Threxx

For those of you who have had any two or more of those sizes of wheels, how much of a difference could you tell in ride quality?

By ride quality I mean road noise, absorbtion of road irregularities, and how easily your wheels/tires got out of balance (high speed shaking/vibration)?

I have 16" wheels with all-season touring tires on my GS4 right now and I love the soft controlled ride... I drive a lot of highway miles and tend to get agitated with cars that make me feel every last bump in the road... so would going to some light-weight 18" wheels with Max-performance (Bridgestone S-03) tires make this car that much rougher around town and on the highway?

J.P.

"get agitated with cars that make me feel every last bump in the road... "

Then stick with your 16's. The 17's are not bad, but you will notice it. From there on up it gets worse.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

The ride on 16s are soft. I am not sure about controlled but if you are happy with the current set up, stay with it. I did not have 17s and went from 16s to 18s. Road noise increased, road irregularities became more evident, but I did not have problems with wheel balance and alignment.

I also went to L-Tuned to drop the ride. This will add a bit to the issues you have. Still, getting bigger rims mean less sidewall on the tires. This will take away from the cushy ride and increase noise.

There are benefits to the upgrade (looks, handling, ...) but I just wanted to address your specific issues. BTW, I like the ride better now even though I lost the quiet, soft stock ride.

Brandon@TR

It sounds like 18 inch is definitely out of the question. 17 inch could work for you as long as you choose the correct size and tire combination.

J.P.

You cannot beat the ride on 16's.

I have a set of stock GS 16's for the winter and after riding on anything larger, they are soooo soft. But I will tell you what, a 17" is a MUST, if not 18". The 16's are way to small for the GS.

Threxx

You mean they are too small in terms of the way they look?

J.P.

Yeah the 16's look really small on the GS. I think you would still be happy with 17's, but the 16's are plush, you have like a half a foot of sidewall or something Like TR said, with the right tire you would be good to go with the 17's.

TGRich

i went from 15's to 17's on my sc, and would never go back. The handling is definitely worth the price paid in comfort, which isn't that big of a difference.

LexDiamond

I think 17" ride beautiful if you get a nice tire. I had 15/16/17/18 on my ES's.

15 seemed to limit the car, 16 was good, 17 (myfav) and 18 was harsh but looks the best!