Advice on fitting smaller wheels to GS450h

[reid]

Having now driven a little over 2000 miles in my recently acquired 2010 GS 450h, I am very pleased with my purchase but a little disappointed with the quality of the ride, exacerbated no doubt because of the relative silence within the car. I am fitted with the standard (?) 245/40/R18inch Lexus alloys and the road noise, plus the 'hard' ride over the poor quality of todays roads in UK all combine to consider a possible change to 17inch or perhaps even 16 inch wheels with the commensurate increase to 50/55/60 section tyres. 

I would like to remain with Lexus alloys and possibly seek a set which could be refurbished to 'as new' condition. There is much to consider in this change with different wheel specs., and I would be pleased to hear of other members experiences with a similar change. One of our number with an identical Lexus,  replying to a previous post mentioned that he enjoyed great comfort and relative silence  using .../50/R17 tyres. I know not whether 17inch wheels were an option on the 'face lift'  450h but any constructive comments would be welcome. I am mid '70s and have no need to be overly concerned about tight cornering and road holding at the extremes of the driving experience;   I just want the 'magic carpet experience'  which is so nearly delivered by this excellent vehicle and could be achieved I feel with a change of wheel/tyre size.

[Chris111]

The 2010 facelift S3 GS 450h had 17" wheels fitted as standard shod with 225/50/17 tyres in SE trim spec. The 18" wheels were standard fit on the SE-L but were an option for the SE so you should be able to fit 17" to your car. You will not be able to put 16" wheels on as they will not clear the front brake calipers. I believe the member you are referring to is John aka @royoftherovers 

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Chris111 said:

The 2010 facelift S3 GS 450h had 17" wheels fitted as standard shod with 225/50/17 tyres in SE trim spec. The 18" wheels were standard fit on the SE-L but were an option for the SE so you should be able to fit 17" to your car. You will not be able to put 16" wheels on as they will not clear the front brake calipers. I believe the member you are referring to is John aka @royoftherovers 

Thanks Chris, you beat me to it!

I would not recommend a profile of less than 50.

[Chris111]

The S3 GS 300 SE also had 17" wheels fitted as standard and the attached eBay listing shows you what they look like and I believe these are the same as were fitted to the 450h SE from 2010:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-GS-IS-17-Alloy-Wheel-With-Nexen-225-50R17-5-5mm-Tyre/253882101459?hash=item3b1c8d6ed3:g:e08AAOSwRdta6dGp:rk:35:pf:0&LH_ItemCondition=4

 

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Chris111 said:

The S3 GS 300 SE also had 17" wheels fitted as standard and the attached ebay listing shows you what they look like and I believe these are the same as were fitted to the 450h SE from 2010:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-GS-IS-17-Alloy-Wheel-With-Nexen-225-50R17-5-5mm-Tyre/253882101459?hash=item3b1c8d6ed3:g:e08AAOSwRdta6dGp:rk:35:pf:0&LH_ItemCondition=4

 

Not the same as fitted to my July 2010 model.

If you like them however, you know what to do !!

[Chris111]

11 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Not the same as fitted to my July 2010 model.

If you like them however, you know what to do !!

Ah yes sorry John. The wheels fitted from 2010 are 7 spoke not 10. Are these like yours?

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Chris111 said:

Ah yes sorry John. The wheels fitted from 2010 are 7 spoke not 10. Are these like yours?

Yes, those are mine Chris. 

[reid]

Well Gentlemen what an efficient Forum and with such helpful and positive advice being offered. I must thank both 'Chris 111' and 'royoftherovers' for their inputs coupled with such whisker clear photographs and all within 3 hours of posting my original query.  Wow!    Yes the initiator for my post was 'royoftherovers' in a post of a couple of years ago but as I am new to 'The Club'  and therefore  a newbie on the forum, I was reluctant to quote 'royoftherovers' 's post as I felt the moderators might not agree to my use of a personal post to an originator.

Cleary the way I will proceed is to hunt down a set of four 'seven spoke' 17 inch alloys as per the photo from 'Chris 111'.  One final request gentlemen : may I kindly ask for the original Lexus ref/spec. number for these 7 spoke wheels as I will be using car breakers and eBay to source a set and I would be most reluctant to purchase without definite confirmation that these are the correct wheels for a 2010  GS 450h and at what width 7.5 J or 8J? 

