18" (&17") tyre/wheel experience?

[Heidfirst]

Hi folks,

Starting to consider replacing my trusty 2017 Avensis TS & a Corolla TS is currently looking the most likely successor.

I like the Excel spec. apart from tyre/wheel size (& the overall price of it 😜).

I live in the pothole capital of the UK, Glasgow https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/britains-pothole-hell-revealed-with & have never gone through as many tyres as on a previous Avensis TS which was on 45 profile /18", mostly due to sidewall damage. How have people been finding things on Corollas with 18"/40 profile?

Also interested in experience of 17"/45 profile.

Sadly, the Icon on sensible 16"/55 profiles is minus a few things that I would like/miss. 😞

 

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

these 18” are horrible and makes the car drive uncomfortable and noisy. 
Tyre damage and wheel kerbing are unavailable and only matter of time. 
Tyres are expensive and mostly limits to HP or UHP. 
The excel is the best trim no doubt about it as it comes with all goodies and trust me the headlights are far superior than any other specs for cars 19-22. 
What I would have do is buy an excel and swap wheels for 16” , there are good deals on eBay new or used. 
The 17” on design for example are compromised option but still better than 18” . The 18” wheels tyres even look funny as there is almost no rubber on them and the tyres themselves does not last long. Same story with Yaris gr sport. , not the gr4 , because the gr4 rally car has better wheel-tyre combo with more rubber on for extra grip and performance where the 18” on normal hybrids does nothing except Mexican tuning look., many owners like it., until they hit the pothole. 

[Cyker]

Swapping the 17" alloys for 15" steels on my Mk4 Yaris was the best change I've ever done!

It's saved me so much money in tyres already, and probably helped with the mpg!

[sportse]

I had 17's on my Auris Excel, they weren't too bad. I currently have 16's on my Corolla.

17 inch is a fairly common size so there's a good choice of tyres and they are reasonably resistant to potholes.

I have loads of potholes around here and never had an issue specifically with the 17 inch wheels, although I did burst a tyre on my Yaris with 15 inch wheels thanks to hidden pothole that managed to rip the inside of the tyre where it couldn't be seen unless you took the wheel off.

[APS]

1 hour ago, Heidfirst said:

Sadly, the Icon on sensible 16"/55 profiles is minus a few things that I would like/miss

As long as they fit over the brakes, you can always retrofit smaller rims. You just need to tell your insurer, who may or may not charge more for you being sensible.

[Heidfirst]

True but it's additional cost & also storage for what it came on (needed for when it gets shifted on in the next cycle or see valuation drop).

[Cyker]

You could join me in complaining to Toyota  

I have e-mailed them (cr@toyota.co.uk) to let them know we don't all want 24" rims and that hint hint it'll help lower their fleet CO2 average further, but I suspect I'm the only person who's ever e-mailed them asking for smaller rim options instead of larger  

[50p]

4 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Hi, 

these 18” are horrible and makes the car drive uncomfortable and noisy. 
Tyre damage and wheel kerbing are unavailable and only matter of time. 
Tyres are expensive and mostly limits to HP or UHP. 
 

well, just to be the odd one out ..

I have an Excel with 18 inch rims, I don't find it makes the car noisy, nor do I find the ride uncomfortable. I have had the car 3 years and despite the best efforts of the roads, have never experienced tyre damage either. As to price of replacement tyres, as I say, never had to replace any but yes, they probably will be more expensive. In my opinion I think they enhance the look of the vehicle.

I am no boy racer either .. 68 years old.

[Eddiefh]

I personally like alloys on 24 plate icon in 16 inch , I took on for a test drive in estate shape and it was very good over bumps and potholes , I’ve a verso and e class on 19inch and compared to these it was so good . It took me right back to old merc taxis back in Cyprus on deep rimmed sidewall tyres . 
my next work car will be either icon Corolla estate or rav4 hybrid 

[Yowsah]

15 hours ago, 50p said:

well, just to be the odd one out ..

I have an Excel with 18 inch rims, I don't find it makes the car noisy, nor do I find the ride uncomfortable. I have had the car 3 years and despite the best efforts of the roads, have never experienced tyre damage either. As to price of replacement tyres, as I say, never had to replace any but yes, they probably will be more expensive. In my opinion I think they enhance the look of the vehicle.

I am no boy racer either .. 68 years old.

I would endorse everything you say as you’re not the odd one out here. I have had no problems with the 18” rims. I suppose it comes down to personal choice. Maybe it’s a 60s thing as I’m 66 years old and just love my 2 litre GR Sport.

[TrackLink]

In 7 years of running cars on 17” wheels (my old Seat Ibiza estate and current 6-month-old Corolla Design) with 45 mm of sidewall I haven’t yet experienced any tyre or wheel damage due to potholes. That said, I would have specced 16” wheels for my Design had that been an option. Ride comfort and road noise are acceptable on 17” but I’ve experienced significantly better in cars with 15” wheels that had more ‘pillowy’ tyres. I think that driving a car with 18” wheels in an area that has plenty of poor road surfaces would make me extra vigilant about avoiding road imperfections wherever possible, which might make some journeys mildly stressful. 

