Yaris Mark 4 - Wheel Size 16 or 17"

[W1P30UT]

Hi,

I want to buy the Excel specification but don't want 17" wheels. I would rather have a higher profile 16" and hopefully a better ride. Does the 17" rider noticable harder than the 16". I also read somewhere the Excel/Dynamic have a stiffer sports suspension, is this true?

Thank you!

[Cyker]

Yeah the 17's were almost a dealbreaker for me too.

You can try and negotiate some sort of change to 16" rims as part of the purchase, but it would have to be changed post-purchase as apparently they're not allowed to sell you the higher spec cars with 16" rims fitted because they're not homolgated for it (Ridiculous, I know).

I went the whole hog and changed from the stock 17" alloys to 15" steel rims - Which are the smallest rims the car is rated for according to the manual. It did cost quite a lot of money tho' because I needed new tyres in addition to the rims, and 20 new nuts (I was told the flat-faced alloy nuts wouldn't sit properly on the steels), and have the TPMS sensors swapped over. (Was going to get new ones but they wanted nearly as much to purchase and code 4 new ones as they did for the rims and tyres combined so I settled for just swapping them... Over £70 each just for the sensors and about £150 for coding!!)

I feel it was worth it tho' - Was already a bit unhappy with the ride quality and NVH on the 17"s, but after the change the car felt far better on 15" rims - The ride is better, esp over the pothole-laden hellscape I drive in, the road noise is greatly reduced, esp. on those nasty sandy concrete parts of the M25, and I think I'm getting slightly better mpg too (Didn't have them on the 17's long enough to get a solid baseline to know categorically tho').

I am slightly suspicious of this claim that the higher specs have 'sports suspension' - Maybe flash or devon can see if the suspension have different part numbers between the lower and higher spec cars, but for me going from 17's to 15's has made so much difference I suspect it is just the 17 vs 16" that is the main difference...

 

[CPN]

5 hours ago, W1P30UT said:

Hi,

I want to buy the Excel specification but don't want 17" wheels. I would rather have a higher profile 16" and hopefully a better ride. Does the 17" rider noticable harder than the 16". I also read somewhere the Excel/Dynamic have a stiffer sports suspension, is this true?

Thank you!

As far as I could tell from a post on Toyota's blog site last year, only the Launch Edition has the uprated suspension BIMBW...

[FROSTYBALLS]

When you take out or renew insurance, you effectively agree that it is to standard spec for that model and spec level (ie Design, Excel, etc). If you're going away from the standard spec - ie fitting a different size wheel - notify your insurance company as they may consider it a modification.

[Cyker]

A nice tip; Some insurance companies wording say you must declare modifications that increase the value or performance of the vehicle so you might be able to argue that going down to 16" from 17" does neither of these things - I went with 15" steels specifically to take advantage of this, and while it did confuse 2 agents as they don't have an entry on their system for going to narrower smaller steel rims, they agreed that I could do it with no increase in premium. Just make sure they note the modification on their system so they can't cry ignorance later!

 

[W1P30UT]

Thanks everyone, I am going to go for the Design spec with 16".

[Cyker]

I think that is the best value for money one TBH... I only went Excel because I really wanted the HUD and all-around sensors and that was the only way to get them; If the tech and city packs were available on the Design, that would have been my preferred spec too!

[W1P30UT]

I only really want the parking sensors, as her indoors, has a habit of car park prangs!

[TonyHSD]

It seems like Toyota doesn’t give choice for wheel sizes therefore if you buy the model you like then after you can buy separately smaller or bigger wheels and make the changes yourself. , insurance should be notified as mentioned in previous posts. What makes harsher drive often is the tyre walls ratio and not the wheel diameter itself, you should look for parameters 50 or above for better fuel efficiency and higher comfort levels. Here are examples of what fit latest Yaris 

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/toyota/yaris/2021/

and here is how will look if you downsize to 16” from 17” all standard equipment for the car

 https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=205&aspect=45&diameter=17&wheelwidth=6.5&offset=50&width2=195&aspect2=55&wheel_size=16&wheel_width=6&offset2=50

in some cases to gain a better comfort all you may need is a better quality tyres than the oem fitted and no need to change wheel size and bother your insurance. , checked yesterday the 17” tyres are extremely expensive, a good ones are from £90 and above per tyre 🤭

[Cyker]

Yeah, also partly why I went to 15 - Tyres are so cheap!! Nearly half the price for a comparable 17" 45-profile tyre!

I just don't get Toyota's reasoning for 17s - It has nothing but negatives compared to 15s for the sort of person who'd buy a hybrid vehicle!

 

[MikeSh]

48 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I just don't get Toyota's reasoning for 17s - It has nothing but negatives compared to 15s for the sort of person who'd buy a hybrid vehicle!

 

Bigger numbers and "low profile tyres" look better on the sales material.

