If your looking to purchase your first set of wheels and tires on the internet then you’re going to need to find out a few things. First of all you need to find out what bolt pattern and offset your car uses and then go from there. You can find out that information at Wheel Fitment Guide online for most car and truck wheel applications.

Now that you know your bolt pattern and wheel offset you can start the hunt. You should also keep in mind if you have a big brake kit that may limit your options, Since not all wheels can fit around such big brakes. A Example of this would be the G35 coupe with the brembo package or the 350Z brembo edition etc. 

There is tons of online retailers for wheels selling almost over 1000 brands. Some retailers offer a wheel search that can narrow down wheels that fit your ride and then others just list the bolt pattern and offset. A lot of times it is better to go with a authorized dealer since they can help you out with warranty issues such as fadeing and paint chipping or problems such as a bad chromeing process. Most sites that are authorized display small logos that they are a authorized distributor for that brand. Some companys even sell their old wheel stock on ebay so always take a quick look it may save you alot of money.

 You should also be aware that some wheel cleaning products are not to be used on some kinds of wheels. For example some wheels are made from a spray on chrome style paint… while that is fine and they look really good if you use the wrong chrome wheel cleaner in a few days you could see the paint flakeing right off. So always read the directions and sometimes its just better to put in some elbow grease on and not some do it all in 1 minute foam cleaner.

Now here is a tip that will save you problems in the long run. If you ever damaged or curbbed a wheel then you found out pretty fast most dealers hate dealing with single wheels. Why would they break up a set of four and then be left with 3 singles. And the ones that do email you back with stock know they will not break up that set unless your paying a pretty penny. 

If you email them about a single wheel and chances are you did not buy the set from them they will ignore you 80% of the time… Same goes with single center caps. What dealer wants to do the leg work checking for a 10 dollar center cap. So the next time you order a set of wheels see if they can give you a deal on a extra wheel and center cap. When i worked at a wheel shop i’d always sell a lot of wheel sets of five and would always have people come in the next week saying thank god they got a extra wheel since they smoked a pot hole that next day. Replaceing a 205/40/17 tire is never a issue since they are widely stocked but try finding a wheel like a Lexani Crystal in a days notice. Then others days we would have people coming in begging us to take one of our display wheels out of he window to sell them. But others were not so lucky… try waiting for a container ship coming from japan to the usa with a dummy tire.

Discontinued wheels is another issue. What if a dealer can’t even get you another wheel since they were no longer in production. Most wheel companys drop atleast 2 old wheels styles out of their line per year. My best advice would to check out ebay and set a search reminder to email you with matches of say “ADR sokudo Gold 4×100″ / “Sokudo Single”or post a ad in their new “Want it Now Section” Good luck and a hope this guide helps you out.