vivftp

Howdy again!

In my neverending list of questions I was wondering something. If one didn't want to lower their TL at all, what is the best size of rim and rubber to make the car look as good as possible?

Pictures are welcome if you have any

The main reason I'm asking is I would eventually like to get a lip kit, but I am worried about clearance on the ground if I were to lower it. I know the best advice for that is to just drive more carefully, but I'd still like to explore other possibilities first.


Thanks!

02type-s

Aftermarket wheels and no drop looks goofy no matter what size you get. And the lip kit doesn't make it all that much lower to the ground. I think I have scraped mine maybe twice. And its underneath where nobody sees. Who cares? lol

vivftp

Hmm, true the damage would be more or less out of sight...

So you don't think there's ANY combo of rim/rubber size that'll look proper on our vehicles?

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

What size rims are you getting?

vivftp

I haven't decided as of yet. From what I understand, smaller rims + bigger rubber = much smoother ride, but I'd like to know if anyone has found the "magic combo" of the perfect size rim + the perfect size rubber to actually look good on a TL that hasn't been lowered... if such a combo exists

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

If you go with 18's you can use 225/45/18. That the size TireRack recommends as well.

vivftp

Hmm, you wouldn't happen to know of anyone who already has that sort of setup so that we can see pics, would ya?

ZEUS'O3TL

if you dont wanna drop it and have aftermarket wheels i would say get
22's.....lol...naw but in all seriousness i had 20's at one point and still needed a drop becuz of the wheel gap..i downgraded to 19's and didnt wanna drop it but after seein everyone else's car i said F* imma do it...and it gives ur car a new look...jus lower it man...u will bw happy and wont be able to stop lookin at ur ride...

vivftp

lol, good advice.

I suppose I was hoping there would be an acceptable compromise, but if there isn't, then ah well...

Anyways... I won't be dropping my current one as there's not much point in putting more $$$ into it as I'll be selling it next year... but the next one I get I'll drop


BTW, a bit off-topic, but I saw the ABP A-Spec in person for the first time today, and it's a BLOODY BEAUTIFUL CAR. I'm giving a lot more consideration to it for being my next car now

TequiLa

iTrader: (3)

225's look sick, but it throws off the speedo, i would go 235's on 18's cuz shit like that would bug me. 245 on 18's is the closest to the 205 on 16's but it looks crappy.

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

What? Different aspect ratios give different overall diameters. It's not just about section width.

Razzi

I thought that it was diameter and not width that fucks up the speedo

ZEUS'O3TL

here are my 20's no drop....


here are my 19's no drop...


and same rims but dropped now...

vivftp

Wow ZEUS'O3TL... it actually doesn't look so bad on the 20's...

It actually looks more proportional to the 2G TL and looks like it fits more...

Is there any significant disadvantage to going with 20's?

Edward'TLS

No drop. 225/45/18 will fit nicely. The slightly taller sidewall will fill up some of the massive wheel gaps. 225/40/18 will only make the wheel gaps look even larger.

fsttyms1

What in the world are you talking about?? The aspect ration (2nd #) is what you use to adjust the size so that the speedo stays the same. 225/45 and 235/40 both keep the speedo in check of the stock size. Mine is spot on at 60 and is less than 1mph off at 100mph with the 235/40/18 (clocked with GPS)

fsttyms1

Mine with no drop, 225/40/18.. It looks like a Freaking tractor. Nothing will look good unless you drop it. We have too much wheel well



2" drop

vivftp

Hey ZEUS'O3TL, do you have another shot of the car on the 20's from a dead on side view?

I'd just like to see how well they fill up the wheel well.

ZEUS'O3TL

look in my album..i have another one on there...the ride is a lil rough..and with the thiness of the tire u have to drive around potholes and stuff like that...u gotta be like this..>..u dont hit anything..lol..

vivftp

Ahh.. well then... maybe I don't want to be doing that, lol.

So here's a potentially very novice question... from what I understand more rubber = smoother ride... I've seen some vehicles with TINY-ass rims and rubber twice as thick as your average vehicle. Has anyone ever tried that on our cars? For example getting 17" rims and putting on enough rubber so that the overall tire has the same diameter of a 20" with thinner tires?

I know it might sound stupid, but I'm just curious to know if it's ever been done

ZEUS'O3TL

well when i measured my 17" TSX wheels 215/50/17 next to my 20" 225/35/20 they were about the same height...jus a lil bigger on the 20's but not by much..

02type-s

It must be unlevel ground or something, b/c that in no way looks like a 2 inch drop lol.

acura00man

I have da 225/40/18 and the ride comfort is awesome! (tire tread is great). Looks, not so much, the gap is HuGe, but the wheels look pretty big too. From Far away is sick lol

fsttyms1

You need to understand tires. The stock size is 205/60/16 25.7 over all dia.
a 215/50/17 overall dia 25.5. A 225/45/18 is 25.9, a 235/40/18 is 25.4 225/35/19 overall dia 25.1

See the pattern. As you Plus size the tire you have to drop the section width to keep the over all dia the same. IF you were to do what you are saying by keeping a larger sidewall you will be throwing off the overall dia, adversely effecting the handling, safety, speedo. You cant have the comfort of a lexus in a sports car. you have to sacrifice some things here and there.
My 235/40/18 is by no means harsh riding and i live in a area with horrible roads.

Blaze.45

Most of what everyone says is good.

No drop = cheezy
If you are dead set with not lowering, then go 20's and nothing smaller.

I personally struggled with this dilemma about a year ago, I decided to commit to a slight 2" drop to keep 90% of the Acura ride quality, while increasing the handling and aggressive aspect 200% with 19" RJ's and 235/35/19's.

My setup:

Tanabe NF210 Springs
Stock shocks (replacing them with another set of OEM soon because of 85k miles)
RonJon 19" SSM Inspyre
Toyo Proxes 4 - 235/35/19

After all is said and done, I don't ever scrape on bumps (maybe when parking head in on high ass curbs, but its underneath and nothing major since I slow down)... body roll and pitch reduced... and I sometimes think it's still too high, but then again I laugh at the suckas who have to cross speedbumps diagonally and also look like they are on a small trampoline when they hit bumps on the freeway.

The ride is about 10% reduced from stock, and the acoustics of the tire on the road are about 10% increased from the wide tires. That said, my traction has increased 400%.

-Chris

Blaze.45

Oh, and OEM lip kits do not affect your ground clearance nearly at all. Don't believe the hype.

fsttyms1

It is. i measured before and after.