How Low Can I Go?

[Jimxms]

Looking at getting some lowering springs for the weekend, but thought it best to check first how low I can go with the new wheels I had fitted.

I'm now running on 8x18" with (i think) 42 offset on 225/40R18 tyres.

When at rest, the wheels look 'almost' flush with the arches (although I've not got the tape measure out), so I'm wondering if these wheels will tuck under the arch when going over bumps, or if i'm in for trouble if I want to lower the car a further 20mm (35mm drop springs).

[ormi]

you'll have no problems at all mate i'm running 18's et35 with a huge drop(90mm front and 100mm rear) go for the 50mm springs tha car will look stunning!!!

[Jimxms]

you'll have no problems at all mate i'm running 18's et35 with a huge drop so you'll be fine....

I'll be up front and say I know nothing about wheel sizes, but I cudda sworn the guy in the shop said the wheels were et42?? (maybe i'm speaking pap)

Anyways I've taken some pics...

Front wheel

A good 55mm between the top of the tyre and arch. Only thing that worries me is that as you can probably see from the ruler, the tyre is flush with the arch.

Rear wheel

About 65mm here - probably because I'm running with no spare in the boot. When lining the ruler up with the front of the tyre, it sits about halfway into the arch lip.

What ya think?

[ormi]

mate those are defo not et 42 stick too far out.but all is not lost get it lowered and get some camber dialed in!!

pics of mine

camber dialed in

[Jimxms]

mate those are defo not et 42 stick too far out.but all is not lost get it lowered and get some camber dialed in!!

What do you reckon they are mate? If I have to fork out straight away for coilies because the wheel shop f*ked up the order of my wheels I'm gonna go caveman on their *****. I told them the stock wheels were et50 and I wanted to stay as close to that as poss :@

Can you get that much camber with stock suspension (if i was just to get springs)? Does it affect tyre wear much?

[ormi]

mate those are defo not et 42 stick too far out.but all is not lost get it lowered and get some camber dialed in!!

What do you reckon they are mate? I have to fork out straight away for coilies because the wheel shop f*ked up the order of my wheels I'm gonna go caveman on their *****.

Can you get that much camber with stock suspension (if i was just to get springs)? Does it affect tyre wear much?

look almost like mine et35 no mate you dont need coil overs straight away..... 50mm springs should be fine and yes you still can dial in camber as your car has camber bolts fitted standard its not adjusted on the coilovers....

will wear slightly faster than a proper set up but mine havent wore that bad to be honest...

[ormi]

or you could get your arches rolled.....

[Jimxms]

or you could get your arches rolled.....

I'd be the unlucky f*ker who's paint cracks or something and ends up with rusty arches :P

But good to know the camber can be adjusted without 'extras'. Now where the hell do I find some decent 50mm springs! Lowest I've seen so far is 35mm Apex's

[ormi]

if you speak or pm stani1029 he just bought and fitted some 50mm springs and it looks amazing...

[stani1029]

yeah ive just fitted 50mm springs and they are good. just dont do what i did and go over a speedbump a little too fast. the bounce from the front wheel going over the bump made the passenger sill scuff. the speedbumps i went over were big though any other ones taking it easy will clear no bother. ive just bought 30mm spacers for all wheels so ill update with that once there done. may need some stretched tyres!

also ive had a look and the guy i got the springs from has more sets. just looks like he hasnt relisted on eBay. im sure he will soon just search:

lexus is200 tenzo springs

[Jimxms]

Ooh cheers bud I'll go take a look. Tenzo rings a bell for some reason, but I'm guessing they're not a jap brand?

[stani1029]

American based i think. I got them from ireland though lol

[Jimxms]

Ormi / anyone,

I've just spoken to the place i bought the wheels and they've confirmed that they are et35. I kicked up a bit of a stink saying that I asked for as close to et50 as they did (which would have been et42 iirc) and they have offered to "shave 5mm off the hubs" in order to make them sit under the arches.

