18" vs 20" Tires?
Racer
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,941
Likes: 581
From: New York
So, I have a question for anyone in the Chicago area who drives on Route 88 (The Reagan) or anyone who regularly drives on transverse grooved concrete highways.
I have a 2018 RX450h w/the 20' tires. The ride on these types of highways is horrible in my RX - lots of tramlining and excessive vibration through the floor into the seats of the car. It's very uncomfortable. Alignment, tire pressure, balance - all OK.
Has anyone else had (or have) a similar experience?
I have a 2018 RX450h w/the 20' tires. The ride on these types of highways is horrible in my RX - lots of tramlining and excessive vibration through the floor into the seats of the car. It's very uncomfortable. Alignment, tire pressure, balance - all OK.
Has anyone else had (or have) a similar experience?
Racer
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 1,555
Likes: 345
From: Ontario, Canada
The lower sidewall which is stifened does give you a more precise feeling when steering at speed, but that's all.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 701
Likes: 166
From: NSW
Mine came with the 20" wheels and would have preferred 19" or even 18" as the DO ride better. This craze of low sidewalls is purely esthetics and even this is in the eye of the beholder at the expense of ride-quality.
The lower sidewall which is stifened does give you a more precise feeling when steering at speed, but that's all.
The lower sidewall which is stifened does give you a more precise feeling when steering at speed, but that's all.
Driver
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 128
Likes: 16
From: ON
They need to be balanced.
Too low of profile, you won't get any grip.
Too tall tires, handling will suffer.
The new Dodge Demon ( a serious straight line performer) comes with 18" only where some Challengers come with 20" wheels.
The RX probably doesn't need 20" but big wheels are trending in SUVs now, and they do look quite good.
Too low of profile, you won't get any grip.
Too tall tires, handling will suffer.
The new Dodge Demon ( a serious straight line performer) comes with 18" only where some Challengers come with 20" wheels.
The RX probably doesn't need 20" but big wheels are trending in SUVs now, and they do look quite good.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 1,555
Likes: 345
From: Ontario, Canada
As I said it does give a better & sharper steering as the sidewall is stiffer, but this is only useful at higher speeds or when racing, for everyday driving IMO it's a setback as if you hit a pothole there goes your tire & wheel.
Rookie
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 34
Likes: 3
From: Colorado
I actually wanted the 20 inch wheels as the suspension is already very soft and steering is extremely light. 20 inch wheels provides a little more direct steering and a little less roll on turns. That being said even with 20 inch wheels the sidewall ratio is still a high 55 so I am not worried about potholes damaging the tires or the wheels at all.
Driver
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 128
Likes: 16
From: ON
But again it needs to be balanced.
I’ve had 40 profile tires on my car for 10+ Years and never damaged the wheels.
And The bigger the wheel goes, heavier it gets. Wheel weight is critical for car performance. Those “rappers” with 23-24” chrome wheels with super thin 30 profile tires for their Impalas don’t add any performance at all.
Each car is different. For the RXs, 20” wheels look great. 19s probably gives you more comfort but look slightly under sized.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 1,555
Likes: 345
From: Ontario, Canada
As I said it does give a better & sharper steering as the sidewall is stiffer, but this is only useful at higher speeds or when racing, for everyday driving IMO it's a setback as if you hit a pothole there goes your tire & wheel.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 645
Likes: 135
From: NJ
The circumference of the rubber is almost exactly the same, only the wheel is larger. In fact the tires on the larger wheels sometimes wear out sooner since they might have softer performance oriented (aka stickier) rubber.
Last edited by sderman; Aug 13, 2018 at 01:28 PM. Reason: addition
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,422
Likes: 200
From: US
I like bigger wheels when they look belong there. It’s certainly an opinion and imo some bigger wheels look too big and kill the brand. For some reasons the “stock” (including some upgrades) always look belong there. I have stock 20 on rx and like them but I don’t have a good feel for that size on the gx.
I don’t know if this is related to this topic. We had a 2008 rx. When they changed to the new model, we really like the look and went for test drive to see if we would like it. We did a few test drives and always felt dizzy in that model. We even had the demo over the weekends to see if it was just certain type of driving. But still felt same way. So we gave up. While doing some random reading here someone mentioned because of the wheel sizes. We test drove again a few years later and got the 15. I can’t remember the exact size but it was larger than the original stock. The vehicle seems to handle better too. The earlier version with smaller stock wheels is too soft for us. It felt like driving a Taurus.
I don’t know if this is related to this topic. We had a 2008 rx. When they changed to the new model, we really like the look and went for test drive to see if we would like it. We did a few test drives and always felt dizzy in that model. We even had the demo over the weekends to see if it was just certain type of driving. But still felt same way. So we gave up. While doing some random reading here someone mentioned because of the wheel sizes. We test drove again a few years later and got the 15. I can’t remember the exact size but it was larger than the original stock. The vehicle seems to handle better too. The earlier version with smaller stock wheels is too soft for us. It felt like driving a Taurus.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 16
Likes: 5
From: IL
Regardless of wheel size- I'm always surprised how much road vibration permeates the cabin of my RX. Just came back from a 4-day trip to see my folks - driving their 2007 Ford around it was so smooth. Came back to my RX and I was immediately struck by the vibration. It's surprising really for a Lexus to have so much vibration.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 9,589
Likes: 3,411
From: NJ
Regardless of wheel size- I'm always surprised how much road vibration permeates the cabin of my RX. Just came back from a 4-day trip to see my folks - driving their 2007 Ford around it was so smooth. Came back to my RX and I was immediately struck by the vibration. It's surprising really for a Lexus to have so much vibration.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 16
Likes: 5
From: IL
I think so as well - but, Lexus says all is fine - they feel nothing unusual and cannot duplicate. Meanwhile, my passenger seat vibrates like a Banshee and there is vibration in the front of drivers seat and gas pedal.