twister

I'm "visiting" here from ES350 forum. We gotta THREAD in there about going to bigger wheels and lower profile tires and how will it affect the ride quality of ES350. Unfortunately, ES350 is too new for anybody to mod it yet. There was one guy with 18", but he only signed up to post a few replies and never revisited the forum. The main concern is going from our stock 215/55-17 to 225/45-18. I think ES330 got 215/60-16.

So, after this introduction, my question is: for those of you who went to a bigger wheel size (17/18) and had to go with a lower profile and maybe widder tires, how did that affected the ride quality? performance? driving in a rain/snow weather? going over bumps/potholes? Also, if you can share what tires can you recommend? Of course, I don't know if we can exactly compare these two cars due to a significant redesign and probably different suspention, but still nothing will be closer to ES350 than its ES330/300 big brother Again, I don't want to turn this into a comparison, but rather looking for you to share your experience and help us out!!!

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

this is going to be the same with all cars, you will notice it more on the es though because it is so "floaty"

i replaced my stock wheels with 18x7.5 enkei with pirelli 45 series tires. they rock. i did absolutely look my "lexus" drive quality...but with the addition of a full new set of coilovers, lowered 2-3" depending on weather, its great. I took it around a corner that i know well. the audi that i was following....then caught....then passed in the corner wasnt to happy.. lol. (if he only knew the car that passed was 10yrs old. its cool he pulled up at the next light though and was asking what yr and what i had in it. he just bought his and was trying to keep up with me on the corner with no luck. it was fun.

anyways yeah if you want to feel the road and every bump but look great. go 18-19 range. watch the cost of the tired though. my pirelli's ran about $250+ per tire. and dont last very long if you push them hard.

if you want to look pretty good and still keep some ride quality then go 17" that 1 inch does alot.

weather.....well thats gonna depend on where you live and what tires you choose. yesterday on the drive home it was very wet and starting to ice slush a bit...i was having some trouble....but my pirelli's are needing to be replaced. What i do is have my stock wheels mounted up with the Dunlop m3 sports. they rock in the snow, rain, and ice. and do good normally on dry street. i cant put these as hard as my summer wheel combo....but hey its a 15x7 what can you expect? there is alot of sidewall. my buddy though just dragged in denver on the same tires and did pretty well.

good luck. and show pics when you get everything mounted(also you might as well find some lowering springs, cause that will be the first reply to that said post) good luck!

WINTER:


SUMMER: (pre m3 spoiler)

steviej

iTrader: (1)

My 02 ES came with 16" stock and the ride is smooth, very quiet and floaty.

I run 18 (235/40-18) from May to October. The ride is still smooth, however, the floatyness is not as significant. The cornering is dramatically improved but you also feel every bump, crack and change in road surface.

I do have to say, that no matter what size, 16, 17 and 18, a major contributing factor to any ride is the choice of tire in that size. I had a set of 18" Toyos that made me hate the ride on 18 wheels. The current set of Goodyear Eagle F1s are totally opposite. They give almost as good a ride as my 16" Michelin Exaltos, except the cornering is far superior with the 18".

steviej

chrispy

iTrader: (21)

you will sacrifice ride quality if you cheap out on tires.

MCG33

iTrader: (4)

I've got a set of 17x7 Avalon XLS wheels on my 92 ES wrapped in 225/45/17 Sumitomo HTR Z tires which are decent, but I am definitely going with some better tires once these wear out. The ride is great on the highway and cruising at moderate speeds through the curvy backroads around here.. though I don't know if its the tires or the car, but it starts feeling like the car is going to slip away from me through really long & tight turns. I want to lower it about 1" - 1½" eventually, so hopefully with some new shocks & struts as well I'll feel a little more confident through those hairpin curves.

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

with that age you might be having the issue of warn out A-arm bushings.
im replacing both a-arms and both half axels soon because mine has a bad habit of feeling out of control at high speeds on turns

sricenbaw

my 93 ES has 225/40/18 Pirelli's on it, wanna say there Pzeros not sure though, The ride quality is not gonna be stock lexus, but also isn't much worse, i rode in a 03 330 that had stock 16" rims, with some run flat tires on it, and it was no better then my 93 with 18's.. anytime you go with runflats or low profile tires the side wall will be stronger to support the car.. the tire wont absorbe as much of the road/rocks/minor bumps that most stock tires will, but I must say, it looks so much better with my Arelli wheels on it that I think its way worth it, by the way they are 18x8" wheels.
-Scott

Maxx941

iTrader: (1)

18" for good ride and daily driving.I say near stock but firmer. 20" for weekend cruisin'. Your gonna feel alot of road.
I was stuck in the same situation for awhile, but 18" is enough for my daily driving. Better overall handling, but rarely do I push my ES to the limit
more weight with chrome = less MPG
You will feel more of the Road with low profile tires.
As some stated earlier don't skimp on cheapy tires. thats your only 4 contact patches to the road.
I run 225/40/18
No complaints at all, probably gonna stick with stock ride height for awhile.

chrispy

iTrader: (21)

i always wonder why people only choose between 18 and 20 inch wheels. why not 19? IMO 20's are too big and 19's look perfect. i went with 18's because they're better for daily driving.

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

ride quality is dependent on the tire and suspension.. not necessarily the size of the wheel

maniax

iTrader: (3)

i have 17" IS rims(215/45 R17) on my ES and it feels pretty rough on NYC roads. Every pothole i hit.....I can really FEEL it.

twister

Thanks to everyone for the replies!!! That was a lot of food for thought As I mentioned, stock ES350 comes with 215/55-17" which is not bad, but has some room for improvement. It is a big decision to make since this is 2007 model and I had it for only 2 month, so I don't want to make any internal changes (suspension, etc.) yet. I think for now, I will just go through the winter with a stock 17" and all-weather Michellins and will try to get used to the ride and handling of this car. This is not a show car, but rather my home/work commuter, and early next year it will change from 30 min to over 1 hour each way. I might have to raise the comfort of my ride to a higher priority. As much as I think wider tires will look better, by physics this will distribute more car weight over a bigger surface and will make the driving in the snow and the rain less confident. Sounds like a better tires might be the easiest solution to improve the handling and get a better grip with a road around cornering.

sricenbaw

Oh ya 18's wear out quick too.. 19's are almost double a set of 20's.. people do 19's but 18's or 20's with low pro tires are about 1/2 the price of 19's with low profile tires.. 19's are just a rare size not used too often, yet it is becomming more avaible.. which is bringing the price down.. wanted 19's on my car.. but 18's with tires brand new about 3 years ago was around 3,500 for chrome Arelli wheels wrapped in Toyos, mounted balanced, lugs and the works, would of been around 6K at that time for a smiliar set up in 19's.. thats why i stuck with and love my 18's..

Maxx941

iTrader: (1)

Depends on Tire compound, my friends low pro 18" tires lasted over 30k.
Really.