Hi, unless things drastically change, I will be buying an xA in January. I understand that the 15" tires comes standard with the Scion. What are the advantages of a smaller tire? Would a larger tire (17") give me a more quiet and comfortable ride? What about gas mileage? Which tire would be best?

I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on the subject.

Thanks.

Ken

 

Advantages of 15's:
- 15" rims and tires are cheaper
- usually less weight -> better gas mileage
- larger sidewall -> soaks up bumps better & protects rims better
- probably less contact patch -> quieter
- longer tread life on 60 series over 45 or 50's

Advantages of 17's:
- looks cooler
- wider tire, so better traction in the dry

I went with Enkei OEM 15's, and I'm very happy with them!

 

Can someone give me good reason why alloys ... other than appearance ... are better than OEM stainless on a 15" wheel?

 

alloys are lighter than stealies, hence less rolling mass, hence same or maybe a slight quicker acceleration. A 15"steely cang ive you the same rolling mass as a 17" lightweight, so you gain all the grip but dont loose the power.

 

If you buy 15" wheels, you can use your stock tires if you want, and that saves some $$$

 

15" x 6.5" wheels will fit with your oem tires with no problem. When you replace tires the185 or 195/60R-15 will not set you back too bad. I just bought Enkei J-10 wheels and really like the ride. Physics says the lighter wheels give a more responisve feel to the steering but I was sort of surprised to actually feel it.

 

I have 15's on my xA and I actually prefer them over anything larger. They seem to give more attention to the car instead of the huge wheels the car is sitting on. They are really light and work well with my suspension. Plus they were relatively inexpensive.

Bravo to the 15 crowd.

 

Where do you live? 17's... SUCK IN THE SNOW!!!! I'm debating getting 17's for summer only driving...as we speak. and keeping the stock for winter driving in NYC, they clear the snow pretty ok. Actually people from the burbs laugh at us when we get 15" in two days and everyone freaks out..

 

I'm in Rochester, New Hampshire. Southeast NH doesn't get heavy snow but it will have decent annual snowfall. I have a set of studded snow tires for the winter on my stock steelies. Those will be fun with a lowered car when I want to slide around the corners. :D

 

What about 12",13",14"? How bad would those be on an xA? I had a 92 Metro with stock 12"s and it was actually vey good in the snow,and fun too.

 

I'm going to stick with my 15" steelies for the winter. Just got a set of Hankook W404 (without the studs) since they've gotten really good "real-life" reviews, especially by some Subaru enthusiasts.

 

i ride on 18" enkies w/ proxes 4 in summer, but swap in the stock wheels and tires for winter.

the larger wheel with a lower profile and wider stance tire will give you better traction and better handling in turns, makes for alot of fun driving in the summer, i will admit 18"s are a little overboard, got them mostly for looks, but 17's seem to me a good mix of style/commfort/performance for the xA, especially with a slight drop like the TRD or Tein H-tech springs