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We recently finished paying off V's Scion ... so the natural inclination of an automobile junkie is to start thinking about buying a new car. But with the economy taking a huge nosedive and so much uncertainty I think the wise choice is to stick with what we have, especially if there's no real need to go out and buy a new car. Our cars are running just fine and a new ride would just be, well, extravagant in these times. Unless we went out and bought a hybrid or some kind of small commute car. But the Scion and Spyder are perfectly suitable cars when we feel like going into fuel economy mode.

To stave off the burning desire to blow off a large chunk of my dough on some very tempting glistening example of modern automotive design and engineering, I've decided to uh, blow a smaller chunk of my dough on some very tempting glistening example of modern automotive design and engineering. So I've been shopping around for a new set of wheels for my IS350. I still haven't really rewarded myself for working so hard last year and I have a pretty nice tax refund coming to me soon, AND I will need a new set of tires soon anyways. So the timing seems right, and giving a new look to the Lexus will hopefully tide me over until we see better economic times.

I started out by looking at the mesh-style wheels, like the Volk SF-Winning and MRR GT-1. German wheel maker BBS is pretty well known for making wheels in this style. I think these have a nice classy look to them and look good with the style of the IS, but mesh-style wheels have lots of spokes and are kind of hard to keep clean. Cost is also a huge factor. Forged wheels like the Volks cost a pretty penny but are stronger and light weight; the more common mass-produced cast wheels like the MRRs are cheaper but more prone to bending or damage if you hit a hard bump or pothole, or require more material (and thus more weight) to get the same strength.

Five spoke wheels are the classic style for a sports car, but for a sedan like the IS I am not sure the standard 5-spoke looks right. For a coupe or sports car they look great. However a split-5 spoke design works pretty well, and that's what the standard 18" wheels on the IS are. I decided that I want a set of wheels that don't stray too far from that aesthetic, yet are bigger and lighter. And of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I wanted them to look better than the stock ones which look a little too curvy and flowery to me. They are still very good looking wheels though, which makes choosing a better wheel very difficult.

I've finally decided on a wheel that I really like, the AME Tracer FS-01 made by Enkei in Japan. Enkei is like the Toyota of wheels, they are the giant wheel maker in Japan and they have a high tech manufacturing method called M.A.T. that supposedly bridges the gap between cast and forged wheels, giving wheels almost as much strength as forged wheels but at lower manufacturing cost similar to cast. A high-tech wheel for a high-tech car. Because they are a full-face rim (the spokes extend all the way to the outside rim of the wheel) there is no fat lip like some of the real ballers like to sport on their cars, but I'm going for a classy, sort of understated look. I've liked this wheel ever since I first saw it and after looking at all the other options I keep coming back to this one. So I've pulled the trigger and ordered a set -- they're individually imported as a special order from Japan so I will have to wait about 4-6 weeks for it.

Here are a few other photos of IS's with the same wheels and I think they look pretty nice. They are also about 6 pounds lighter for each wheel than my stock wheels so I am going to get some mild improvement in acceleration, cornering and braking. I'll also go for slightly wider tires than stock and that will help as well.


Thanks to fellow ClubLexus member eddiec for the pic of his dark gray IS350 with the FS-01s.

Stay tuned for more pics when the wheels come in and I get them mounted on my car.