New Rims for the M! Yay!!!

[jadeM45]

Well the new rims are on.

They are 20" Lexion 401's Diamond Cut Finish. 20x8.5 +22 & 20x10.5 +27.

Required cutting the lip off the rear fenders. I drove it to work today and it looks like I will need to cut a little further down than I did. Under some slow hard turns it still rubs a bit. I was going to take it to the painter tomorrow to have him pain the sides and rear and touch up the inside of the fenders but I guess that will have to wait until next week so I can do the extra cutting on the weekend.

Th fronts are pretty close to flush. The rears are dead flush maybee 1mm of poke.Here are the pictures of the new rims on though.











Heres How it should look after the Paint:

[candymanfb]

Looks great!

[szh]

Required cutting the lip off the rear fenders. I drove it to work today and it looks like I will need to cut a little further down than I did.

Hmmm ... any chance could you have rolled it instead? The "cutting the lip off" may have weakened the fender edge to the point where even a minor "door ding" could show worse than usual?

Z

[M4T5]

Yeah, the rolled edges would have been better for structural integrity of the fenders. Looks good overall....but would have had the rear wheels offset a bit further in. This too would have saved you from cutting so much and now even more. The wheels and tires need to be able to compress toward the inside of the fender well, not into the fender well. Even if you trim some more off, when or if you get into a situation where the suspension will fully compress, you could end up with a wrinkled fender from the tire impact. Also unless you roll the cut off fender edge, you could easily have a tire sliced wide open. Hope it all works out for you in the end. I'm sure the wheels and tires were far from cheap.

J

[jadeM45]

I am not a fan of rolling the fenders. You run a much greater chance of wrinkling the fender or doing damage that way. I trimmed the edge of the fender leaving the roll on the end. It should have no effect of the structure. The fender on the M is double rolled steel. It was a ***** to get through both layers. I also ground down all the edges so the are baby smooth.

I left a bit of the "roll" on there. So you can't tell from the outside. It will also help with the integrity.

I have many friends who have done this technique on many cars. If done right it works better than rolling in my opinion.

If I could have ordered the rims with the offset I wanted I would have went about 2mm less in the rear. There were an instock deal.

I have fully compressed the suspension using a jack on the opposite side and the tire can tuck up inside the fender. I may have the camber done 1-2 negative just to make sure when I have my buddy do the alignment.

[RM450GT]

looks real good...

[M45Caliber]

JadeM45 -- WHERE did you find that rear spoiler? That's exactly what I have been looking for (not the wing). Wheels look damn good - hope the fendr clearance works out for you --

[szh]

I left a bit of the "roll" on there. So you can't tell from the outside. It will also help with the integrity.

I have many friends who have done this technique on many cars. If done right it works better than rolling in my opinion.

Okay ... understood. If it has worked for you before, then that is all well and fine.

Z

[F1SportsFan]

Damn that looks sick! I can't wait to see the pics after you've had the paint work done! How much do you think it will run for the paint?

[DELUNASC]

Looks really, really good!

[jadeM45]

Thanks for the comments and concerns on the cutting. I hope i didnt come off as a jerk with my comments. I appreciate everyone's concerns.

I have a quote for 300-350 for the paint work. Same Guy who painted my spoiler.

[jadeM45]

JadeM45 -- WHERE did you find that rear spoiler? That's exactly what I have been looking for (not the wing). Wheels look damn good - hope the fendr clearance works out for you --

Here is the link to the thread about my spoiler.

zerothread?id=382462

[NightRiderQ45]

looks good. I'm am starting to like the 03-04 models even more.

[lawman12]

Sweet wheels! looks perfect! tad more drop would be nice, but looks sweet as is... nice finish...

[CakeDaddy]

There’s that word again… “Flush” The car is looking good. I can’t wait to see the lower trim painted to match, but take note of the black strip along the bottom of the doors. That piece is rubber and may be hard to paint. As for the 20x10.5 in the rear… I was talked out of anything above 20x9.5 in the rear by my installer due to possible rubbing issues, especially since it was already lowered. As for the rubbing while turning… Be careful and I would advise against cutting the inner rear fenders but other than that the car is looking smoooooooth

[jadeM45]

There’s that word again… “Flush” The car is looking good. I can’t wait to see the lower trim painted to match, but take note of the black strip along the bottom of the doors. That piece is rubber and may be hard to paint. As for the 20x10.5 in the rear… I was talked out of anything above 20x9.5 in the rear by my installer due to possible rubbing issues, especially since it was already lowered. As for the rubbing while turning… Be careful and I would advise against cutting the inner rear fenders but other than that the car is looking smoooooooth

Thanks for the advice. I checked everything out in the rear and i only need a little more trimming on the sides of the fenders. There is no more clearance issues other than that.

Right now Im doing the super carefull driving with wide turns etc. No rubs unless I go hard. This weekend I am going to finish up the trim and then it goes to the painter.

I have done the fender trim on previous cars with no issues. Other friends have to. The things some of us go through to get the look we want I guess.

[CakeDaddy]

Thanks for the advice. I checked everything out in the rear and i only need a little more trimming on the sides of the fenders. There is no more clearance issues other than that.

Right now Im doing the super carefull driving with wide turns etc. No rubs unless I go hard. This weekend I am going to finish up the trim and then it goes to the painter.

I have done the fender trim on previous cars with no issues. Other friends have to. The things some of us go through to get the look we want I guess.

cool, sounds like you have a plan. What method are you using to cut the inside of the fenders? I was thinking if you use a small grnder wheel... then maybe you can save some of the integrity(sp) of the walls, but thats just my opinion. Keep us posted my.

[jadeM45]

I took a dremmel with high strength cutting discs. I uses tons of tape on the fender and use it to mark the line I am cutting. I left like 1/8 to 1/4 of the rolled edge on the fender. Then when that is all done I go back with a grinder attachment and smooth everything out. From the outside you can't tell anything has been done. This leaves the roll on there and keeps the integrity of the fender.

I know too many people who have wrinkled a fender or flaked paint off trying to roll them.

[Salty2X]

Jade the Rims look great. Do you have pics of the fenders with the trimming done to them? And is everything all good as far as rubbing after trimming for the second time?

I am not planning on going quite as wide as you in the rear but Iwant to go with a smaller offset, its all about the big lip right.

[mcdoken]

That's a good lookin M.

[DRIPS]

Dude that looks sick with the painted lower molding. Can you take a shot of the lower rear area that you painted in the back?

[LLJes1]

yeah, WOW... I would love to see pics when that is completed. I first fell in love with the Q45 and then when Infiniti came out with the Y33. Your ride just reaffirmed why that happened! I fell in love with the shape, nothing else on the road has clean, simple lines like the first M.

It's a sweet looking ride, nice and clean!

[jadeM45]

Well the car is at the body shop right now. They are painting the rear molding, sides and removing the side lights from the front and rear bumpers. I think they ruin the clean sideprofile of the car. They are also cleaning up and painting the inner fenders I did. I am supposed to have the car back this weekend, but dont expect it unitl next.

I'll post pictures when its done.