 to 17 from my old 95 LS400. I was not real happy. I purchased the car with new tires. Now i have crappy wear and flat after 20K miles and the tire cannot be repaired. Low profile tires are not cheap! Is there a problem going back to a 15' wheel? I can't see any but you never know with these new cars.

[dcfish]

Don't you mean 16 inch ? I don't think Lexus used 15 inch, I could be wrong...

[FatCat23]

Check the overall diameter of the new wheel/tire vs the old wheel/tire. As long as the overall diameter is the same then there is no difference except for looks. Any difference in diameter would make your speedometer inaccurate and possibly affect gas mileage.

I find it hard to believe that you'd really drive an '06 with the "old" wheels. It would certainly wreck the looks.

Try some place like tirerack.com. They frequently have sales. I've had four LS's so far and bought all my tires and wheels from them. I just got 245/35-20 for my '03 LS430 for $110 each. Shipping, mounting and balancing came to $155/ tire. I just got premium Bridgestone all-season tires for my daughters 95 LS400 for $130 ea. from them too.

You might notice a change in handling if you change the aspect ratio, i.e. the profile of the tire. The springs and bushings are designed to work with a certain "profile." It won't be a big change though.

I don't mean to sound like a hater, but if you expect to get tires for an LS for $50, you better buy a Honda......

[SRK]

The early LS up to '92 used 15 inch wheels, but in '93 the brakes were enlarged and 16's were installed. So your '95 had 16's.

Buy good quality tires for the wheels you have now, and make sure the car has had an accurate four wheel alignment. Going to a smaller wheel diameter is a retrograde step in every sense.