Remember, it's Toyota UK that spec these ranges and Toyota UK is basically a sales business ... they manufacture nothing.

[Cyker]

Hence why I don't think they understand their market at all - Stupidly massive rims would be a good strategy if they're targeting young boy racer types, but most wouldn't be caught dead in a car with a Hybrid Badge, even if they had 20+ grand handy...

From what I've seen in other threads, most of us want comfortable quiet cars that are cheap to run - Bigger rims are anti-all of those things! I don't think anyone buys a hybrid Yaris for its track performance or high-speed corner handling ability...

Big rims make sense on the GR Yaris, but definitely not on the Hybrid...

They should have bigger rims as an option, as it is with the lower spec models, but have the default rims smaller. That would further lower their baseline CO2 (Dynamic and Excel have a higher CO2 rating specifically because of the big rims!), and there's no BS excuse about homolgation issues with this, as they already homologated the lower specs to have 16 and 17" rims!

(I asked about this via cr@toyota.co.uk, as well as allowing the upgrade packs for lower-models, and more of the missing features the euro and jappy spec cars have; Just get a boiler-plate reply that they'll pass it onto their product team. Whether they'll actually do anything remains to be seen... Too late for me now tho'; Barring force majeure, this'll be the last new car I buy until someone makes a decent EV and I can afford it!)

[MikeSh]

53 minutes ago, Cyker said:

most of us want comfortable quiet cars that are cheap to run

But we aren't the mass market - probably a small fraction of it. Most people have no clue about science, hence the proliferation of garbage information on social media.

 

[MikeSh]

54 minutes ago, Cyker said:

They should have bigger rims as an option

It seems to me that the trend over the last decade or two has been to reduce 'options' to paint colour and a few dealer-fit extras. This means they can supply most cars in a week or less - people are impatient these days and waiting months for your specific mix of choice is not acceptable for many.

I saw an item a few weeks ago by a manufacturer (might have been GM, but don't quote me) that with Covid and all the other issues at present they might go back to 'bespoke' ordering and much reduced dealer inventories. Others suggested a rapid return to the pre-Covid model with huge stocks of standard cars lying around - because the manufacturers/dealers that say "We've got (almost) what you want out back" will snipe the ones that say "It'll be six weeks".

I'm afraid that cars these days are just commodities for most people and the market will reflect that. It's very annoying, but one can hope.

[Stopeter44]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:28 PM, Cyker said:

... Stupidly massive rims would be a good strategy if they're targeting young boy racer types, but most wouldn't be caught dead in a car with a Hybrid badge, even if they had 20+ grand handy...

From what I've seen in other threads, most of us want comfortable quiet cars that are cheap to run - Bigger rims are anti-all of those things! I don't think anyone buys a hybrid Yaris for its track performance or high-speed corner handling ability...

 

Big wheels/low profile tyres is marketing, and, maybe, it pleases Auto journalists. From where I sit, and I hadn't driven any prior Yaris Hybrid, I thought the 17"s where surprisingly OK, but I knew that 16"s would be better. I tested on some very bumpy road. 

Quiet and comfortable is what I want, but way back in the day when I had my Supra it had 14" rims and 70 profile tyres, and they were considered low(ish) profile at the time (mid to late 80s). In France you can go up to 17" from the 16" and vice versa (If the website can be believed, at no extra cost).

[Cyker]

The car's suspension is surprisingly good with bumpy roads, but I had to change out the 17s as it felt like I was hitting the rim every time I failed to dodge a pothole, or hit the kerb when parking! (Still a problem - I just can't seem to get a sense of where the corners of this car are it fixed in my head for some reason! Normally it only takes me a few months in a new car!)

 

[TruBlu]

On 9/4/2021 at 8:30 PM, W1P30UT said:

Hi,

I want to buy the Excel specification but don't want 17" wheels. I would rather have a higher profile 16" and hopefully a better ride. Does the 17" rider noticable harder than the 16". I also read somewhere the Excel/Dynamic have a stiffer sports suspension, is this true?

Thank you!

I chose the Dynamic 2021 (17 inch wheels and sports suspension - supposedly) because I preferred the interior - big mistake if you want a quiet ride. I've only had the car a month and a half and am finding it hard to continue to put up with the road noise even at slow speeds.  I hear what sounds like a jet aircraft continually taking off in the distance (depending on the road surface) plus the 'nock' sounds that comes through the suspension at every slight imperfection on the road surface. I can't see the point of the JBL sound system when it's competing with all the other noises. I've taken to wearing my blue tooth earphones, but they don't connect via blue tooth to the multimedia system so its back to the Ipod. One of the noisiest cars I've ever owned and I've had a few over the many years. Having previously owned a Corolla and an Auris I'm very disappointed with my choice of Yaris model.

