I've been driving my new XA for about 2 or 3 months now. I have to say, I'm used to fast cars but I just love this thing. Once you pump the tires up to 44 psi It really does do 40mpg. I was kinda dissapointed when I got it and my first road trip I got 29 mpg. but I didn't realize tire pressure makes such a huge difference in these little cars.

anyway, I just bought some nice 18 inch wheels for my car and I was wondering what lowering options people have tried and like the best.

I was thinking of just getting some 2" drop springs and calling it a day.

thanks for any imput you guys have!

 

Here is a guide to read:
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50481

 

If you got 18" wheels and tires you can kiss about 4 mpgs by by while running them. Thats what my xB loses with 17"s on it.

 

No complaints out of my hotchkis springs. It had a bit of a rake (rear was higher than the front) for a couple months, but it finally started to even out a little better. Now that I have a sub box back there that's about 80 lbs, then it's perfectly even with the fronts.

 

did you re-align your XB? changing the rims doesn't normally change the gas mileage if you take into account a few things like the tire diameter % change and the alignment. if your tires are tucked in at the top, you will lose MPG big time. ever try to roll a cone in a straight line?

 

Bigger wheels and tires are heavier and have a bigger contact (foot print) patch. You get more rolling resistance. I have recorded 3-4 mpgs loss when running my 17's instead of the steelies with no other changes.

 

my 18's are actually lighter than stock. 2nd, there is no more of a contact patch unless you're running lower air pressure. the rolling resistance is the same so long as the tires are in alignment. if your mpg went down that much, get your alignmnet and tire pressure checked. you will lose 5-6 mpg with stock tires if you're at 32 psi instead of 40

I have 17's and 18's on 3 of my cars already. make sure the tops of your tires are not pushed in!!

 

thankis for all the help. I ended up going with some standard 2" eibach springs and the car looks and rides great! it's smooth like stock. not at all bouncy like I've experienced with cheaper springs.

i put a pic in the picture section. here is the link: