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I know this has probably been asked and answered 1,000 times on this site but I digress. I currently have all stock on my beautiful white 2012 Acura TL Tech, garaged winters, only 7k miles.
I'm ready to throw Rohana RC10 silver rims on my ride with Hankook tires at 35 or 40 aspect ratio. I have several questions. I want to go with 19" front tires and 20" rear tires. What rim specs do i want for fronts, and then for rears? I see rims with an 8.5, or 9, or 9 5 measurement. What is that? Im guessing the depth of the hub location on the rim. What shoukd i go with for that measurement?
I will also probably need to lower the car with coilovers, right? I do not like the idea of "rolling the fenders". That scares me. Is there a way around that? What determines whether or not you need to roll the fenders? The amount I lower the car? Alsi, does RonJon make an aftermarket grille for my 2012? I see they have one for 2009-2011. Any other nice grilles out there?
1.) use the same size wheels. I'd recommend 20" if looks are you primary concern, 19" if you are willing to sacrifice looks for the comfort of thicker sidewalls on your tires.
2.) 20" wheels have 35 series tire, 19" wheels have 40 series tire, this is so the rolling diameter always stays roughly the same
3.) Don't have to lower car, but you will likely want to. Tein Street Advance seem like the best deal going now, research what your needs will be.
4.) 8.5,9,9.5 are the widths of the wheel, these place in concert with the offset in determining if you will rub. 8.5 or 9 inch wheel with +35 or +40 offset seem to cause no issues, getting more aggressive may require rolling fenders, shaving/moving tabs and whatnot.
5.) Ron Jon grill is for 09-11. I'd just recommend painting and colormatching that inner portion within the chrome of the 12 if you are looking for something sleeker that doesn't look like it was concocted at an autozone clearance rack. There are countless examples on the site.
Ok thanks. So I am leaning toward going with all 19" rims, 9 offset, and 245/40/19 tires. What lowering kit do I want? Do I want to lower 1" or 1.5"? Again I don't want to roll fenders or anything like that. Do my choices I just outlined avoid that?
1.) use the same size wheels. I'd recommend 20" if looks are you primary concern, 19" if you are willing to sacrifice looks for the comfort of thicker sidewalls on your tires.
2.) 20" wheels have 35 series tire, 19" wheels have 40 series tire, this is so the rolling diameter always stays roughly the same
3.) Don't have to lower car, but you will likely want to. Tein Street Advance seem like the best deal going now, research what your needs will be.
4.) 8.5,9,9.5 are the widths of the wheel, these place in concert with the offset in determining if you will rub. 8.5 or 9 inch wheel with +35 or +40 offset seem to cause no issues, getting more aggressive may require rolling fenders, shaving/moving tabs and whatnot.
5.) Ron Jon grill is for 09-11. I'd just recommend painting and colormatching that inner portion within the chrome of the 12 if you are looking for something sleeker that doesn't look like it was concocted at an autozone clearance rack. There are countless examples on the site.
Also could you tell me exactly what lowering kit/item I would need to purchase for my vehicle? I know there are options that you mentioned but which is best for my choices?
1.) use the same size wheels. I'd recommend 20" if looks are you primary concern, 19" if you are willing to sacrifice looks for the comfort of thicker sidewalls on your tires.
2.) 20" wheels have 35 series tire, 19" wheels have 40 series tire, this is so the rolling diameter always stays roughly the same
3.) Don't have to lower car, but you will likely want to. Tein Street Advance seem like the best deal going now, research what your needs will be.
4.) 8.5,9,9.5 are the widths of the wheel, these place in concert with the offset in determining if you will rub. 8.5 or 9 inch wheel with +35 or +40 offset seem to cause no issues, getting more aggressive may require rolling fenders, shaving/moving tabs and whatnot.
5.) Ron Jon grill is for 09-11. I'd just recommend painting and colormatching that inner portion within the chrome of the 12 if you are looking for something sleeker that doesn't look like it was concocted at an autozone clearance rack. There are countless examples on the site.
So I just got off the phone with Rohana. The rep said I would be good with 19" RC10's at 8.5 or 9 with 33 offset. I'm assuming that is +33 offset. He also said I wont need to roll fenders and I won't have any tire-rubbing issues. That is what I am going to go with. Probably 19", 9, and 33 offset. I will buy Tein springs to lower the car 1" or 1.5". Which should I go with? 1" or 1.5"? I also want to purchase a good skirt kit and front lip. Any suggestions there?
I think either of the springs will be fine, it once again comes down to preference of looks vs functionality...
Do you come across alot of ground clearance issues? Play it safe with H Techs (some people say they drop alot more than 1") or get STechs... I'd go with the H Techs considering your other choices 19>20 are about function rather than pure looks
only lip kit worth getting is the OEM kit. Which for the 2012+ im not a huge fan of, but take a look. The ron jon kit doesn't work with 12+ without modification.
only lip kit worth getting is the OEM kit. Which for the 2012+ im not a huge fan of, but take a look. The ron jon kit doesn't work with 12+ without modification.
Ok thanks for the advice. So I'm leaning toward going with 20" rims because from what I understand Rohana does not make 19" rims in the RF1 and RF2 lines. I love the RF1 line. Looks exactly like the BC Racing HB29 rims but at less than half the price! They have that titanium look (sort of brushed nickel which is what I like) and not that full on, annoying chrome or silver sheen. The RF2 is nice but I don't like the three large gaps between spokes in the design pattern. The RF1 pattern is full and balanced looking.
I was going to make a separate post which discussed the pros and cons between 19" and 20" rims. Is there a big difference in looks between the two? My sidewalls will be 40 with 19" tires, and 35 with 20" tires. Does ride quality take a big dip when going with 20"? By the way Booya it's not all about function with me. I do also want to maximize the look. If I can get a nice ride with 20s and there is no discernible, or not much difference in ride quality then I will go with 20".
I was reading up on the skirt and lip kit from Ron Jon. Their site says there are minor mods to fit the 09-11 kit to the 2012-14 models. Anybody have any details on said mods? I am very handy and will probably do the work myself if I don't need a special machine to do the mods.
Questions on lowering the car... so you say go with H Tech springs? Depending on which rim I go with (20 or 19) what model spring should I go with? I am thinking I want to go 1.5" down all the way around instead of 1". I think I would be second-guessing myself if I went with 1" when I could go lower and get a meaner, better look at 1.5. I will be installing the springs myself. I don't know why anyone would want adjustable coils. If a spring gives me the desired drop and I am happy with it, why would I want to adjust it? Last weekend I installed new struts on my gf's Toyota Corolla. I bought the bare struts and reused her springs. This would be an easy job for me. Fully assembled coils would be even easier because I wouldn't have to tighten the springs when removing and installing from the strut.
All help is greatly appreciated. I'm learning about all this so bear with me
The kit will fit, but needs to be permanently attached with adhesive instead of just 3M tape. Front two support tabs need to be trimmed off too. Here's a diagram:
and here are some more pics of the kit with our wheels:
Rondog thanks for the reply. Those cars look ridiculous with that grill. Wow it is absolutely perfect looking on that front end. I couldn't have envisioned a better design. That grill is not compatible with the 2012 TL, correct? Is Ron Jon coming out with a similar/same grill for 2012-14 TL?
Couple questions about both cars. What rims are on them, 19 or 20? What rim width? 8.5? 9? 10? Were the fenders rolled? What were the cars dropped by 1" or 1.5"? I was told by Rohana I can go with an 8.5 or 9 and not need fender rolling. True? I am thinking I will be ok with 245/35/20 with 8.5, 9 or 9.5 width rims and not need fender rolling. Does that sound right? Let's say I go with 8.5... what springs should I get which will avoid fender rolling, and what drop distance will said springs yield? 1"? 1.5"? I can't take a chance and order parts in the blind, not knowing if they won't give me the desired result. That being said, I appreciate all the help.
Last edited by MotleyCrue; 04-23-2015 at 11:54 AM.
Oh and another thing, will using springs on my stock struts hasten the life of my shocks? Is it ok to use aftermarket springs (for lowering the car) on my factory struts?
As far as the grille, sorry, nothing will be available for the 2012+.
As for the springs, other members with the same vehicle would know better. I do know theta coils will help get that perfectly even look front to back, of course the cost is higher and maybe some side effects like rattles and interior cabin noise. Maybe not, but that was my experience with coils.
The wheels shown are 20" x 9.0" with a 42mm offset. These wheels have a slight concave profile, and fit flush with the fender. Here are some other pics of these same wheels in two finishes:
I think Ron's new split 5-spoke wheels he shows above are incredible looking...I have a 20" set of his Legacy type II in gunmetal with a brushed metal looking lip on my black TL... think it looks very nice...
IMO go 20" i don't think the 35 vs 40 series tire is that much of a difference, and i think the 20" is the right size to complement how big a car the TL is.
Wow those are amazing pics. The white TL is my exact car, color and all. Looks like a 2012 in those pics.
I've decided I'm going with 20" rims. I am going with the ones I am attaching a pic of. I will prob end up getting springs only. Drop the front end by 1.6" and back end 1.5". I saw a spring that will do that. Ever since I saw the BC Racing HB29 rims I've always wanted that style rim, but not for that price ($4k+). I've found a great set for around $1k. See pic.
Yes I don't think there would be any benefit to going with 19 in front. 20s all around. I just called an auto repair show and they said I will need to look into a "bump stop kit" for when I lower the car. Can someone give me more information about that?
04-21-2015, 08:46 AM
