Has anyone here with a new or late-model car downsized their tires/wheels from OE?

"dogisbadob" (dogisbadob) 09/19/2018 at 19:08 • Filed to: None

1

38

We all know that too many new cars come with big dubs on no-profile tires, and that these tires ride like shit, are more fragile and blow out more easily than Donald Trump’s ego, and cost bigly to replace. In some cases, you can even get a brand new set of wheels *and* tires of a smaller size and that will still cost less than just tires in the original size.

There is no benefit to them for the rather plain cars they have been equipped on.

For example, two people on here with a current gen Mazda 6 that comes with 19-in stock, the tires cost over $800 a set to replace, are looking for new tires that don’t cost bribe money to replace. Remember that there is no more MS6, and the upcoming turbo Mazda 6 will be automatic-only and won’t really be a new MS6 anyway.

The best part is that you can downsize more than Trump himself, three full inches, and have no problems at all. That’s right, 16's will clear the brakes on these cars, and will ride much better, cost much less, and will be much more defensible to potholes and shit.

Downsizing is usually done when using a separate set of tires just for winter, where the skinnier tread of a smaller tire size pushes to the ground better in the snow. But the downsizing can also be done for other reasons and with year-round tires like all-season tires or summer tires.

So, has anyone on here with a recent model car with these dubs downsize to normal size tires with real sidewall?

Because I sure as hell would if I ever got a post-2010 car with these ridiculous rims.

I made this slideshow of Tire Rack renderings of downsize tires on popular new cars. And apparently, Kinja doesn’t show slideshow images in the oppo page.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:03

7

I run 205/50-15s on my Fiesta ST. Better ride, less unsprung weight, no more bent wheels and far fewer (though not zero) tire-killing sidewall pinches. Roads in this country suck these days.

ranwhenparked > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:04

3

This enormous chrome  wagon wheel wrapped in rubber bands fad is bound to end sooner or later. Smaller wheels are an easy way to make a car look lower, too, which gives an aesthetic advantage. 

interstate366, now In The Industry > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:11

1

My TL has OEM 19s. Tires are 245/40/19. I like how they look, but I am thinking about getting a set of base AWD 18s, which come with 245/45/18s, for track duty in the future. The 19" tires aren’t much more expensive than 18s, however. I’m mainly doing it for weight savings.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:12

1

I definitely run 16s for winter on the GTI and I’d prefer 17s for summer but I consider the stock 18s kind of iconic to the Mk6 and they actually haven’t been too hard to live with. 

OmerCarrothers333 > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:22

2

The next time I have to buy tires for my GTI, I’m buying a set of smaller wheels to go with the tires.

My bird IS the word > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:22

1

I just found out winter tires aren’t really any more expensive for the 18's. getting another set of rims also won’t save me money for at least 4 years. I need the money now, so that plan got thrown out the window.

smobgirl > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:26

2

You could get either 16s or 17s on the Abarth. I have 16s on at the moment because I still have snow tires on the car. Probably going to get 17s again for next  summer but who knows.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:30

1

All of those look  terrible.

dogisbadob > interstate366, now In The Industry 09/19/2018 at 20:35

0

How much do the stock 19" wheels weigh?

These 17" Radius W102's weigh 25 lb each:

These OZ Allegg eritas only weigh 16 lb each but are really expensive!

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:36

1

I’m probably going to go to 18's on the 997.2.

The problem is: they aren’t actually cheaper. Just harder to find right now. Because instead of P235/35R19 + P305/30R19? P235/40R18 + P305/35R18.

dogisbadob > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 09/19/2018 at 20:40

0

Yeah, but that’s different. The 997 is an expensive premium high performance sports car/GT care/whatever. It’s ok for a car like that to have big wheels.

There is a difference between 18/19" big wheels on a 997 and having those big wheels on an Accord.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:40

2

I have never owned a car with larger than 15s from the factory, so.... No.