I am in your debt Gentlemen and thank you both very much.

[olliesgrandad]

What tyres is your car on. My GS was on factory Dunlops, but when they were replaced with Michelin Primacy 4's it made the ride much softer and quieter. Might be a better and cheaper option. There is a deal with Michelin this month of £100 cashback on 4 tyres. 

[reid]

Thank you 'olliesgrandad'  for your helpful suggestion and in all honesty, it was one that I had considered earlier as the simplest and cheapest option. I am however, mindful of many people's views on how tyres actually ride as evidenced by website surveys of purchasers views on their tyres. It is all so very subjective but I do not wish to sound ungrateful for your recommendation of Primacy 4's,  as at least you are comparing tyres on the SAME CAR, which to me has considerably more merit.  Your post is appreciated.

I am presently running on Goodyear F1 Asymetric 3 tyres which I feel are more of a performance tyre than I really need;  sadly a pair of brand new ones was fitted by the dealer from whom i bought the car to match the one third worn pair on the front.   I will certainly discuss Primacy 4 with the local tyre man and I am also considering a slightly different tyre size but still on the original 18 inch wheels. As you say, it will be much easier to just change tyres,  both make and cross section, than source, refurb and fit four 'new' wheels and tyres.

[Chris111]

15 hours ago, reid said:

Well Gentlemen what an efficient Forum and with such helpful and positive advice being offered. I must thank both 'Chris 111' and 'royoftherovers' for their inputs coupled with such whisker clear photographs and all within 3 hours of posting my original query.  Wow!    Yes the initiator for my post was 'royoftherovers' in a post of a couple of years ago but as I am new to 'The Club'  and therefore  a newbie on the forum, I was reluctant to quote 'royoftherovers' 's post as I felt the moderators might not agree to my use of a personal post to an originator.

Cleary the way I will proceed is to hunt down a set of four 'seven spoke' 17 inch alloys as per the photo from 'Chris 111'.  One final request gentlemen : may I kindly ask for the original Lexus ref/spec. number for these 7 spoke wheels as I will be using car breakers and Ebay to source a set and I would be most reluctant to purchase without definite confirmation that these are the correct wheels for a 2010  GS 450h and at what width 7.5 J or 8J? 

I am in your debt Gentlemen and thank you both very much.

The following is from an American company but the product details do state the OE part number:-

https://www.hubcaphaven.com/p/6709/aly74209-lexus-gs350-gs460-wheel-hyper-silver-4261a30010.html

I know they are listed on this site as being for the GS 350 and 460 but they were the ones fitted to the UK spec 450h.

[Chris111]

6 hours ago, reid said:

I am also considering a slightly different tyre size but still on the original 18 inch wheels.

I believe the only choice for this would be fit 235/45/18 (same size as S4 GS 450h on 8Jx18" wheels) to keep any accuracy to your speedometer, although it will still show you going faster than you are as the overall diameter will have increased compared to the standard set up.  A 225/45/18 tyre size  is virtually the same overall diameter against 245/40/18 but I'm not sure they would wide enough to fit an 8J rim (happy to be told different). If you go for the 7.5Jx17" wheels with 225/50/17 tyres the overall diameter is also virtually the same as you would expect. I would also suggest that if you choose to alter the size of tyre on your 18" wheels you might fall foul of your insurance company as anything other than 245/40/18 is not a standard size for the S3 GS 450h. If you fitted the 17" wheels with 225/50/17 tyres this would not be an issue as these are a standard size that were fitted to some models.

[reid]

Rather a late vote of thanks to Chris111 for this last  post as I missed the issuance.  All good 'gen' and I have again noted the content. At present and despite my 'OT' I have decided to sit on my hands for a few months as whatever changes I make, I will be disposing of a very new set of tyres with, on the rears less than 2.5K. It is quite surprising how quickly the bills add up when one is contemplating significant wheel/tyre changes and as my wife claims she finds the car as quiet and smooth as the Benz which preceded it, I wonder if I am not chasing my own tail and as she has suggested we just turn up the radio volume slightly to mask the road roar...... well what can I say/

[Ziggy1024]

Did you ever make this change? I'd be interested to hear your opinion if you did - I'm considering the opposite move, but wonder whether I'll regret it!