Flopshot, Nice photos. I especially like the two tone body package you showed. However, I have no complaints about the hybrid wheels.

 

Look at the thread started by WVGasGuy (link provided below) that talked about the known issue with speedometer and odometer being off in 07 Camry, and he figured exact %differences using his GPS. Problem is that the two errors are in different directions, the speedometer was 5% too fast and the odometer reading was 1.5% too low. So I used larger circumference tires than stock in order to correct for the speedometer error, but that introduces an even greater error in the odometer. My new tires 235/50/18 are 4.2% larger o.d. than the stock 215/60/16. Therefore the calculated FE will be way off, since my reported mileage is now 1.5% + 4.2% short from actual mileage. Again, I'm not going to get into these detailed calculations in this thread, nor debate pros/cons of doing what I did, so please look up WVGasGuy's thread for more details since that is the appropriate thread for those discussions.

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...&highlight=gps

 

Nice job on the wheels, flopshot. I also have 5-spoke 18's on my TCH, but the gaps really don't do them justice. Where did you purchase the TRD springs and did you need a front/rear camber kit and alignment?

 

I have not installed the TRD springs, not sure I'm going to anymore. Look for a thread I started called "Dropped TCH" and you will find pics of someone who did install the TRD springs.

 

Has this affected you 0-60 times? I once upgraed my CRV LX from 15 to 16 with wider tires and it turned into a slug off the light.

 

First impressions after my standard morning commute (45 miles, 43 of which are highway). Car is more sluggish from a dead stop, but not by much. I can definitely feel more rolling resistance, which is most noticable while coasting on the highway. With the 215/60VR16 tires, it seemed like highway coasting (on flat land) would not lose much speed, which was great for pulse and glide techniques. However, with the 235/50ZR18 tires, as soon as I left off the gas, the speed goes down rapidly. I would go from 70mph to 60mph in a matter of 5 seconds. When I wanted to regain/maintain speed, I definitely needed to apply more gas than before, which in turn reduced my real-time FE meter and the trip ECO gauge. Now I did not have the car realigned on the new wheels, and these are the first 50 miles on the new tires so I'm sure they'll need 500 before they are broken in. I am not going to report on FE until I've finished this tank so that I can get a good average on tires that have been broken in, plus I'll need to make a manual adjustment from the car reading. Also as expected, the ride is a little bumpier since I went to 50 profile, but not unbearable. What I didn't expect was the increased noise of these BF-Goodrich tires compared to the Michelins, since it is actually a softer rubber on the Z-rated tires. I bought these tires because of the good reviews on TireRack, plus this particular size was on sale for just $87 shipped to my door and my goal was to make this a cheap upgrade. But next set of tires, I'm going back to Michelin.

 

You really can't beat Michelins. There is a reason why people pay too much $$ for them. I like Yokohamas. They last forever but they are noisy and have not so good wet weather performance IMHO.

 

I 2nd that, I love my Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 -- (treadwear: 440 traction: A temp: A) on my 2007 TCH... it is by far one of the best tires I have ever owned and what a quiet and smooth ride...

 

My bad, flopshot. Even without the drop your larger tires fill the wheel wells nicely. I went with 225/45/18 tires so the gap is more pronounced. They're Avon Tech M500, a very quiet tire at high speeds. The goal was to keep it within 1% of stock diameter to keep the speedo and navi in check (despite the reported errors). I originally wanted to go with a 235 width but was concerned about impacting FE with the added weight and friction. My wheel/tire setup is actually lighter than stock - combine this with the shorter and stiffer sidewall, and FE is relatively unchanged. The only downside is a slight decrease in ride quality.. a small price to pay for not looking like every other 6th gen Camry.

What PSI are you running btw?

 

[QUOTE=flopshot]Finally got my new 18"x8" Lexus GS430 wheels

Here are some Before/After pics, as well as a closeup of how close I am to the spring cover. I'm loving thse wheels, but I'm obviously biased. Let me know what you think!


Am I correct in assuming that 18 inch wheels are not an option for US market TCH's? The Canadian option list includes 18 inch alloy wheels in either eight or five spoke versions. The eight spoke are C$1,506 and the five spoke C$1,584. The cost of tires is extra.

This is what the five spoke look like:-