Larger diameter (and width on the road) creates increased forces in the steering gear leading to faster wear. Imho existing minor steering issues are magnified by increased diameter. It is an additional cost of doing this.
I went from 17" factory wheels to 19" aftermarket ones and yes the ride is firmer. Is it harsh or horrible? I wouldn't say so, but certainly firmer, and the car is lots of fun to drive through twisty bits as there is very little sidewall flex when coming into corners. But I think the novelty would wear pretty thin pretty quickly if you lived in the country on metal and/or generally have to drive on poor quality roads. There has been no difference in noise - well it is negligable, and no different to just getting different tyres of the same size as previously.
I like the 19's so don't regret getting them. I am not looking forward to having to replace the tyres though due to the extra cost of a 19 versus an 18 :(
A 40 or 45 profile will ride fine, try a 30 or 35 profile then thing start going crazy!
Good points raised about looking for "common" sizes, I have been joyed with having cars that have factory sizes that have become virtual orphans (meaning expensive replacement costs) after a few years
Do your research on tires also, there is a lot of stigma about non brand name tires but not all are bad, i recently bought some Achilles ATR Sports which were stupidly cheap by comparison and really are a great tire in practice, Im not sure I would have any better performance in spending 2 or 3 times as much
i have factory 18" rims on my Toyota Ipsum and they had Yokahama's on them and boy were they noisy , so noisy i would avoid some rough streets because of the noise, drowning out the radio in fact . Replaced them with Hankook's, , and it's much better . The plus side is that it holds the road in corners so well it's scary but you feel every hole and bump in the road and speed bumps are my worse nightmare, avoid them like the plague, even if it means a longer journey. and i had to have my drive entrance raised to stop scraping the car everytime i went out. I dont think i would buy a car with low profile tyres again .
Not a boy racer but a street skidda racer thing speaking here. The larger the rim size the smaller the profile of the tire if you want to keep your guards from rubbing and etc. If you got firm suspension but tall side walls its setup to be like that. Smaller side walls = less shock and bumps absorbed. Id suggest leaving your wheels as they are due to the fact it not going to add any power or make it go faster. Waste of money really.
Good god, if anyone is noticing the difference between 17" and 19" wheels in terms of roadholding or performance on the road then you need to stop now, join a car club and start going to a track.
The quality of the tyre is going to have a much bigger difference than 17 vs 19 inch...
Spend good money on tyres of the right size for the car.
If "Right size" is based on looks, then absolutely get 19 or (or bigger) wheels if that's your thing - but suggesting that larger wheels are a reasonable way to improve road performance then that's laughable
Cheers - N
ps. Seriously, join a car club and play on a track. But even there you'll find that tyres, brakes, suspension are probably going to do more for laptimes than choosing bigger wheels.
years ago at the overseas launch of the then new vw golf gti (mk6), the test cars were fitted with a variety of wheel/tyre combos, from stock 225/45-17 to optional 225/40-18 and 225/35-19.
same tyres, bridgestone potenza re050a, stock gti suspension.
clear difference in handling and ride to even non-car people.
curiosuly, impromptu timed laps showed the car on stock 17's was 3-4sec a lap faster than cars on the bigger wheels/tyres.
So, if I go with 18" in the style I like with the appropriate offset, then they are 18x7.5
I'd like the tyre diameter to be as close to stock as possible (and would rather them slightly larger than smaller as my speedo is already 5km slow at 100km, and smaller tyres would make this worse).
My choices are 225/45R18 (ideal width, but slightly smaller diameter than stock) or 235/45R18 (very slighty larger diameter than stock, but possibly wider than ideal).
My preference would be the 235 for the slightly larger diameter (and possibly a little extra curb protection?). But is 235 wider than you should put on a 7.5 rim?
Just looking at the recommendations for my car and they stick a 255/55r16 on a 7.5j rim! And when you get to 18's they'll put a 255/45 on a 7.5j, so who knows?? (Mind you, you can get factory 20s for mine, as it has a massive rolling diameter, and they don't look stupid)
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