[W1P30UT]

Thanks for the replies. I’ve ordered another Y. Design with 16” to replace the current Y. Design I own but an rejecting.

[TonyHSD]

When new cars had just been delivered, it is a good idea to check tyres pressure on cold with proper gauge and adjust accordingly, keep them dead on recommended figures, dealers tend to over inflate tyre pressures on new cars prior to deliver them to the customers. 

[Cyker]

Yeah, I thought they were supposed to check that in the PDI! My one had one tyre at 60PSI!! And still had all the QR part code stickers on it! (One was on the shark fin antenna! How could they miss that? I keep finding ones I missed every now and then too - Found one on the seat belt latch the other day!) If I didn't know better I'd suspect the car didn't even get a PDI by the dealer... but this is just repeating my gripes from before...

As for the noise,  it's not the car so much, it's those 17"s - The Bridgestone Ecopias that are the stock tyres on 17s are really not great tyres for NVH, even when they're at sensible tyre pressures! The ride is far too hard and it generates a lot of high-frequency noise.

I went to 15 steel rims (The smallest officially specced according to the manual) and it improved the NVH very noticeably - It's so much quieter, and what noise there is is lower frequency than the 17s so much less intrusive. The ride is also much more compliant. Probably one of the easiest thing that can be done to improve the ride quality of the Dynamic and Excel spec cars. Just check your insurance company is okay with it - I specifically went with steel instead of alloy because a) the rims were much cheaper and b) My insurance couldn't argue up my premium as it doesn't increase the value of the car, and as it is a recognised configuration in the manual it doesn't deviate from manufacturer specs either. (Both stipulations for declared mods in my insurer's own wording).

It seems hardly anybody does this as they were very confused and I had to repeat multiple times that, no, I was going from big alloys to small steel wheels, not the other way around  

[Mikw]

This whole thing about 17 inch wheels reminds me of James May's take on cars that are designed on the Nurbugring. Sounds good, and some people are impressed by it - but the experience is ruined by driving it on normal roads, as pretty much all cars designed on the Nurburgring will be driven on.

[Stopeter44]

12 hours ago, W1P30UT said:

Thanks for the replies. I’ve ordered another Y. Design with 16” to replace the current Y. Design I own but an rejecting.

Are you saying that you have an MY21 Yaris design, and you can do a straight swap with it for another MY21 Yaris design ? How does that work ?

13 hours ago, TruBlu said:

I chose the Dynamic 2021 (17 inch wheels and sports suspension - supposedly) because I preferred the interior - big mistake if you want a quiet ride. I've only had the car a month and a half and am finding it hard to continue to put up with the road noise even at slow speeds.  ... I can't see the point of the JBL sound system when it's competing with all the other noises. ... I'm very disappointed with my choice of Yaris model.

Do you like the black roof lining ? That killed that spec (Not available in France, but the spec with the same seats, etc) for me. I just can't bring myself to justify the extra money over the Design spec (which is pretty much identical to French spec Design). The JBL system is an option on the top level specs in France, but you know if you've got that far, nearly everybody is going to go for it, because the parking sensors are in the "Pack". 

In the fact the parking sensors are always in one of the "Packs", so I think everybody will opt for an extra +/- 1000 €/£ on their choice !

[TruBlu]

Yes, I like the black roof lining. I like the interior with the faux leather with white stitching. I bought a digital tire pressure gauge and checked the pressures. The pressures were slightly high - 34psi front and 32psi rear - should be 32 front and 29 rear. The dash info showed the same as the gauge (too high). After lowering the pressures I compared the gauge reading with the dash info display and they both gave the same reading. Took the car for a drive and there seems to be a slight improvement in the road noise but still not great. Cyker..... You are right about the PDI - obviously the tire pressures were not checked as is stated in all the pre-delivery spiel.

[Stopeter44]

On 9/19/2021 at 6:16 PM, Stopeter44 said:

Big wheels/low profile tyres is marketing, and, maybe, it pleases Auto journalists. From where I sit, and I hadn't driven any prior Yaris Hybrid, I thought the 17"s where surprisingly OK, but I knew that 16"s would be better. I tested on some very bumpy road. 

Quiet and comfortable is what I want, but way back in the day when I had my Supra it had 14" rims and 70 profile tyres, and they were considered low(ish) profile at the time (mid to late 80s). In France you can go up to 17" from the 16" and vice versa (If the website can be believed, at no extra cost).

The French website has been updated and now to go from 17" to 16" is a 960€ option.

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

The French website has been updated and now to go from 17" to 16" is a 960€ option.

They charge you that money for cheaper wheels and tyres set ? Is that means that you will receive the 17” set too? If not it’s not worth it. I will rather buy the car as is then order wheels and tyres separately to suit my preference and will sell privately the bigger wheels for a grand and happy days., no extra cost of €960👍