Swap 17" T-spirit Alloys For 16" T3s Alloys

[dark andrew]

Maybe I'm getting old but I'm thinking of swapping my 17" T-Spirit rims for a set of 16" ones - preferably the ones from the T3S so that I can go for a larger tyre profile and therefore better comfort.

Firstly - does anybody have a post 2003 Avensis with 16" wheels, if so how would you describe the ride in terms of comfort and noise.

Secondly - if I decide to go ahead with the swap would anybody be interested?

[GregT3-S]

I think the T spirit has a different stud pattern to the T3-s.

[bristolmotorspeedway]

Maybe I'm getting old but I'm thinking of swapping my 17" T-Spirit rims for a set of 16" ones - preferably the ones from the T3S so that I can go for a larger tyre profile and therefore better comfort.

Firstly - does anybody have a post 2003 Avensis with 16" wheels, if so how would you describe the ride in terms of comfort and noise.

Secondly - if I decide to go ahead with the swap would anybody be interested?

The dealer I bought mine from told me that the 17s were pretty unpopular, and that some of the facelift models had been moved back to 16s from 17s. I'd imagine you would see an improvement on 16s

[duncanda]

I have a 1.8 53 T3-X automatic with 16" alloys and Bridgestone Turanza ER30 (205/55 R16V) tyres. If you are looking for a softer ride and less noise then you need to consider the combination of the size of alloy and the tyres and it's relative to what you're used to. In my case, in terms of ride and noise, I find the ride is firm (which I like) without being too harsh. I live in Edinburgh and the streets are rough and riddled with potholes. Ride noise is subduded. Before the Toyota I used to have a Mercedes E240 and my Toyota is more quiet. I've read that Michelin Primacy tyres are amongst the quietest tyres compared to the Bridgestones. 16" alloys will give you a slightly softer ride than the 17" ones. Let us know what you choose and how you get on with them. If you want to buy your own tyres check out www.mytyres.co.uk

[uumode]

My Avensis on 17 inch rides better than my Mercedes E Class on 16 inch anyway....

and the Mercedes E class is much noiser at motorway speeds than the Avensis.

On initial impressions I thought the Avensis 'appeared' to have a shed load of road noise...

until I compared it to the Mercedes which had a shed load of wind noise at motorways speeds (which I didn't notice before, until I did the comparison).

So my conclusion is the Avensis, due to it's very low wind noise, exaggerates the effect of the road noise, which you wouldn't notice in other cars as it's masked out by the wind noise etc.

[dark andrew]

Thanks for the opinions. Greg-T3S I think you're probably right about the wheel studs: Although both are 5 studs, looking at the pictures in the brochure it appears that the T4 and T-Spirit studs are closer together than the rest of the range.

[GregT3-S]

I belive the T-Spirit is 5 x 114.2, I know my T3-S is 100 x 5. I find the ride firm but comfortable on the Dunlop SP2000's. I plan to upgrade to some TTE 17 inch alloy's in the near future.

[Desmond22]

My 2003 T Spirit had 17" alloys, low profiles and a very hard ride.

I did the swap wheels thing when I changed the car in 2005. Did a deal with the dealer and got 3TX wheels and tyres. It was very worthwhile for much better ride and comfort and I haven't noticed any great loss in handling ability.

As yet I haven't tried a new T Spirit or T180 to see whether the latest suspension tweaks make up for the size of the wheels. Some reports say they do but I'd be interested to what anyone on TOC thinks about it.

[dark andrew]

I've just checked the stud patterns on 3 different Avenesis models - a 2005 t3x, a pre 2003 (old style) and my t-spirit - all three seem to have the same stud pattern and spacing: 5 studs with 105mm between the back of one stud and the centre of the opposing one (that's how the following website says to measure them https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html). So now I'm confused! Do different models have different spacings? Will a T3S wheel fit a T-Spirit? Will a pre-2003 wheel fit a newer one? Does anyone have a definitive answer? Please, please, help!!!!!