Hi,

I have two questions.

1) Does a larger sidewall (height from Rim lip to top of wheel?) equate to a softer ride over road bump, etc? If not, what factor in a wheel will give me better ride quality without sacrificing safety?

2) Assuming the answer from question 1 is that a larger sidewall does indeed give a softer ride: If I put a 15" wheel on my xb2 instead of the stock 16" what tire size would I want to go with to be as close as possible to the dimensions of the stock wheel/tire?

I did a search on, and found, the tire calculator. I tried inputting different sizes, but I'm not sure I'm making the correct adjustments. I'm hoping someone here has some knowledge on what tire size I should be looking at. All of this is assuming I find a 15" with the appropriate offset, etc.

Thanks!

Madode

 

Usually a high profile tire will give a slightly better ride than a low profile.

Be very careful of 15" wheels on the 08 xB. I do not recall seeing one confirmed fit of a 15 on this car. Maybe one with steel wheels? Most sites I have seen said the brakes are too large in the front for 15's.

I would not go smaller than a 16. I don't think the benefit will be there for 15's over 16's.
I have driven mine with the stock 16" wheels and stock tires. I have driven it with my 19" wheels with 235/35/19's on them. I currently have 16" aluminum wheels with Blizzak REVO1's on them for the winter. I honestly cannot tell much difference in any of them except handling and noise levels. The ride is not significantly different.

 

Thanks for the response roXor.

I was only contemplating the 15's to allow for increased sidewall depth thinking the benefit from a 15 vs 16 would be dramatic enough. But as I'm ok with the 16's I'll play it safe.

I just need to read up on reviews of winter tires now, and then in the summer find a nice, muted black on black <19lb wheel to replace the steel.

Madode