nflguy

Okay,

Going to ask advice on this one last time before making a decision.

I'm going to purchase a 2015 ES350 Ultra Luxury


All of the ES-350 Ultra Luxury package vehciles shipped to dealers around here come with 18" wheels which adds $880 to the price.

There have been many posts detailing how poor the ride is with 18" wheels and the ride is much better with 17" wheels.


While others claim the problem is not the wheel size but rather the brand of tire used. Most 17" wheels get Michelin tires while most 18" wheels get Bridgestone.


My dealer told me they are willing to swap out the 18" wheels for 17" wheels but they won;t remove the $880 charge,


So......

Should I go ahead and have them remove the 18" wheels and replace with 17" michelin.

or

Ask if they can put Michelin tires on the 18" wheels.


Thanks in advance.

jollick

My 2015 ES350UL came with 18" wheels and Michelin tires. The ride is a little firmer than my 2013 with 17" but not objectionable.

Mike728

My vote is for 18" Michelins. I think you'll be regretting the 17"s if you go that route.

I'm not sure if you stated before, but have you personally driven an ES with both wheel sizes? Probably best to be your own judge.

roxy208

My 15 ES 350 UL came with 18 Bridgestones, today I had a loner ES with 17 Bridgstones. I was amazed at the difference in the ride.
The 17s give a much smoother ride but I wouldn't trade my 18s because they make the car look so much better. The ES 350 with UL and 18 in wheels definitely turns heads.

PirelliRC

this is perfect to answer the OPs question, do you want comfort (17s) or an eye catcher (18s)

chromedome

Or do you want to break necks (20")?

Arty101

Just put on some Pirellis and you should be fine .

tiglesias

Go with 17"'s. Much smoother ride. Just make sure they are Mich's not Bridgestone. You won't be sorry.

dchar

Personally, I like the look of the 18" wheels a lot more than the 17" wheels, so I didn't mind to trade off a bit of comfort for style. Makes the car look more expensive. The car we got last weekend, had 18" with Michelins and it still felt much smoother than my GS F-sport. The ride from the 18" wheels didn't seem to change much from the loaner car with 17" I had for a weekend, which I got to know very well because I drove the loaner from SOCAL to Sacramento.

Arty101

Now that making good use of your loaner. Almost Like SF driving to Tahoe for a weekend of skiing .