Hey all, really new to the community, just got my IS300 about 3 weeks ago and I'm already well on my way to modding. I was looking around, searching at different setups of how 18's and 19's might look when I noticed that not everyone has the same widths.
Im from the 350z community and for the most part, everyone there runs 9.5/10.5 staggered. Some of the ballsier people run 10.5 all around or even an 11 in the rear but for the most part 9.5/10.5 or 9/10 is what you see.
From looking around at other 1IS's, i've seen everything from 7.5 to 10.5. I realize that there are different needs to each driving style, whether you hail from the hellaflush crowd or the meaty tires crowd, but wouldnt a wider tire overall be more beneficial in both circumstances? It would seem to me the only difference between the 2 groups would be offset.
So my question basically is, what is the typical wheel width size to run on a 1IS? This whole time I'd been set on running either a 9.5 squared setup or a 9/10 stagger but seeing other people run 7.5 and 8.5 is making me 2nd guess myself, and im wondering why people dont upgrade to wider setups. Im very familiar with offset/tire-math and all that good stuff to make wheels fit properly in the fender so no need to worry about that. I also understand that some people either cannot afford wider setups or dont care about much except for diameter and every car community has this crowd, but it seems more prevalent within IS300's.
Don't even bother with the 7.5 width. Choose a staggered set up from 8/9 or go with 8.5/9.5. Just do what ever suits you best. I think the wider the better and most people on here run aggressive set ups so a 9/10 would be best with low offsets. I'm running 18x8, 18x9 but if I had the money to do it all over again, I would pick something like an 18x9, 18x10 with low offsets instead. Good luck with whatever you choose.
So my question basically is, what is the typical wheel width size to run on a 1IS?
I'd say the typical IS300 owner is running an 8/9 staggered setup with offsets in the high 30's to mid 40's...but that seems to be changing quickly to wider wheels, lower offsets, and skinnier tires. In the past, most people didn't want to do more than a simple roll/shave with a "proper" sized tire. Judging by your post, you seem to have an idea of what you want to do, and how you are going to get it done, but again, 8/9 or 8.5/9.5 seems pretty typical...for now.
Don't even bother with the 7.5 width. Choose a staggered set up from 8/9 or go with 8.5/9.5. Just do what ever suits you best. I think the wider the better and most people on here run aggressive set ups so a 9/10 would be best with low offsets. I'm running 18x8, 18x9 but if I had the money to do it all over again, I would pick something like an 18x9, 18x10 with low offsets instead. Good luck with whatever you choose.
With your setup, what offsets are you running and did you need to roll or pull your fenders? I'm in the market for wheels and I want to make sure I do it right and not get stuck with wheels that I can't use right away ( I'm in Germany and don't have access to everything I need to roll or pull).
the reason you see super weak widths and offsets in our community is because for the most part, the is300 hasn't really caught on as an enthusiasts car. its taken some time for people to realize the potential.
18X9/10 stagger is absolutely no big deal. it is offset and tire dependent, but you can fit meaty tires with a high offset, ~+40 or stretched tires and a low offset ~+15.
my next setup WILL be 12's in the back. 10.5's up front. after my current setup, i've realized that there is a lot more room in the back than I previously thought. with the right tires, its pretty simple to fit aggressive wheels on an is.
__________________
1st Gen Elitist
01 Satin White IS300 Sedan w/ Sportcross conversion.
Broken, Beaten, Ugly, Riced out, and loved. Some people will never understand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Tom-
Hes poor and from AL or MS or some other tragic Katrina victim state. what do you expect.
With your setup, what offsets are you running and did you need to roll or pull your fenders? I'm in the market for wheels and I want to make sure I do it right and not get stuck with wheels that I can't use right away ( I'm in Germany and don't have access to everything I need to roll or pull).
baseball bat. 2.5 inch steel pipe. tin snips and a ballpeen hammer. roll/pull to your hearts desire. i've used real fender rollers, and they really don't work any better than the baseball bat method, and actually, they cause fenders to crease wayyyy easier than a bat.