(Rover had 15s, now 16, Ranchero had 13s, now 14/15, Benz on 15, Galaxie and Lincoln in 14s, my VW had 14s, Buick had 14s(?)...)

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:57

2

After I got my volt I lucked out and was able to use my old set of snow tires. Much nicer when encountering winter potholes.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 20:59

1

Not really... the rubber bands make the handling objectively worse on them. If that weren’t true, the RSR’s and GT3 Cups would run 19's instead of 280/650R18 + 330/710R18. (Race tire sizes are different, but those correspond to 1 8x10.5 and 1 8x12.)

For my car, I’d want 245/nR18 and 305/ nR18 where n is around 655 front and around 665 rear.

Tekamul > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 21:03

2

I went from stock 17s to 16s on my Toyobaru. I like them better that way, and would've done 15s if I could find a decent set that fit.

bhtooefr > ranwhenparked 09/19/2018 at 21:07

2

The problem is that small diameter tires increase rolling resistance, and make the high beltlines of modern cars look more ridiculous.

(However, modern ridiculously large wheels are silly, we need more sidewall.)

bhtooefr > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 21:12

1

Can’t say I’ve done a -1 (I have gone -10 mm on width though, on one car) , but I tend towards cars where the +1 is still pretty small if I take it, and I did select my current car’s trim level to specifically get the 15s over the 17s.

Let’s put it this way, the biggest wheels I’ve ever had were 16s, and the lowest profile tires I’ve ever had were 50 (on both 15s and 16s).

dogisbadob > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 09/19/2018 at 21:25

0

cool

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 21:37

2

he worst thing with all the narrow tires is how many have the rim flush with the tire, so anything on the side, instant scratch. 

interstate366, now In The Industry > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 22:04

1

28 pounds. The 09-11 18s weigh 24 and the 12-14 18s weigh 26. I found a set of 09-11s on a wrecked car about 100 miles away so I’m going to check those out at some point.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 22:05

1

I had a customer go down from 20's to 18's on a 222 S-class. 

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 22:36

1

If I dropped from an 18 to a 17, my caliper would barely clear the inner wheel. I like my big brakes, so I’m gonna keep my dubs. 

DipodomysDeserti > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 22:49

1

I’ve been thinking about putting 17” BMW steel wheels on my wife’s X1 when it’s time for new tires. Mostly because I love how bimmers look with steelies.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 22:50

1

I can’t say that I’ve actually downsized on wheels, but in addition to the manual transmission one of the reasons I wanted the base ‘Sport’ model of the Mazda5 was to get the 16" wheels and tires instead of the 17s. I’ve had larger on past vehicles and either didn’t like the cost or didn't like the ride compromise when the vehicle was not equipped so originally.

dogisbadob > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 09/19/2018 at 23:24

0

That’s different. The cars in the slideshow do not have brakes that big.

There is a difference between a performance-oriented GTI vs a base Golf.

Nibbles > dogisbadob 09/19/2018 at 23:32

1

I dropped from the OEM 20s on my Ram 1500 to Rebel 17s. Best decision I’ve made in a long time. They ride better, look better and make the truck much more competent with the trailer in tow

TheRealBicycleBuck > dogisbadob 09/20/2018 at 00:19

1

Wes did it to his Outback.

Smaller wheels = bigger/better tires and better selection.

Here’s what he had to say:

“ Wheels: The smallest wheels that will fit over the Outback’s calipers are going to be 17-inch. That one-inch difference is luckily enough to deliver some real tire choice.

In general, the current trend for ever larger wheels and ever thinner tires is dumb. Off-road or on, you’ll achieve better ride quality and more forgiving handling with the most possible tire sidewall.

At first, I was going to simply swap on the base Outback’s steelies. While those would have given me the tire choice, they’d have done nothing for the car’s looks. So, I ended up going for a set of Method Race Wheels’ MR502s in bronze. Those are based on the wheels used by Subaru Rally Team USA and are massively strong as a result. At eight inches wide, they’re also wider than the stock items and combined with the 38mm offset, that helps push them out to really fill out the wheel arches.

