Prowlrman

Looking for comments regarding what tire size you currently have on your car and how you feel about ride quality? Currently we have 18 inch tire / rim combo on my wife's 05 xB and time to replace the tires as they are worn after 26,000 miles. We bought the car new with the 18' wheels / tires from the dealer, but my wife has hated the rough ride since the day we took it home.

I am going to buy her new rims / tires and thinking 16 inch instead of the stock 15's, or even 17 inch, but I know while I want a good look with wheel / tire combo, she is the one that drives the car mostly and wants a good ride that doesn't knock out teeth fillings over every bump in the road. BTW, it is NOT lowered, it is stock suspension.

Hope you can share some comments. I am thinking about Sportmax rims with some tire combo.

TerribleTed

Before I bought my 06 xB I drove xB's with the 17", and 18" dealer supplied wheel options. The 17" drove fine with just a hint of of sporty road feel. The 18" combo using 215/35/18 tires gave a very harsh ride. I bought my car with standard 15" wheels and tires intent on getting some 17" wheels for it right after. The wheels I fell in love with came in 18" minimum diameter. I did a little research and measuring and found that a 215/40/18 tire would fit easily and should improve the ride a little I figured. I figured I had to have the look of the wheels I chose and would have to live with a fairly harsh ride. I was pleasantly surprised when the 215/40/18 tires rode much more like the 17" wheel and tire combo than the 215/35/18 setup. The ride is firm but not harsh. I am using BFG GSports (they do not wear long...I got about 22K from the fronts...recently replaced...and figure the rears will go just under 40K).

Perhaps a set of 215/40/18 tires would provide an acceptable alternative to spending the cash for new wheels as well? (be advised you speedo will read about 3.8% low with the slightly larger diameter tire....this equals about 2.3 MPH at 60)

mdtjr

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions. Their an excellent tire. Tire rack rates them No. 1.http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPASThey are excellent in wet conditions and do not track with the grooves on the highway. When the stock goodyears wear out I'll get them for my wifys Xa.

koalaty2

Still being stock suspension, the rear Toyota Echo shock makes a big difference. Fits just like OEM, but rides much better. Info somewhere on the boards.
Generally:
tallest side-walls (higher series)= better ride.
Narrow tires (low sedtion width =less noise .
Great handling/stopping/cornering= lowest series & widest possible.
Just have to decide what is important to you/your wife.
Good luck.

hawaiiguy

my xB is not lowered, I have 16"Konig rims plus toyo 205/45/16 proxes 4 tires /an 'excellent' combo of ride and handling...!!!

RicheeCombo

just need some advice.. just got my first box, an 05 manual... bought some tyfun rims and 215 45 R17 87V federal tires... first time ive owned rims.. i live in upstate NY.. should probably wait until at least late march to put them on? how would they handle with a little snow? also want to make sure they will fit correctly... i read that 45 is the biggest you can go without rubbing... any input? i have not done anything to the spring... also is there anything else I should do before mounting them? the tires came mounted and balanced on the rims but should i get an alignment too when i put them on? thanks a lot..

TerribleTed

Drivability in snow is almost completely dependant on the tires. If they have good sized grooves and a strong tread pattern they will likely be ok (wider tires will tend to ride up on top of snow more than narrower ones so be careful).

The tire size is not the only major factor in most tire fit issues, alot depends on the offset of the wheels as well. Since you already have purchased the wheel and tire set, I reccommend mounting them on the car and checking clearances. With the car on the ground, using a flashlight to see well in and around the tire, lay down and look under for rubbing issues. Look carefully all around the tires with the wheels turned full left and full right. Look closely inside and outside of the rear tires as well. Kepp in mind that even the rears do not stay totally vertical when the suspension is compressed, so a bit of clearance is needed. If clearances at the outside on the front are close with the wheels turned all the way then contact is possible in operation if the suspension rises when hitting a bump (wheel and tire can move upwards and inch or more at least in this situation). You can duplicate this type of motion to a point by jacking under the control arm lifting the wheel on one side. If no contact is evident then careful driving for a while while listening for rubbing is a good idea. Inspection of the tires after a period of operation is a good idea as well (looking for rubbed spots) as a slight rub you might not hear.

If there is contact when checking things out there are a few fixes. If the contact is toward the inside and there is more than enough clearance on the outside then wheel spacers can be used to move the wheel and tire combintaion outwards. If clearance issues are on the outside then only smaller tires or more offset (different rims) will fix the problem (besides body modifications that is). Rolling of wheel opening lips spacing of front fenders outward and other body mods can be used to gain clearance in some cases.