__________________
1st Gen Elitist
01 Satin White IS300 Sedan w/ Sportcross conversion.
Broken, Beaten, Ugly, Riced out, and loved. Some people will never understand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Tom-
Hes poor and from AL or MS or some other tragic Katrina victim state. what do you expect.
the reason you see super weak widths and offsets in our community is because for the most part, the is300 hasn't really caught on as an enthusiasts car. its taken some time for people to realize the potential.
18X9/10 stagger is absolutely no big deal. it is offset and tire dependent, but you can fit meaty tires with a high offset, ~+40 or stretched tires and a low offset ~+15.
my next setup WILL be 12's in the back. 10.5's up front. after my current setup, i've realized that there is a lot more room in the back than I previously thought. with the right tires, its pretty simple to fit aggressive wheels on an is.
wow i think you pretty much got it spot on. That does make sense though. I know there's a lot of room in the back, and Im really tempted to run 11's in the back, but i had no iead that you could fit 10.5 in the front w/o flares or aftermarket fender. Right now I got a flat roll on the front. Are you going to be running into clearance issues when making turns or is 10.5 up front no big deal (with a stretched tire)?
And yea, my friend rolled my rears with a fender roller but couldnt roll the fronts w/o taking off the calipers bc they got in the way. He ended up using some cloth and a hammer and it came out just as good as the rears.
Thanks for everyone's input, its helped me understand my question a lot better.
if you were to run an 18X10.5 +25 with a 225/40R18, you'd be fine with a roll and a pull. you would have to piecut and fold the upper frame horn, remove the plastic block in the passenger floorboard side of the wheel well, and hammer the metal spine flat against the firewall. you "might" rub up front on the metal at the 2 o'clock position. all of this is dependent on how dropped you are and how your alignment is set as well.
this is all going off of what i did and how a 10.5 would fit in relation to my 9's though. keep in mind that when i say a pull, i mean a fucking pull, not a i'll roll my fenders and push a little too hard, but a oh i'll roll my fenders, trim the bumper tab, heat the fenders, and pull and flare and pull some more. your paint WILL crack. if you don't treat the fender like its a very fragile bomb, your fenders WILL wrinkle, if you pull too far too fast, your fenders WILL tear. its all about taking your time and pulling a little at a time.
__________________
1st Gen Elitist
01 Satin White IS300 Sedan w/ Sportcross conversion.
Broken, Beaten, Ugly, Riced out, and loved. Some people will never understand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Tom-
Hes poor and from AL or MS or some other tragic Katrina victim state. what do you expect.
hrmm, i dont mind putting in the work, but i dont really wanna pull out my front fenders too much. I'm trying to stay more vip as opposed to race-aggressive. Might try a 10 (in the front) if I'm feeling up for it, or just default to a 9.5 if i get lazy.
In either case, thanks for the insight. Like someone else in this thread mentioned, times are changing and this kind of stuff may start becoming the norm.
With 17x8 you can go down to +43 offset with 225/17/45 tires. Get some lightweight OZ Ultraleggera or Enkei's. Faster acceleration, faster braking, better fuel economy, and less bumps and noise. A lot of these mods for flush offset will actually limit your ability to corner as I wouldn't want to brake hard to load the front when going into a corner with flush or poked wheels on a lowered car, not to mention the tires blowing out on a poke wheel in a hard corner.
its me (vispr), figured out the pw to my old acct so i used it instead)
i dont neccessarily agree with the 8 part. 17's yes, but why wouldnt you want to go wider in the rear? Then you can actually add more rubber for traction to put down power.
to combat the understeer, get stiffer springs in the rear and you should be fine. As for power, our cars arent that quick to begin with so if you are a performance junkie i presume you would be adding power anyways.
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