Does this sound a legitimate method of fixing the problem?

I've not heard of anyone doing this before, so I'm just a bit wary of whether it carries any implications (corrosion...etc)

[Bazza]

Ormi / anyone,

I've just spoken to the place i bought the wheels and they've confirmed that they are et35. I kicked up a bit of a stink saying that I asked for as close to et50 as they did (which would have been et42 iirc) and they have offered to "shave 5mm off the hubs" in order to make them sit under the arches.

Does this sound a legitimate method of fixing the problem?

I've not heard of anyone doing this before, so I'm just a bit wary of whether it carries any implications (corrosion...etc)

I have heard of it being done

It has to be done properly and can be successful and to be honest is the second best method, the first is getting the correct wheels, it sounds like the company you brought them from are admitting they are wrong so push them for the right wheels

talk of adding camber and stretching tyres is the wrong way to approach things, both methods are problematic and can be a reason for an insurance company to invalidate your insurance

[Jimxms]

Cheers for the info Bazza. I'm not sure I trust them to do it properly to be honest. Not after the way they sprayed my calipers anyway....

Spraycan + Caliper = sprayed caliper, sprayed discs, sprayed pads, sprayed CAR!

Also, when they say 'hubs' is that in reference to the center hub where the wheel bolts to..or the back of the wheel?

(sorry for silly Q)

[Bazza]

Cheers for the info Bazza. I'm not sure I trust them to do it properly to be honest. Not after the way they sprayed my calipers anyway....

Spraycan + Caliper = sprayed caliper, sprayed discs, sprayed pads, sprayed CAR!

Also, when they say 'hubs' is that in reference to the center hub where the wheel bolts to..or the back of the wheel?

(sorry for silly Q)

the back of the wheel, i hope !!

they dont sound to good, it would need proper machine shop to do it with accurate measuring required

and if they take 5mm off it will only give you a 40mm offset, still too close for comfort in my opinion

be aware of the wheel getting close to the calipers as well

[Jimxms]

the back of the wheel, i hope !!

they dont sound to good, it would need proper machine shop to do it with accurate measuring required

and if they take 5mm off it will only give you a 40mm offset, still too close for comfort in my opinion

be aware of the wheel getting close to the calipers as well

Not sure I like the sound of this. If they shave 5mm off the back of my wheel then surely its going to leave it prone to massive corrosion as they will have cut away the paint/clear coat?

Also I'm guessing that if they fudge it up, I'll get some serious vibrations at speed?

[Bazza]

the back of the wheel, i hope !!

they dont sound to good, it would need proper machine shop to do it with accurate measuring required

and if they take 5mm off it will only give you a 40mm offset, still too close for comfort in my opinion

be aware of the wheel getting close to the calipers as well

Not sure I like the sound of this. If they shave 5mm off the back of my wheel then surely its going to leave it prone to massive corrosion as they will have cut away the paint/clear coat?

Also I'm guessing that if they fudge it up, I'll get some serious vibrations at speed?

corrosion will be the same, as the rear face should never be painted or coated

(with the heat produced the coating will melt, and un-torque the wheel nuts ! )

if they fudge it up, you will have vibrations at any speed, and they will never be able to be balanced

[ACLex]

the back of the wheel, i hope !!

they dont sound to good, it would need proper machine shop to do it with accurate measuring required

and if they take 5mm off it will only give you a 40mm offset, still too close for comfort in my opinion

be aware of the wheel getting close to the calipers as well

Not sure I like the sound of this. If they shave 5mm off the back of my wheel then surely its going to leave it prone to massive corrosion as they will have cut away the paint/clear coat?

Also I'm guessing that if they fudge it up, I'll get some serious vibrations at speed?

I would imagine that it would invalidate any warranty on the wheels not to mention weaken the hub as you would have 5mm less material for the wheelbolts to hold :(

I would echo Bazzas thoughts and get them to replace the wheels.

