IS250 wheels on my IS200?

[HoodRich]

Hi guys,

I am in the process of getting 18" Lenso alloys for my IS250, and am considering fitting my IS250 wheels on the IS200. Thing is, the IS250 has staggered wheels, 225/45/17 in the front and 245/45/17 in the rear. Will the 245/45/17 be too broad for the IS200 and cause rubbing issues?

EDIT : My IS200 is lowered on stock KYB shocks and H&R35mm springs (has about 2 degrees of negative camber)

 

 

[J Henderson]

They'll fit, with a little effort...

On the front, a IS250 wheel is slightly too wide and will not clear the suspension arm as there is an inconveniently-placed "knuckle" that fouls the rim, so you'll either need to fit a 5mm spacer to get enough clearance, or you can take the zero-cost option and shave a few mm off that "knuckle" with a grinder. There's no spacers or mods needed for the rear axle.

Regarding the tyre sizes. The fronts will be fine, and width-wise, so will the rear. The only issue I can see is the height of the sidewall on a 245/45/17 as that will have a significantly bigger radius than stock IS200 sizes.

Here's how my old car looked with IS250 wheels;

My car was lowered on Eibach springs so your car is probably slightly lower than what you see here. I went down the route of using a 5mm spacer to clear the suspension. I also fitted a spacer on the rear to even out the stance. The rear tyre size in these pics was 245/40/17 and was a perfect fit, but I eventually just ran 225/45/17 all-round once those wore out.

[HoodRich]

Hey John,

Thanks for the response - I've said it before, but I'll say it again......your 200 looked really good.

I'm not too concerned about the front tyres....My 200 currently runs on 225/45/17......and the front wheels on my IS250 are exactly the same dimensions. I'm more concerned about the rear as the IS250 runs 245/45/17 at the rear.

"The only issue I can see is the height of the sidewall on a 245/45/17 as that will have a significantly bigger radius than stock IS200 sizes"

Excuse my ignorance, but what will the biggest problem be with the significantly bigger radius? Incorrect speedometer readings? Or other issues like touching. Speaking of touching/rubbing, did you have any rubbing when you had passengers in the rear of your IS200?

[J Henderson]

Yes, the speedo will under-read and the possibility of rubbing will be higher. Acceleration will also feel more sluggish.

It wasn't very often that my car was fully-loaded, but I personally never experienced any rubbing in the rear any time that it was.