[TonyHSD]

To find out how bad are actually the large wheels with low profile tyres you need to have a good base for comparison, either test drive two cars one with 16” and then one with 18” as I did or own different cars with different wheel tyre sizes. Age of cars or drivers doesn’t matter, it’s all about use and luck. 
Same for the tyres- if you drive always on premium tyres you never can understand how some are complaining of loss of grip, car slides, and dangerous situations. Once a had changed old Michelin for new Firestone tyres and that was such a mistake, the new Firestone were noisier and the car became uncomfortable to drive. Nothing wrong with anyone who likes their cars with whatever sizes wheels they come with, we are discussing what is best for these cars, and how manufacturers are forcing on consumers unnecessarily expensive and unpractical tyres sizes, look over needs. 

[Cyker]

Firestones are surprisingly bad considering they are a subsidiary of Bridgestone, I remember my Mk1 Yaris came with a set of them on and I just assumed that was how the car was, but when they wore out and I put on some Continental PC2E's on, I was shocked how much better they were under braking and turning and esp. in the wet! 

I just put some Michelin Primacy4s on my noble steed and I can see why they score so high on average; The difference in lateral grip compared to the PoS tyres my dealer put on is practically night and day, and it's also killed the wheelspin I was getting when pulling away at an angle!

 

[Red_Corolla]

10 hours ago, TrackLink said:

In 7 years of running cars on 17” wheels (my old Seat Ibiza estate and current 6-month-old Corolla Design) with 45 mm of sidewall I haven’t yet experienced any tyre or wheel damage due to potholes.

I assume you mean a 45 profile, NOT 45mm?

The profile is given as a percentage of the width. For example, a 225mm wide tyre (as fitted on Corollas) with only 45mm of sidewall would be a 225/20! 🫣 A tyre that has more width but the same profile would have deeper sidewalls.

[TrackLink]

A 45 profile, thank you @Red_Corolla!

[tfc]

Its not all down to the tyre size and what tyres you have fitted , some of the quietest cars on the road have wheel sizes over 18 in up to 21 inch. I think the problem with some of the cars nowadays is that all manufactures are focusing on weight reduction [ except for luxury cars ] so are skimping on insulation and it depends on the type of tarmac they use on the roads. Remember most of the cars on UK roads are manufactured abroad in warmer climate than here with nice smooth tarmac, our roads are geared up for more for wet weather conditions so the tarmac is constructed for better braking and carrying heaver loads on the roads.  

There's a stretch of motorway near me that has 2 different types of tarmac, the main stretch is noisy as hell but there is a 300 metre section I go over and you can hear a pin drop, now my mate in is design with 17's is more quieter on the rougher section but the same on the smooth section.

You can damage your rims and tyres on pot holes regardless of tyre or wheel size. 

[TonyHSD]

I would agree you can damage regardless of size but in reality the sizes matters and those low profile ones aren’t in favour to any driver 

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/GSjuiaHYWEVywoS7/?mibextid=UalRPS

[Micken]

I  have an Avensis tourer with 17 inch wheels and no low profile tyres, sidewall height is 4.655 inches.  The Corolla touring sport design, 17 inch wheels sidewall height is 3.98 inches, I will be losing nearly 3/4 inch of sidewall height with the Design wheels, against my Avensis wheels, the Corolla icon 16 inch wheels sidewall height is 4.43 inches.    Driving my Avensis Tourer the past 13 years I Have had punctures but not pothole or wheel damage.  I also had a T25 avensis for 10 years with 16 inch wheels and sidewall height of 4.43 inches, only had punctures never wheel damage,  More sidewall tyre height gives more comfort and less damage to wheels and tyres.

 

 

[excelsam]

I have a '21 Corolla TS in Excel guise and the 17" wheels are fine for me. Coming from a van, anything is quiet but I have been impressed by the Corolla's ability to be nicely refined and far from noisy. As others have mentioned, the state of UK roads and quality of the tarmac don't help and make cars noisier than they ought to be. Driving my van on a French motorway, it felt like we lost 10-15dB just from being on smoother tarmac. 

Anyway, my parents (who live in France) are picking up a TS tomorrow with the 16s because they were concerned about potholes - I personally would have gone for the 17s as I think the car looks better with them and the tyres are around the £100-110 mark for anything decent which is no different to what I used to pay for my Skoda Fabia's 15" wheels.

[Cyker]

The annoying thing is we can have that tarmac - There are some road sections here where they resurfaced them a year or so ago and they are whisper quiet. I don't know why they don't use this stuff everywhere!!

Silky smooth and a massive drop in road noise as soon as your wheels touch it. It's so nice to drive on!