2018 S500 factory rims/tires on 2011 S197

sarjxxx · Jun 12, 2018

Thought it might be useful for someone for me to show you all what this looks like. I spied a set of basically brand new (<400 miles) GT takeoffs for $450. Couldn't resist the deal, even if they do come with the P Zero's. I've heard(read) a lot of flak about the Pirrelli's... some people love them, some people hat them, and didn't seem to be much in-between. Howerve my current tires were shot, nearly bald and probably as old as the car so they couldn't be worse than them. Plus the wheels look great! So I decided to go for it.

I had also read that some people were claiming the S500 rims are not hub-centric and had offset fitment issues, where some others said the opposite. I'm sure there it's possible that there may be differences from wheel to wheel but the set I picked up at least, I am happy to report that the +40 offset was the same on both sets of factory wheels, and as far as I can tell there were no issues centering the hub. I didn't notice any wobbling pre-lugnut install and they seemed to be flat against the rotors no problem. If the hub was smaller than the wheel opening however, I cannot say as I (sadly) do not own a set of calipers to accurately measure the diameters.

Other information I picked up regarding the difference in thread pitch in the lugs/nuts was correct however. Much to my dismay as the previous owner threw in the factory lugnuts with the set, and mine were in really bad shape from too much impact-wrenching by cheap tire shops I would imagine. At first the nuts seem to go on but once you get a few turns in they do lock up and are not usable. I ended up getting some of the six-spline locking design for replacements. While the nuts are very nice and look neat, I think I would go for a different style if I had the choice again, as these nuts are very compact in design and leave a lot of room in the lug wrench slots in the wheel rims. That does make them easier to clean though lol.

I will attach a few pictures of the before and after and hopefully be able to encourage anyone on the fence about the swap to go for it! It should be no problem.

Also of note the original wheels were 17", the new ones are 18" so that would be why there is a difference in the look of the side profile.