17" versus 18" Wheels

[KeithW]

In the stage of trying to find the right car and deal for a 3.8 Genesis sedan to replace the wife's 06 Buick Lucerne.

My preference is for a Premium Package car to get wanted options and to avoid 18" wheels so we can use the still good 235/55/17 Michelin winter tires from the Lucerne.

Two questions:
I'm thinking the 17" would perhaps ride a bit softer than the 18". Yes, I know, it won't be like the Lucerne, but I'm hoping better than the 18" equipped 3.8 and 4.6 cars the dealer has for me to try locally). Has anyone tried the two 17" v/s 18" and did you notice a difference in ride harshness?

I might go with Premium plus Nav Packages because they are much more available around here (W. IL, E. IA). If so, do you see a downside to having the dealer swap the 18" wheels for 17" ones from a Base or Prem. car (assuming I am not bothered by the appearance difference)?

KeithW - deep into looking/researching.

'04 BMW 325CI daily driver - still "perfect" at 7 yrs. and 75,000 miles. (It is almost perfect - I do not try to drink coffee in it on anything but smooth roads.)

 

[homeofstone]

In the stage of trying to find the right car and deal for a 3.8 Genesis sedan to replace the wife's 06 Buick Lucerne.

My preference is for a Premium Package car to get wanted options and to avoid 18" wheels so we can use the still good 235/55/17 Michelin winter tires from the Lucerne.

Two questions:
I'm thinking the 17" would perhaps ride a bit softer than the 18". Yes, I know, it won't be like the Lucerne, but I'm hoping better than the 18" equipped 3.8 and 4.6 cars the dealer has for me to try locally). Has anyone tried the two 17" v/s 18" and did you notice a difference in ride harshness?

I might go with Premium plus Nav Packages because they are much more available around here (W. IL, E. IA). If so, do you see a downside to having the dealer swap the 18" wheels for 17" ones from a Base or Prem. car (assuming I am not bothered by the appearance difference)?

KeithW - deep into looking/researching.

'04 BMW 325CI daily driver - still "perfect" at 7 yrs. and 75,000 miles. (It is almost perfect - I do not try to drink coffee in it on anything but smooth roads.)

Why make a purchase decision of over $30,000.00 based on a set of used tires worth only a few hundred dollars? Get the car you like most and can live with for at least 5 years and then worry about tires. You could sell the 17" tires on Craigs list and purchase new 18" winter tires if you need them.

 

[KeithW]

Thanks for the reply.

You are right - used snow tires are not a very good reason for making a call on a new car. Really, the question is more about wanting to improve the ride. Wondering if the extra 1/2 inch of rubber might help. Its a 150 mile drive to the closest 17 inch car.

Keith W

 

[TEF]

It's not clear why keeping the snows and getting 18" rims on the Genesis should be a problem. It doesn't appear mutually exclusive. In my area most people put their snows on a second set of rims (to avoid mounting and re-mounting tires each season) and your "Buick" 17" snows fit a Genesis. Why not put them on 17" Hyundai or aftermarket rims and buy the new Genesis with either 17 or 18 inch rims? I am using 17" blizzak snows and 18" Dunlops summer tires and see no huge difference in ride quality, however, the 17" rims and tires seem slightly better. If you want a save a little on the snow-tire setup, just forget about the TPMS and use conventional valves.

 

[dg_moore]

If you want a car that rides like a Buick you may not be happy with the Genesis. I love the way my Genesis rides, but with your eyes closed you would never confuse it with a Buick.

 

[KeithW]

Thanks for the comment, DG. I see your point but I'm not expecting a Lucerne ride. My daily driver is a BMW 3 Series. Between my wife and I, we had three Mercedes and 2 two other BMWs in the 1993-2002 period and liked them all. I think I understand the difference.

That said, I did not like the ride on the two 18" wheel Genesis cars available to me to try locally. Not judging for others - just my opinion.

Really liked most everything else about the car. And the ride is not so bad that it would keep me from buying an 18" wheel car if it comes to that. But if I thought the 17" wheels would improve the ride I expect I would go that way and try for a dealer wheel swap. Hoping the forum info will enable me to avoid a 150 mile trip to Chicagoland to find out for myself.

If I do the trip I will report back with my opinion for what its worth. And maybe a little extra "bling" will win me over.

This forum is great.

KeithW

 

[KeithW]

It's not clear why keeping the snows and getting 18" rims on the Genesis should be a problem. It doesn't appear mutually exclusive. In my area most people put their snows on a second set of rims (to avoid mounting and re-mounting tires each season) and your "Buick" 17" snows fit a Genesis. Why not put them on 17" Hyundai or aftermarket rims and buy the new Genesis with either 17 or 18 inch rims? I am using 17" blizzak snows and 18" Dunlops summer tires and see no huge difference in ride quality, however, the 17" rims and tires seem slightly better. If you want a save a little on the snow-tire setup, just forget about the TPMS and use conventional valves.

Thanks for the info. That helps. On one of our prior cars we used Blizzak snows and found them quite a bit softer than the summer tires. That was with the same aspect ratio (no wheel size change). So if you are not seeing much difference with the smaller wheels plus the change to Blizzaks, I'm guessing just the change to 17" will not make much of a difference.

Good tip on TPMS.

KeithW