hydr0

Hey guys. I absolutely HATE the stock rims on my 09 TL, but didn't want to spend an additional $3500 on dealership rims. Problem is, I'm a real newb with rims. Every car I've had I was happy with the stock rims and didn't need to change them. This one is a different story.

Now, I'm fine with 17s, because I don't want to get brand new tires as well. But will any 17" rims fit? What specifications do I need to make sure the rims meet in order to make sure they'll fit? What about offsets and all that stuff that might as well be Japanese to me? Someone please break this process down for a rookie. Thanks =)

PetesTL

You need to get bigger rims, period. Doesn't matter what style you get, the 17's are just too damn small for the car. 18's should be the minimum. (My 19's are in storage for the winter....I'm thinking of getting 18" snow tires right now). Go to Tirerack.com and it should help you pick the right combo.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

4G TL: 17x8, 5x120 bolt pattern, +55mm offset, 64.1 centerbore.

bmode

Hydro I'm with you, I'm new too! The stock rims are hideous and really ruin the look of this beauty. I've been looking at rims for a month now, and haven't found a winner. There's just very little out there at this time. I stopped by my local wheel guy and his connections don't have anything. In fact the Luxe rims that he had for me, were going to have to visit the machine shop to fit this new bolt pattern, or something like that, and I didn't want that. We can find something for under $1500 that will definitely improve the look of our cars! Of course I'll be getting new tires as well because I want 19's.

Maybe some wheel experts in here can lend us a few pointers or a direction to go? Ron Jon has his wheels all over the forum, and they're pretty sweet, but not what I'm looking for. Oh thanks for that post Princely.

bmode

These are not sexy at all...

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2009-...QQcmdZViewItem

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Nice find.

S2000 Driver

Note in description:

"...Michelin Pilot Sport tires which have from 80% to 85% tread remaining."

PetesTL

....in other words, one good summer run left. (Michelin Pilot Sport tires are notorious for their ultra-short tread life....not to mention $$$).

S2000 Driver

The SH-AWD went on sale November 5 so these tires cannot have been used for more than 6 weeks -- and 15 - 20% of the tread is already gone.

Interesting.

Type34

I agree with others that say you'll grow tired of the 17" look on such a prominent vehicle...the '09 TL needs at least 18's...the ideal situation would be to opt for the 18" or 19" SH-AWD wheels, but if cost is a concern, the '05+ RL and the '07+ MDX have 5 x 120mm wheels and can often be had relatively cheap via eBay or Craigslist (the Ridgeline and Odyssey also have 5 x 120mm wheels, but I think Azine members would club you if you put Ridgeline or Odyssey wheels on a '09 TL)...

2005 - 2008 17" Acura RL wheel
17 x 8", 5 x 120mm, 55mm offset, will accept TPMS


The 2009 18" RL wheels will also fit


And the 18" RL A-Spec wheels will work as well ($$$)


2007 - 2008 18" Acura MDX wheel (base)
18 x 8", 5 x 120mm, 45mm offset, will accept TPMS


2007 - 2008 18" Acura MDX Sport wheel
18 x 8", 5 x 120mm, 45mm offset, will accept TPMS
Personally, I think these would look killer on the '09 TL


And of course the 19" Acura MDX Accessory wheel will fit as well...

bmode

I saw that Ebay post earlier, thanks, but I'm trying to stay away from stock. Still nothing sexy yet to catch my eye. Dang!

rondog

iTrader: (1)

You could also try our wheels, built with the perfect specs. We even brought the wheel out a bit to give the stance a little more muscle.

PetesTL

Awesome wheels RonJon!....wish they'd come out sooner.

hydr0

Thanks for the replies!! My head is brimming with info now lol. You're right in that the 17s are extremely small for the car, almost comically so. If I could find the right deal for 18s with the tires, I'd jump on it. I'm not sooooooooo picky (anything is better than these lol), so I'll be scouring ebay and craig's list to see if anything strikes a chord. Thanks again guys.

Oh, and SICKKKK rims Rondog. Will be checking those out as well =)

rondog

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. They are out already. Only the Sentinel is not out right now.

hydr0

Hey all. Been shopping around, and I've come to the determination that upgrading rims AND tires will be too expensive, so I'm just gonna get some cool looking 17s that will fit the current tires. The ones I found don't match the specs that princelybug listed, but the seller verified they would definitely fit the 09 TL. I definitely trust guys more though, so what do you think about them? Here's the link to the pics/specs for the 3 sets of rims I'm looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/17-Wheel-Caliber-MDX-Protege-Outlander-Murano-5-Lug-Rim_W0QQitemZ250348629340QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors _Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item250348629340 &_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A727|66%3A2|65 %3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/17-Wheel-Jetta-Sonata-Corolla-Prelude-XB-Saturn-G20-Rim_W0QQitemZ250348629851QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors _Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item250348629851 &_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A727|66%3A2|65 %3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/17-Wheel-Stanza-Yaris-Corolla-Versa-Accord-XB-4-Lug-Rim_W0QQitemZ250349114412QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors _Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item250349114412 &_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A727|66%3A2|65 %3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318




Will they fit??

Thanks for the help guys!

hydr0

I'm really focusing on the first set, but the other two MIGHT fit. Not sure if they will, because the bolt pattern looks very different. But the guy said the first set will fit for sure.

Also looked at the RonJon rims, and they're sweeeeeeeeeet, but definitely more money than I wanted to spend. That first set looks like a sweet deal, all 4 rims for under $400. I know they're not high quality chrome Dub rims, but they're SURELY better than my stock rims lol.