I figure the gold wheels and red paint give my Outback a little ‘90s Subaru retro appeal; these wheels make a huge difference to way the car looks, while also adding some welcome strength.

Tires: Tires are the most important component on your car. It does not matter how much power your engine makes or how good your suspension is, if your tires can’t use any of that. Or, in Subaru’s case, if your AWD system has to fight your shitty stock tires all the time. Invest in a quality set of tires before changing anything else on any vehicle you own.

I wanted a set of genuinely-capable all-terrains and these Maxxis Bravo A/T 771s deliver. In 235/65-17, they add about an inch of diameter over the stock tires so, in also losing an inch of wheel, I’ve gained two inches of sidewall. That massively improves ride quality and gives me the ability to air down to low tire pressures while still protecting the (now very strong) wheels from impacts. Doing so increases traction and improves ride off-road, I can now tackle washboard at 60mph+ that previously had me going 30, and I’m more comfortable while doing that.

Despite the thicker rubber, additional belts and stronger, wider wheels, I’m only up 9lbs a corner with this wheel/tire setup. Steering response on the road is improved, I now have excellent traction in the rain and grip on loose surfaces is excellent. I can detect no additional road noise.

Most importantly, I now have far, far greater puncture resistance, both on-road and off. Tires are always the first and most frequently damaged thing on your car.”

gmctavish needs more space > dogisbadob 09/20/2018 at 02:30

1

I want to do this to the Legacy. It doesn’t handle well enough to justify how harsh the ride is .

syaieya > dogisbadob 09/20/2018 at 06:45

1

I havent yet, but as stylish as my 18 is i did see that europe made a stock 8 inch wide 16 inch wheel.

So in theory my winter tires should still mount from my last car

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > dogisbadob 09/20/2018 at 09:29

1

I downsize from 20” to 18” in the winter. It makes the ride much less sharp over bumps. But being that it’s winter tires, it also gets a little bit less direct in turns. I would go to a 19” wheel for my summers if I needed to replace the wheels for some reason. But for now, no need to replace the wheels and the tires are still relatively new. 20” tires are spensive, 19” not as ex pensive, and 18” tires are downright reasonable. If I can get tires for less than $200 a corner, that’s a deal. Tires aren’t cheap, well good tires aren’t cheap, and cheap tires aren’t good, in general... well except for general, they have some pretty reasonably priced  tires that aren’t junk.  Moral of the story kids is don’t cheap out on your tires.  

dogisbadob > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 09/20/2018 at 09:46

1

That’s exactly the problem.

Good 15-16" tires only cost about $100 a corner

dogisbadob > gmctavish needs more space 09/20/2018 at 10:07

1

16's on your Legacy. Here you go :o)

gmctavish needs more space > dogisbadob 09/20/2018 at 19:07

1

Well that’s not bad at all 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > dogisbadob 09/26/2018 at 00:27

1

I have a ‘91 Corolla with 13-inch, 155-section tires. There’s a bit of lean, and a little bit of jitter at 83 mph, but in all, a nimble, light-footed car. All these no-profile tires are asinine.

The ‘76 Lambo had 70s.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > dogisbadob 09/26/2018 at 00:28

1

And they throw away their old wheels -- or give them to the shop and the shop resells them -- and can’t go back when regret catches them up.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > gmctavish needs more space 09/26/2018 at 00:29

1

Put lo-pros on a car that’s supposed to be sort of an all-terrain car? Now, there’s a clever plan!

gmctavish needs more space > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 09/26/2018 at 11:19

1

Exactly. I’ve taken it on a couple logging roads, and it’s a bit nerve- wracking with the tires. Then again, it also doesn’t have the torque, or gearing, or ground clearance, to have any ability off road.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > gmctavish needs more space 09/26/2018 at 16:03

2

When I say “off road,” I really mean snow and gravel for people who live in New England. Wouldn’t want low-pro tires for that environment.