[w3QHxwNb]

Anyway, it has been a LONG road to this moment, and I have been looking forward to putting new wheels on my car for the longest time. After lots and lots and LOTS of time spent on researching potential wheels, tires, sizes, offsets, etc, and, I'm sure, bothering one too many people about specifications and whatnot, I've finally made the plunge and gotten wheels for my car.

As you might expect, I've done things properly I decided to get wheels that were completely obscure but nevertheless great to look at. I know these wheels will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love the fin design. My importer, Mark, says these are probably the only set in America right now. They are Weds Bellona WAF, 19x8.5/9.5, +42/41 respectively. They are wrapped in Falken FK452, 235/35 and 265/30.

These wheels are similar in style to Carlsson and the Work Euroline FE's but I chose these over the other two because 1) they are cheaper, 2) they have rivets, and 3) these are forged wheels, though they might not look like it. Stronger, lighter, and more beautiful; how could you wrong?

Gripes: I do rub at full lock, will have to do the heatgun mod to my fender liner. Also, I wish Weds allowed more variability with the offsets; they ONLY have 41/42, and then 32/33, and the lower offsets don't come with high disk needed to clear the BBK's. Thus, the wheels don't sit quite flush enough for me (I will be purchasing 5mm spacers soon), and the front doesn't have quite enough lip for my tastes.

Regardless, I am very happy with my decision, and it really transforms the car. The thing I like best is how much it makes the car into a chameleon of sorts; at times it looks very sporty, at others it looks absolutely luxury. Anyway, enough talk; let's let the pictures do their thing, shall we?

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P.S. BONUS VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfX-ZWmAeeQ
The Greddy SP2 exhaust. Put on some headphones. I think this video does a pretty good job of reproducing the sound.

[OWV9LSxH]

Fair play! Your car is stunning. Love the colour too.

Are you doing anything more to it?

I had the same problem with my Saxo with the wheels rubbing on full lock. I had 17" 5 spokes (205/40/17) and standard Saxo VTRs had thinner 15" wheels.

[cinggooft]

Nice! Gimme a ride sometime. ;D j/k

[OWV9LSxH]

Your photography skills are excellent too. Obviously the sunny setting helps, but all the photos look highly professional. I'm jealous... you're brilliant at drawing, brilliant at rendering, and now I find out that you're brilliant at photography too lol.

[QxmFwtlam]

Terrific choice! Looks awesome! Great shots, too.

[zawhmqswly]

Nice shoes

[w3QHxwNb]

Thanks guys! Unfortunately it rained like two hours after I took these shots... my car and wheels are dirty now! Very annoying.

Prodigy: I'm done with the big things (rims and body kit). I will be putting on some small mods, like window visors or a lip spoiler down the road, but nothing for sure yet. Also, these pictures have a lot of PP in Photoshop :] So don't feel too bad haha

anonms: Any time man! You know we go to the same school haha

[delnisfernan]

great photography! car is stunning!

I absolutely love those wheels, look very hot. congrats on new mods..

[Super-Luser]

very nice photography but one thing you could do is sharpen it up just a little bit to put some edges on some of the blurry party..

but onto the car..i love the new IS (liked the old one as well) i wish i could afford to put rims on my car (no money, plus parents) but they are nice rims

how much did it affect the ride comfort and all?

[cinggooft]

Ahhh hahaha I notice you didn't use the car hugging picture for your sig. >D

[Smabeabumjess]

Nice photography, looks very professional. The area you live in looks quite posh.

Anywho, great rims & great colour. I'm not a huge fan on mod cars but I'll make an exception

[w3QHxwNb]

kid: Thanks for the compliments. I did notice some blurry parts of pictures but I wasn't really sure how to clear it up without making the whole thing look a bit weird. Also, I hear ya on the money/parents thing. I've been working a LOOONG time to afford some mods haha... and the parents were originally nonreceptive but as soon as I got my wheels and kit on they actually said "Dang... that looks really good... Where can we get some?" Haha... The ride quality is actually unaffected. The lowered springs make the car a little more bouncy but nothing terrible, especially in relation to how much better the car handles! The Falkens ride super smoothly too. The thing that killed ride quality the most are my Tom's six-link and front brace which work to stiffen up the chassis, but also make the ride a tad bouncier. Again, nothing too noticible; my parents can't detect any difference in the ride either.

[Super-Luser]

if you send me the full resolution shots i would love to try and work on them to see if i can get the blur gone..


thekid8907@gmail.com or thekid8907@yahoo.com or solomoncd@appstate.edu

how old are you by the way?

[Extinimot]

Kinda looks like what an IS460 should be. A semi-sporting IS between the 350 and the F is sorely needed. Yeah it would eat into the GS, but the GS is so forgettable that it's not much of a loss. This IS is gorgeous. It strikes the right blend of tuner and luxury and certainly without horrid atrocities I've seen done to some ISs. Excellent.

[newwebstar]

beautiful car man. I love the way the exhaust sounds.

[bjacogaerllyo]

oooo.. nice man! love the exhaust sound!!! the best sound ever!!! more vids please!!!!

PS:lol @ the goat vid...

[KinicsBonee]

Looks way better than the WAY TOO Over-The-Top IS-F.

[w3QHxwNb]

kid: Email sent! And by the way, I am 20. College student + part time job = death, all for my car :[

swizzle, FRDesign: That is EXACTLY the look I was trying to go for. A sort of IS500 look if you will. I for one think the IS-F looks pretty nice in person but it is a little too over the top, I agree. As this is merely a fixed up, *better* version of the IS350, I wanted it to look like a sports version. A version where people look at it and go, "That looks good, and I know it looks better than a normal IS350, but I'm not sure how," until they compare it side by side to another one. It's not completely obvious that it's fixed up, with a body kit, wheels, exhaust, etc, until you really pay attention, and I think that's what I love the most about the setup.

ricerammer, opp-lock: Thanks for the compliments! This Greddy SP2 exhaust does make some good noises, has a little bit of warm-up time to it, and drones a little on the freeway, but it's probably the best balance between bark and luxury I've found yet for the IS350 (I've tried and tested two others, the HKS and the Tanabe already!)

[Munccoughe]

10/10 Nice changes. It looks sporty but at the same time not too riced or blinged out. I'm in love with it almost. The paint is such a nice color.

[SannyGlow]

i've never held most bodykit/wheel changes in high regard, but i have to admit yours look awesome. subtle and not ricey at all, which is all to often the result of aftermarket mods. wish it was my car