Mike0321

I just bought my first car, a 2014 Lexus ES 300H, Cerulean Blue Metallic color. I want to get rims for the car. I wanted to know how much difference is in the ride between 17" vs. 18"? If I get the 18" rims will I have to go with a low profile tire? Is there a difference in ride between low profile tires and regular tires? I know the gas efficiency will reduce with 18", but does it reduce no matter with tire (low or regular) you use?

Chocolate

I went from 60 profile 16s to 45 profile 18s. Ride quality is very good on both and you'd have a hard time telling a difference except on very rutted surfaces.

Profile is determined by the size of the wheel you use. I.E., 55 profile 17" wheels, 45 profile 18s, or 40 profile 19s.

Formula271

Not to change the subject, but the picture looks like a 350, not 300h....is that your car?

To answer your question, of course there will be a ride difference. To maintain the same rolling diameter of the tire/wheel, the tire for the 18" combo will inherently be "lower profile" than the tire on the 17" tire/wheel combo. You may be able to go up one aspect size on the 18" (from 45 to 50, for example), and this would possibly improve comfort / noise, but your speedometer would be off, and you may have clearance issues within the wheel well (although, one aspect ratio higher would probably be OK)

That being said, there are definitely ways to mitigate the noise/ride degradation of going with 18's....choose a relatively lightweight wheel (un-sprung weight reduction goes a LONG way towards reducing ride harshness), and choose a "touring" type all season tire rather than a higher performance all-season or summer tire. "Touring" tires will generally have nice rounded edges, cushier sidewalls, and compounds chosen for comfort and noise, whereas a summer / performance oriented tire will have stiffer sidewalls, square-er edges, and compounds chosen for griping. The "touring tire" choices will also generally be lighter than the summer tire choices since in the touring tire there is less "structure" in the sidewall to increase stiffness.

So...choose a lighter-weight wheel and a "touring type" all season tire and you will be fine

Mike0321

SaigaX,

Thank you for your response.

amphipri0n

very informative, thanks

Chocolate

You're welcome! Keeping a stock level of ride quality and road noise level was very important to me. Before I bought my wheels and tires I drove an Infiniti M35 with 45R/18 wheels. I made sure to pay close attention to the level of road noise and vibration coming through the seat and steering wheel. This helped me make my decision. I did the same thing after bolting my 18s on. There's still quite a bit of flex in the tire.

CodemanGS

This is exactly what I would like to do, except I am going to wait and replace my stock 300h rims with the upgrade 350 18'' rims. Those rims are 1/2'' an inch wider and will start the effect of 'plus one'. Take stock and study what 'low rolling ressistance tires', there are for what will be the ultimate size you choose. "Tire Rack', is an excellent source of information, to acheive what you would like to do. While the stock 'Bridgestone Touranza 400' tires are not my favorites, Michelin makes an excellent tire for hybrids. I have a three week old 300h, and I am averaging 43.2 mpg. Not what my old Prius used to get, but you can still drive and employ similar driving techniques & strategy for how you drive, for getting better mpg. The 'ES Hybrid', is not the GS, but still a superb road worthy vehicle. Keep us posted and good luck!!