Beware if you are considering aftermarket wheels and tires...

I got my new TL a few weeks ago and had a great looking set of 18x 8 45mm offset TSW RIB wheels for tires.com with 18x 245mm Yoko DBs2's mounted and ready to go when the car arrived.

I was leary when upon unpacking the first rim I saw abut 6 inches of stick on wheel weights! I was shocked that they get shipped needing that much weight.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, I had the dealer install all the wheels. Immediatley I had vibrations over 50 mph. Attempted rebaleancing got close but with even more weights, some all the way on the outside of the wheel... VERY UGLY!

Basically the rims where just not very well made. Also, the wheels where 10mm more offset then the Acura 18's thus giving me a wider stance. Combined with the 10mm fatter 245 rubber I had a "wide ride". While this looked great, I got some slight rubbing and bump steer when the suspension was loaded on long sweepers. I believe the add 3/4 of leverage on each side of the suspension upset the geometry and degraded handling.

I was not going to deal with this again so I went the safe route and got OEM 18's from Acura and ut on Bridgstone Turenzas in the recommended 235 size.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! This thing is a slot car with the more narrow tires and less offset! This thing is as sticky as my 968 with S02's (not as flat handling however).

Moral? Don't try to out guess the PHD engineers that designed the car! OEM all the way for qulaity and fit. If you go aftermarket, do not expect a $200 wheel to be the same quality. Use OEM sizing at least. DO NOT MESS WITH OFFSET!!!!!

PS: Tires.com was GREAT to work with! I did buy my snow tires from them and they took back the wheels and tires and paid return postage without an argument.

 

Thanks for the info...

i just ordered some Yokohama AVSs 235/40-18s... I was debating on whether I should get the 245s but decided to stick OEM sizing... hoping I won't regret it.

 

Glad to hear that you did ok with Tires.com, I used them for the wifes car and had vibration issues from day one, turned out that the wheels were out of round, tires.com took for ever to pick them up (1 month) and then said it was impact damage (even though from day 1 it vibrated and all 4 were impact damaged?).

Anyway, it took several months and a credit card company to clear it up, good thing I had EVERYTHING documented.

In your case they sold them as equivilent, and to fit, and since it rubbed and changed geometry, they had to take them back!

PS- mine also had tons of wieghts on them!

I would not get from discount tire / tires.com ever again!

 

Personally, I only work with tirerack.com. They are more knowledgeable about rim and tire fits for all cars.

 

I purchased a set of mounted tires and wheels from Discount Tire Direct about 3 years ago and 2 of the four had sticky weights nearly half way around the inside of the wheels. I called their 800 number and they quoted me the total weight on each wheel and was correct in reciting back the amounts which were within their "acceptable" tolerance range. I mounted them and the car felt like I was riding in a dump truck. They paid to have the tires taken off the rim and reinstalled/balanced. They had been shipped with nearly 2x the weights they actually needed. Fixing this smoothed out the ride significantly.

Lesson learned: You get what you pay for.

 

With the stock 18s, do u find that the ride is any harsher than the stock 17s u test drove?

 

Lowenhardt's all the way!!!!!!!

 

There's always a trade-off in upsizing the wheels.
Going up one size in rims diameter will upset the ride quality, in return you'll have better road feel and quicker response in cornering. And the look.
Going up one size in the width of the tires will affect the handling of the car making it less responsive and slowers the acceleration, in return you'll have better grip and traction.
In you case you have selected to move up one size in the rims and the width of the tires, no surprise that you'll feel a big difference from stock.
As for the offset, dont mess with lower offset unless you're going to switch to aftermarket suspension and have camber kit on. Wrong offset will mess up the alignment and geometery of the stock suspension.
I recommend that you to do a four wheel alignment to make sure everything is straight as stock.

 

If you buy your tires from tirerack, who do you get to mount and balance?

 

I put 245/40-18s Toyos on mine and they work fine. No rubbing at all.

 

moreace:

I can notice a difference but it is NOT bad at all. A fine trade off.

HacksawHilliard:

Mine only rubbed over harsh dips and I had the extra 10mm offset that you don't have. The tires alone should be fine.

 

Taschroth, you need to change your signature now that you dont have the wheels and AVS tires.

 

For optimum results, the lowest offset I would go with TL is 50mm, and the max width of the tire 245/40/18.

 

Stock offset is 35mm for the OEM 18's

 

I thought OEM's offset is 55mm. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Could it be 55 for the 6MT and 45 for the 5AT because of the Brembo's?

 

The stock wheels of 6MT and 5AT should be identical.
In that case I should be correct that the stock offset is 55mm.

 

Take a look at this thread. http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=63320 it's said that it's 45mm, but I know it has to be more for the Brembo's.

 

Interesting thread.

But referring to taschroth, he stated that his TSWs are 45mm, and they are 10mm more than factory 18s. Which implies that the factory wheels are in fact 55mm.

So which is correct?

 

OEM is 35mm, or so I was told. That would be less offset or closer to the center of the car then 45mm

 

Thats not right.
The lower the offset, the FURTHER out the wheel extends.
The higher the offset, the CLOSER in the wheels sits.

Most Hondas and Acuras stock wheels have high offsets thats over 50mm, so they sit inwards towards the center of the car. Most people go with aftermarket wheels with lower offset to enhance the appearance of the car.

From your original post you said that your TSWs are 45mm, and they stick out by 10mm more than stock. Therefore, stock wheels must been 55mm.

 

Here's a great article that explains offset and caliper clearance... http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/TireWheel/wheeltech.htm

For the 6MT, the offset may be the same, but the caliper clearance is what's critical.

 

I believe the spokes of the stock wheels have been designed so that there is enough clearance for the calipers on 6MT.

My TL won't be here for at least a month, otherwise I would go and measure the offset of the stock wheels.

Can you guys look it up??

 

We were posting about the Pearl/Gunmetal combination in another thread. I'd love to see pictures of your car.......any chance you can post some?

 

Taschroft, I was looking to replace the OME tires with the RE750's in the 17 inch size. I want a quiet tire as well as a good handing one. How is the noise on the RE750's?