Has anyone looked into swapping out the 22" wheels on the TX500h to something smaller? Potentially even the 20" wheels from the TX350?

We want the power, chassis, and city mpg of the TX500h. But 22" hurt ride quality while being more prone to damage, more expensive tires, and fewer tire options. We don't even like the 22" wheels (mainly the color).

Has anyone looked into swapping? We're coming from Porsches where you can select between 10+ different wheels and sizes. Not used to only having 1 wheel option.

 

Interested in this as well. I was thinking the same thing this morning after watching a review about the harsh ride on bumps with the 500h and the 22" wheels. The reviewer blamed it on the wheels more than anything. More than likely, I would swap with TX350 since the total size with tires would be the same.

 

Yeah, 22" vs 20" will definitely have a big impact on ride quality. Tires will also cost ~50% more.

I wonder how much it'd cost to buy the 20" OEM wheels. Or if a dealer would let you swap for 20"s (which are cheaper than 22"s).

 

I looked at Discount Tire, and there were only two options for 22". The 20" had Defender LTX M/S and other all-season options. The price per tire for the 22" was at least $150 more!

I don't know how friendly dealerships are now compared to a few years ago when you could pretty much ask for anything like wheel swaps. Now, it is a take it or leave it mentality. Before I bought my RCF, a different dealership had a 2020, but the previous owner had put aftermarket rims on it, which were ugly (the dealership also certified this Lexus even with aftermarket rims). The dealership also had a 2015 RCF on the lot with the stock RCF wheels. I told them I would buy the 2020 if they swapped the wheels with the 2015, and they said no. I didn't think it was an unreasonable request because it was a used 2015, not a brand new one to swap the wheels with. No big deal obviously, but I went elsewhere.

You would think that swapping a base TX350 with those 22", someone would still buy it no problem.

 

​​​​​​That was my thinking as well - larger wheels would be a positive for some TX350 buyers. And yes, the 22" tires are not only more expensive but far fewer options. I don't even see a winter 22" option which seems like it'd be a real issue in some places.

That's annoying about the RCF. The market is finally softening and dealers are having to change some of the "take it or leave it" mentality, but the TX is probably immune from the because it's so new.

I'll see what the dealer says when we go and will report back.

 

I like the 20" wheels that come with the TX 350 Luxury. Any word on what your dealer said?

I have a feeling I would have to order the 20s separately and convince them to credit me for the 22s some sort of amount.

 

My TX350 Luxury came with the 22 inch wheels which I did not want. I ended up doing a take-off swapping them with somebody who had a TX350 Premium and I took a $2200 hit with a free trade for the wheels from the Premium.

My reasoning is that we will be using the vehicle for a fair amount of long distance travel vehicle and also we live in pothole country in Minnesota.

Here's the thing with 22 inch tires: They look great. The downside is if you hit a pothole you run a risk of separating a tire ply or perhaps even damaging the rim which will cost you big bucks. If you damage the tire ply, as the TX350 is all-wheel drive in our case, you have to replace all four tires which runs you nearly $2,100 for 22” tires. By comparison, a set of 20” tires might be in the neighborhood of $1,500 to $1,700.

Over the course of 100,000 miles the 22 inch tires will cost at least $3,000 more out of pocket given they’re likely to have less tread life (I’m guessing about 10,000 miles less vs. a 20” tire) as well as the additional cost of mounting balancing disposal and alignment each time they're put on.

The current selection of 22” tires is dismal. If you’re on a trip and not close to a metro area, good luck getting a tire quickly.

Finally, the ride is just not as good with the 22 inch wheels in my opinion and there’s no way in heck you can get sporty performance out of a TX-350 without a hybrid engines vs. the turbo 4.

 

just bought 18s for winter on a TX350. minus 4 sizing is kind of wild but I was doing minus 3 sizing from a 21 to an 18 on my most recent Q7...

 

20’s will ride softer for sure. For anyone wanting to trade their 22’s for tx 20’s, you guys need to be getting cash on top. Straight trading 22’s for 20’s is a crazy deal for 20” owners

 

no it's not. considering the price differential of the next set of tires is much more than the difference in street value. not to mention you are way less likely to damage something on a 20" wheel and you'll get a better ride quality...

 

I could be wrong but I would be willing to bet that if anyone posted an ad to trade their tx 22”s for tx 20”s plus $1000 cash they would have no problem getting that.

 

well I will gladly be the first taker of that deal. who has 20s in the greater boston area on a TX and wants some 22s? I would be happy with a small amount of cash on top...

 

Hi Mhoran89, if you still have the Lexus TX350 oem Luxury 22” wheels available, I’m very interested about them with my 20” oem luxury wheels from my TX350 and Cash. Well if they are still available let me know please. I’m in Rhode Island so I’m pretty close to Boston so I can go to you. Thanks

 

Hi. I had a guy who was interested in doing a trade but currently I am on 18s with winter tires and only put 500 miles on the 22s so I need some time to think about it because I have had very limited experience with them on.

Not to mention the tires that come on the 22s are more highly regarded than the ones on the 20s. I temporarily solved my issue with getting a winter set of 18s which I was planning on doing anyways.

On another note, how are you liking your TX?

 

Okay, sounds good. If you decide to let them go in the future just let me know, and I’ll probably still be interested in them. In the meantime I’ll be looking for another set of the 22”. But this new model, I love the TX350 it’s a big body, it’s a lot bigger than my 2023 RX350. How do you like it?