Attractive wheel options for Avalon?

[American Pie]

My new '96 Avalon's stock 6-spoke wheels have quite a bit of curb rash and I'm looking at wheel options. Are there any other Toyota/Lexus 15" rims that look good on these cars? Looking for a factory set that could perhaps be found on Craigslist as "take-offs", relatively cheap. How about aftermarket?

(I'm looking for a subtly attractive wheel design that truly complements the vehicle's conservative lines, not something "ricey".)

[ImDisaster]

Originally Posted by American Pie

My new '96 Avalon's stock 6-spoke wheels have quite a bit of curb rash and I'm looking at wheel options. Are there any other Toyota/Lexus 15" rims that look good on these cars? Looking for a factory set that could perhaps be found on Craigslist as "take-offs", relatively cheap. How about aftermarket?

(I'm looking for a subtly attractive wheel design that truly complements the vehicle's conservative lines, not something "ricey".)

I had the same problem. The rims on ours were corroded pretty bad where the wheel weights had been attached. I looked into having them refinished. Most places wanted over $200 per wheel. I also looked for used rims. If you can find a set of stock rims they are usually pretty beat up too. I finally decided on buying rims from a discount tire store. They are suprisingly affordable and there are lots of styles...not just flashy ones. Your best bet is to try Discount Auto or The Tire Rack. They have alloy wheels that start around $100.

I ended up with these, conservative, but a little more BMWish.



Here are some examples from the TireRack.







and Discount Tire

[American Pie]

Any of those wheels would be a good choice. The ones on your car look great; those look like 16"s. Did you lower your car as well? We have a white Avy too.

I've realized that an upgrade to 16s or even 17s might be a better choice, and possibly even easier to find than 15s. My local CL has quite a few 16"/17" OEM Lexus and later-model Avalon wheels advertised for reasonable prices. Our car's PO recently bought all new Goodyear tires for the stock 15" wheels so maybe we'll shop around while I'm using those up.

Regardless which wheels I end up with, I don't want to attract TOO much attention. Our '96 Accord, which we purchased new and I had lowered with nice 16" alloys was stolen in January. I don't want to re-live an experience like that.

[ImDisaster]

Originally Posted by American Pie

Any of those wheels would be a good choice. The ones on your car look great; those look like 16"s. Did you lower your car as well? We have a white Avy too.

I've realized that an upgrade to 16s or even 17s might be a better choice, and possibly even easier to find than 15s. My local CL has quite a few 16"/17" OEM Lexus and later-model Avalon wheels advertised for reasonable prices. Our car's PO recently bought all new Goodyear tires for the stock 15" wheels so maybe we'll shop around while I'm using those up.

Regardless which wheels I end up with, I don't want to attract TOO much attention. Our '96 Accord, which we purchased new and I had lowered with nice 16" alloys was stolen in January. I don't want to re-live an experience like that.

The car was lowered about 1.8". Those are 17" with 50 series tires. I refinished the original 15" wheels myself and use them for the winter rubber. I'm not sure the refinishing was worth it. I first tried to strip them by hand using a powerful paint remover and wire brush but that was not effective other than scratching them up. I finally paid $150 to have some local place bead blast the old finish off them, then primed and painted them with spray cans of aluminum primer and silver wheel paint and finished it off with wheel clear coat. Probably spent at $80-$100 bucks on the materials. I have at least $250 dollars worth into the job, not including my 4 or 5 hours of labor.

If you can get some OEM Lexus wheels that haven't been too scarred up, go for it. Be careful on clearance on the rear fenders. I chewed up the outside of the rear tires a little before replacing the shocks and springs. The original rear springs had sagged and the wider wheels (215's) rubbed on the fender lip. I may still roll the lip.

[Wild_10]

The wheels of your car is still beautiful. Well if i were in your place i would prefer the second and the third one.