08 RX350 Winter/Snow Tires/Rims

[KevC]

I know it's not winter, but I wanna start thinking about Winter tires for our family's SUV.... let's just say I'm bored =)

Stock tires are 225/65R17.

Ideally we would like to have different wheels .. do 17" steelies exist? And where would I get them?

I'm not sure if 16" will clear the rotors. Basically the cheapest replacement, don't wanna scratch up the stock alloys replacing tires every season.

Also any recommendations for light truck/SUV snows? Nokian Hakkapeliitta line seem to be most highly recommended... but the RX wont be trailblazing as much as just trodding along the snowy DVP ...

[m4gician]

I know it's not winter, but I wanna start thinking about Winter tires for our family's SUV.... let's just say I'm bored =)

Stock tires are 225/65R17.

Ideally we would like to have different wheels .. do 17" steelies exist? And where would I get them?

I'm not sure if 16" will clear the rotors. Basically the cheapest replacement, don't wanna scratch up the stock alloys replacing tires every season.

Also any recommendations for light truck/SUV snows? Nokian Hakkapeliitta line seem to be most highly recommended... but the RX wont be trailblazing as much as just trodding along the snowy DVP ...

OEM tires were 17inch? Great, you can size down and get 16inch wheels, simply because a thinner winter tire cuts through snow faster...

So in your car you'll want 16inch steels with 205/75/16 if that size exists.

[macnut]

I'm not sure if 16" will clear the rotors.

The original Lexus RX300 (prior to the 2004 RX330) came with 6.5" x 16" JJ alloys (and 205/70 tires), so unless Lexus changed to bigger brakes, 16" wheels should fit on your RX350.

Those rims look really undersized now by today's standards, but why not try and find a set of those used alloys to preserve similar unsprung weight.

I know most RX drivers don't place strong emphasis on what steering response and suspension tuning was dialed in by Lexus, but it makes sense to avoid putting heavy steel wheels on if you can.

If 205/75/16 tires put you closer to the standard ride height, and have the least impact on speedometer accuracy, that would be the size to go with as m4gician suggests.

[SkylineR34X]

RX330 never had 16's. RX300 came with 16's
Finding Rims will be interesting for that car because the back has little space between the stock tire and strut (unless of course you put spacer at the back).

So what you are looking for is a 17" rim with 5x114.3 bolt pattern 7" or less wide, and lower than 40mm offset. Good luck, those are really rare.