luvlex

RX8 for me.

Sorry if an old topic or obvious answer. I know that 33 psi all round is applicable for the 17s - is that still the same for 18s or does the recommended tyre pressure change a bit?

thanks for any help.

Was it Elephant.co.uk? I've had a similar experience with them in the past.

No, it wasn't them.

Let's say I got MORE THAN I bargained for with sorting out this issue.

As I mentioned though, they've been fine before and were indeed helpful today - I just had the wrong person pick up the phone before.

As noted in another thread, I decided to change my ageing, rotting alloys and switch to new 18s. I phoned my insurance company a while ago to ask if this had premium repercussions and they said no. Anyway, after I finally decided to splash out, I phoned them back to make sure. This time, they said that they couldn't insure me AT ALL if I put 18s on my car. To be honest, I was amazed at this; this seemed a pretty minor modification to me, especially considering my age (quite advanced ) and good driving record.

So, I had to go through all the hassle of getting quotes from elsewhere, i.e, phoning around, filling in online forms etc, as I really wanted the 18s. I wasn't getting any problems with the 18' alloys thing from other companies.

After getting a good quote, I rang my company to cancel the policy and they said that the info I got before was totally wrong and there was no problem with getting alloys 1 or 2 inches bigger.

So, I suppose the moral of the story is to make totally sure the person you're speaking to knows what they're talking about. I've heard that changing to bigger alloys could be a problem insurance wise, but the info I got for the companies I spoke to suggested that a 1 or 2 inch increase wasn't a problem

I haven't named my company, I've had no problem with them apart from this. In fact, the lady I spoke to today was really helpful and apologetic, so stayed with them!

How much are the 18's?

Spending a grand with Dunlop sp9000s and full wheel alignment. No doubt there are better options for the cash, but there you go.

Intended to get 17s and spend a lot less, but you only live once etc etc. ;)

Like Aido said, its your choice and your money, if you like them who cares what they cost and if any one else does :winky:

I like them they look like the TTE ones and are roughly the same price

Very true, although it's the first time I've bought alloys in my entire life and wanted to check whether I was making some monster *****-up. Always interesting to hear opinions as well. They looked good to me, although again it's all down to personal taste I suppose.

Now I wouldn't be this indecisive about buying clothes or golf clubs..... :D

How much are the 18's?

Spending a grand with Dunlop sp9000s and full wheel alignment. No doubt there are better options for the cash, but there you go.

Intended to get 17s and spend a lot less, but you only live once etc etc. ;)

Prefer the OEM one's :P

To be honest mate, if you prefer number one it's your car and it's you who's got to look at it all the time so I'd go with the 1st one!

You're right mate, I'll probably stick with my original choice. I can see why the No.2 (Detroit F1) is more popular, but choices might have been different if the wheels could be seen 'on' the car. I must admit I was having second thoughts and was interested to see opinions, which have been appreciated. The Montreals are a newer wheel and just looked a bit more original. Just my opinion though.

Might change my mind in the next few days though. :o

I think the second ones aswell.

What size are you going for ?

18' with dunlop sp900s - getting them in on Friday. I was all set to go for option 1 but.......ah

Having said this, no problem changing my mind or going for something else. I went to Elite direct on the recommendation of a couple of guys here. I liked both these and, after having the wheels against my car, slightly preffred option 1.

I'm pretty much a novice though compared to the experts here; all I know that my present wheels are totally knackered (lex is over 5 years old, so no warranty issue) and my tyres are very worn. Thought about refurbing, but decided to treat myself!

Never heard of technomagnesium wheels, but they looked great to me. The Alteras were nice, but a bit pricey.

No doubt I couold get something better for the cash - I'm open to suggestions.

Option 1:

http://www.mimwheels.com/eng/schprod1_new....=7&Articolo=118

Option 2:

http://www.mimwheels.com/eng/schprod1_new....a=7&Articolo=72

Would they both suit? One more than the other? Any comments appreciated.

Went a bit mad and got 4x tecnomagnesio Montreals 18's from Elite Direct with Dunlop sp9000s. Being fitted next week. Their service was excellent - bought various wheels out, put them against my car etc. Thanks again for the recommendation.

Ah. there goes that budget.... :o

Now somebody will tell me tecnomagnesios are crap! Oh well.

Unfortunately, a car insurance issue has arisen. I told my current insurer and they say they can no longer insure me if i get 18' alloys!

Seems strange - i'm mid 30s with umpteen years no claims. Apparently this is immaterial.

So, either I change the order to 17's or go elsewhere. The latter I think, although I've got a few days to mull over it.

stretch my budget by how much? :o

Thanks for the elite tip - I live in north kent, so that's a good location for me.