Andy

[Jimxms]

I would imagine that it would invalidate any warranty on the wheels not to mention weaken the hub as you would have 5mm less material for the wheelbolts to hold :(

I would echo Bazzas thoughts and get them to replace the wheels.

Andy

Anyone good with consumer law? I need to know where I stand with this...

- I asked the company via email to order me the wheels in. I told them the measurements of the stock wheels including the offset of et50.

- I visited them, paid a deposit and while I was there they phoned the supplier and said that they were to fit a "Lexus IS300" - but didn't mention offsets.

- Wheels arrived next day, were fitted and I was very happy with how they felt.

- Admittedly I haven't had any rubbing yet (although I've told them that I have), but I do think if i hit a large bump I probably would. It obviously also prevents me from lowering the car properly.

- They have already said that they cannot offer an exchange/refund, and are even asking me to pay for the wheels to be shaved!

Wheels were purchased about a month ago.

Do I have a leg to stand on?

[muddyell]

No dont shave anything off the hubs mate. Wheels with a decent offset look a hell of alot better

Personally id just lower it and see what happens. If it rubs then roll the arches and adjust the camber. I have an offset of et35 rear with 5mm slip on spacer so esentially et30 and its et30 on fronts. The coilovers on the front are at thier stiffest setting and the backs about half way. The fronts hold the car firmly and dont allow much body roll which in turn doesnt allow it to rub on the arches. Its all down to personal preferance though at the end of the day. Personally how low do you want the car? where do you want the wheels to sit in the arches? etc etc

Dont get me wrong peoples advice on here is pretty damn good usually but its not always what people want. If you dont think a 50mm drop is going to be low enough for you then consider coilovers instead maybe. I personally think that the car may have a little too much roll in it with just 50mm springs and therefore you will probably find it will rub on the arches even with the camber adjusted so will therefore need to get the arches rolled aswell

[Jimxms]

Strange you should say that - as I've just found out from the manufacturer that they're not ET35, they're ET30!!

I also asked the manu if shaving 5mm off the hub would be 'recommended' and they said "no f**king way". The area of the wheel that the nut bolts through is 10mm deep. Shave 5mm off the back and you are left with 1/2 the amount of metal to secure the wheel in place!

To answer your question muddyell, I'm looking for about a finger space gap (~1cm) between the tyres and arches when unloaded, and when I've got some fat heffers in the back, for everything to tuck neatly under the arches.

Not that i've got the money for suspension mods right now, but i'm driving myself bloody insane trying to decide whether to go for springs, springs+new shocks or coilovers. I still want the ride to be refined and comfortable, with a sporty edge for when the family isn't in the car.

[muddyell]

Right with an offset of et30 then i recommend (personally) getting coilovers as you can adjust the height to exactly where you want it and (depending on the coilovers) you find you can also adjust the damping so you can keep the comfort if thats what you want. Just keep an eye out on eBay as a cheap set comes up every now and then. I had Tein HA's for £300 and they had only covered 500miles apparently. main thing is i have never had a problem with them. If your keeping an arch gap of about 1cm then you may not need the arches rolling. You will automatically get some camber when lowering the car aswell so this will also help when clearing the arches. The other option instead of rolling/flaring the carches is to have the metal lip removed. A few friends have done this as its solved the slight rubbing problem

[Jimxms]

I've seen some BC Racing ones for about £600 which seems quite cheap in comparison to what some of them cost. Any ideas if they are any good?

From what I've read too I need a kit that's specifically for the IS300 as most ones available in Europe are for the IS200/Tezza? Apparently due to the heavier engine in the IS300 the front spring load needs to be different?

[muddyell]

I have heard the bc racing coilovers are pretty good. I was going to get these but the teins came up cheap

I honestly dont know about the kit you need as its an is300. I couldnt imagine it being that much heavier on the front tho. I'll have a gander and see what i can find for you