But please guys, be honest, because I know NOTHING about rims. Why are these so cheap? Am I missing something here? Is it just because they're polished metal/black as opposed to chrome??

hydr0

According to seller, the first two definitely will fit, the third one will not. One question I have is: how will that second one fit when it has such a dramatically different bolt pattern than the first one, and from the stock TL rims??

Also, sorry for all the back to back posts, I'm just posting info and questions as they come to me =) Thanks again guys.

jiggaman

save up for 18s or 19s

hydr0

Damn, everybody keeps telling me that lol. I want them NOW dammit!!

Maybe you're right though...

bmode

Yeah Hydro hold out! I'm gonna have this car for a minute and I want to be thoroughly happy. I'm still looking for wheel dealers in our area. Take a look at these Luxe rims that I was checking out a while back. They looked a little too "Infiniti'ish" for my tastes, plus he wanted $1900 cash with new 255/40/19 tires, so I just backed out as I'm still looking. Black on black is looking pretty good though. Plus cleaning them would really suck as opposed to a 5 spoke job.

Stash

I believe the seller is wrong. All 3 of those have the bolt pattern at 5 x 114.3. Not 5x120. The seller is assuming that the bolt patter stayed the same with the new TL and it did not.

Those will not fit.

hydr0

Stash, thanks for catching that!! That would have been an enormous headache had I bought them (not to mention a restocking fee of 25%). So there's no leeway with the bolt pattern, it absolutely positively must read 5x120, anything else will not fit, regardless of offset or anything like that.

I think I'm gonna listen to everyone anyway. As BMode said, I'm gonna have the car for a good long while, no sense in splurging right this second on 17s when if I wait a few months, I can get 18s, which will look much better. The car does look pretty silly sitting on 17s.

And B, those rims are sweet. Black on black is dope. My last car was black with black leather, and was gonna get black rims, but I decided it was a waste because the stock rims on the Infinitis are pretty nice as is.

bmode

Well if you like them, I'll give you Edward's contact information, and he'll hook you up. I do however like the chrome lip as it works with the window chrome lines. I'm looking for something a little more aggressive looking, tougher if you will...

hydr0

Those are cool, but if I'm spending the money, I'm getting EXACTLY what I want =P

S2000 Driver

The bigger the better!

hydr0

Lol!

bmode

Yeah, that's S2000's way of contributing to a thread. He's a hoot.

I agree, those rims are nice, but not what I'm looking for either.

Stash

There is definately no leeway in bolt pattern. See below article for info on bolt pattern.
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...urrentpage=101

Offset is a different dimension. See this link for info on offset

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=101

However, one time I did see a guy have his car break down in front of our old house and the spare tire wasn't the right one, so he took a hammer to the lug until the wheel fit. I asked him what he was doing and he said he borrowed the car and said it only needed to last until he gave the car back to his buddy.

hydr0

Thanks for the info. I got paid and socked away $1000 for rims and tires, so the 17s are definitely out =)

bmode

You might need more than a G, unless you get something used or cheap. I've been looking around for a month and have found very little out there for our 09's. It sucks as a matter of fact. Most websites don't even have the 411 on the bolt patterns the the 09 TL. Holla when you find something!

rehab_pain

i wonder if you could use the rims that would fit an all wheel drive BMW because they are the same bolt pattern and offset should be darn close?

hydr0

Well, I'll be dumping a bit more into the fund next payday, so I'm probably gonna spend $1000-1500. But I honestly don't have a problem with, say, polished gunmetal as opposed to chrome. If it still looks good and costs half as much, I don't care lol.

BTW, what's the deal with low profile tires? Should I stay away from those when I find the rims I want? And what's the benefit to them vs. regular tires?

PGSberg

If you are going with 19+ tires, you'll need to go with the low-profile tires. The object is to keep the overall height of the tire as close to stock as possible. Taller will cause the tires to turn less rpms making your speedometer read slower than your actual speed. Shorter tires do the opposite. The on-board computers use tire rotation for a myriad of function checks and balances. Tirerack.com is an excellent source to educate yourself on the right setup for your car. Good luck!

PS - Cheaper wheels / tires aren't always the best. The finish on cheaper wheels may not hold up. On the tires, research the tire wear vs speed ratings. A cheaper tire may not last as long, thus causing you to spend more money in the long run to replace tires sooner. The more you learn, the better choice you'll make on wear, noise, perfomance and cost.

hydr0

Thanks PGS, appreciate the info. Looked at tirerack.com for a few different things recently, and someone also posted links to their offset and bolt pattern manuals. Very helpful indeed.

In your experience, do the low profile tires handle much worse in snow/rain? I've read that they do, but experience beats words any day =)

PGSberg

A lot has to do with the tread pattern. Low profile, high performance tires tend to have a wider contact patch with the road which is great for dry pavement. When it rains, you need to get water away from this contact patch as soon as possible. A good all-season low-profile tire works in most conditions. Snow can be tricky even for snow tires especially since you can't tell what is under the snow. On ice, you're along for the ride. Just remember to adjust your speed for driving conditions and always keep in mind that no matter what you have on your car, you can't beat the law of physics!

S2000 Driver

Actually, an all-season tire is mediocre in most conditions.

PetesTL

Yup, if you want to take advantage of all that the car has to offer, it's best to go with ultra hi-perf. tires in the summer and dedicated snow tires in the winter (for those that live in the snow belt).

bmode

The only problem with the Tirerack website, is they don't have any info on the 09 TL yet, so I think you have to use the MDX 08' settings as someone said they are the same bolt patterns. Is that right all?