I looked on their website and they do some nice wheels. Noticed some by Kosei; the snipers I think. Did a search on here and a chap had fitted those to his lexus with pics - looked great. Not excessively expensive either. :)

So, Kosei snipers look a decent option. Any suggestions from elite's website:

www.elitedirect.com

Would be very welcome.

thanks again.

although the OZ superleggera's look the dog's....

Ah, so there goes that idea.

I quite liked the fox 3 evo and fox 4 evo. Don't know how to host pics, but can be seen at:

http://www.mswuk.com/

Maybe I should either refurb mine or bite the bullet and get the OZs.

Must admit I thought the Foxs looked ok though.

Been sniffing after new wheels for a while, but have been sidetracked by other financial necessities, sadly. My alloys are kerbed, corroded, just awful. My tyres are desperately knackered too. Decided that this has to be sorted, even though readies are limited at the moment.

Anyway, noticed some Alloy reductions in Halfords today, i.e., 20% off Fox Racing and OZ alloys. Loved the OZs, but a but pricey for me at present. A couple of the Fox models looked really good in my opinion though.

Has anybody got Fox alloys or can offer an opinion on them? Would appreciate any comments.

Price: after reduction about 650 all in with Hankook tyres. Hankook? Don't much about them either, except they are Korean! Another place near me will do the Fox's with Falkens for about the same price.

Have looked into refurbing my present alloys, but there isn't much saving to be made and fancied a change. Would love 18's but.....cash issue, insurance etc.

My budget is 650, for alloys and tyres, 700 tops.

So any suggestions would be really welcome. I'm no expert on this, I must admit (as is no doubt obvious!)

it is a bit!

never mind, thanks though.

Is it standard ?

yes it is.

Forgot to mention that lex mats are boot liner are almost new (not that this makes a tremendous difference to price!!). The interior looks great as it happens.

Title says it all I guess, might need to let her go due to unforseen circumstances.

Details:

IS200 Se

May 99

50,000

FSH: yes, part lexus, part toyota approved local garage

Owners: 3

Colour: green

tax and mot: 1 year each

Stereo replaced recently under warranty (ERR3). Been fine since then.

Great car, no sign of faults like clutch judder as far as I can see.

To get it superb, refurbed or new alloys and four tyres required, a few hundred quid obviously but that would no doubt reflected in the price. Someone would get a great car.

Any suggestions re price would be appreciated. I'll look in parkers etc obviously.

Cheers!

Chris, I see your point and it's a valid one, but it's going to cost me over 600 quid for the refurb job with tyres anyway, so for a bit more I'm thinking get new alloys on there. :)

p.s I'm not too bad on the old and cranky stakes either.

Crikey, I though that wasa good price.

Surely, the Dunlop tyres must be 100 quid each, so 400 quid for new alloys isn't bad is it?

Mind you, I know naff all about this really, which is why I'm asking!

I appreciate the advice.

Mate, he's given me the brochure and as far I'm aware I could have most of the ones on there for that. I may have got that wrong though.

The ones he showed me were called 'R action' - 5 spokes, looked ok, nothing spectacular though.

The multi-spoked ones look great but the cleaning implications worry me a bit.

My alloys are totally crap and not covered by warranty as my IS200 se is 5 years old. I've been thinking of refurbing them for a while and nipped into a local tyre and alloy place near me for quote. They can get them refurbed by sending them to a place called 'spit and polish' in Kent who apparently do a good job. The alternative is get brand new alloys - the ones he recommended were by TSW. I have no idea if they're any good, but there are some nice looking options. I also need new tyres and asked about those as well. the quotes I got were:

4 new alloys and 4 dunlop sp9000 - £810

My alloys refurbed and the dunlops - £625

These seemed pretty reasonable. I was surprised that there wasn't too much difference between the quotes. Is TSW a good alloy?

Anyway, could anyone comment on these prices - any good? TSW alloys Ok?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks for advice so far guys.

Raz - how to stick 18s on there with 4 good tyres?

Hi guys, this is my first post - please be gentle! I only found out about this site a few days ago and have already picked up some great tips - not least on the ERR3 message that was driving me up the wall. Cheers.

I've had my IS200se about a year - bought it off a mate and love it. One downer (and pretty common) is the alloys - they look crap. The car is just under 5 years old but is in great nick apart from this. I've read about the corroded alloys problem - I think mine might be well rotten but no doubt it isn't covered by any warranty after this long.

So, I've looked inn to alloys refurbing - there's a couple of places near me in kent that look Ok (Spit and Polish being one) I also new tyres, so I'm, guessing I'm looking at 650 odd quid for the refurb and the tyres.

Is it worth going the 'full hog' and getting brand news alloys along with the tyres? I just wondered how much this would cost.

Excuse my ignorance and thanks for any help.