Wheels 17 or 18 inch?

[jps137]

Looking to upgrade the wheels on the Camry (36 series) and we are trying to decide between 17 inch and 18 inch (currently have factory 15's). I know appearance is a matter of personal opinion, what I am after is feedback regarding ride and handling I have heard that 19 is going too far and becomes too harsh a ride and jumps around abit with the bumps in the road. The car is more of a family/comfort orientation rather than out and out sports, but 15 is just way too small.

What are peoples thoughts re 17 and 18 inch? I would like to hear from someone who has driven both for comparison.

Edited February 13, 2009 by jps137

[MR 988]

i had 17 inch and 18 inch wheels before, i think they have same feeling, but 18 inch looks much better.

[SportyAsh]

i agree with 18" defiantly look better, i drive with 17's at the moment and have no probs, but would like to get my hands on some 18"s, simply for the look

[jps137]

Thanks for the input. I was getting some new rubber for the Corolla the other day and asked about pricing for the various sizes for the Camry. I looked specifically at Bridgestone Adrenalins as a sample that fitted all three rim sizes (16, 17 & 18)

16inch around $200

17inch just under $200

18inch over $300

With this in mind 17's are looking pretty good.

[STYLSH]

I'd definitely go 18s. I still think 17s look small especially on the gen5s with the higher shoulder.

[Mac]

I had 17 before too and currently ride on 18... both feel the same but 18 does look better.. even with the 18 on I still feel it looks bit small for my gen 5, but not as bad as 17 I suppose....

Edited February 21, 2009 by Mac

[lateralus]

agreed, the 17's would look a tad too small if you were to upgrade. the 18's would fill the wheel arches nicely. i also think the 18's would give you more steering feedback, which is always a good thing (and a bad thing at times - torque steer).

i had 18's on my sportivo for a while and the ride quality was still good. on an altise with the standard suspension setup, i think it would be even more forgiving on 18's than the sportivo.

bottom line, if youre going for looks, then 17 might be worth considering if you can find wheels that distract you from the large wheel arches (especially if its not lowered). but i think 18s would look much nicer and give better performance

[JIN]

I was running 17" on my ex-car and 20" for my aurion now.

I would go for 18" for looks because they look better.

If you are worrying about comfort, just get higher profile tyres so they can make the ride more comfort.

There wouldn't be much difference if you have smaller profile tyres on 17" or 18" (stiff in both ways anyway) and

you would feel so much stiffer than the 15" wheels, of course.

If you are fully after the comfort, get 17" with bigger profile tyres.

If you think you can sacrifice a little bit of comfort(not noticeable for me), get 18" with bigger profile tyres.

Handling would be pretty same in both sizes tho...

[swampthing]

hey swampie here...

I have Speedy 17's with great rubber, and looking to downgrade to stock 15inch alloys for ride comfort. (see pic)

Wanna trade?

[whitestivo]

downgrade for what?

did I hear that right?

downgrade for weight, cheaper rubber for track, yes

whitestivo

[SportyAsh]

Finally got some 18's for the Sportivo, the ride is great, tyres are 235/40, they look great.