I'm tryin to make the decision between the 17 & 18" rims and i'm havin a hard time understanding the difference between the two...like what are the benefit and or sacrafices would i make by buying the 18" rims vs the 17" ones.


I don't know too much about the 18" rims/tire package that you can order with the 2004 TL......just wanted to know a few things. (please don't be annoyed because i've owned only sport utes so far and this is my first sedan so i'm still new to some concepts)

Neways 1st question if i were to get the 04 with 18" would i still get a nice ride or would the ride quality be really stiff. (i want a sporty looking & performing car but if the ride is too stiff that wouldn't be too good)

2nd question ... on the 18" how long do the tires on there last ?

3rd question.... i'm sure that tires for the 18" cost more to change but what's the average price for a 18" tire for the TL?

4th question ..... so i guess what i'm asking is it overall a good idea to order the new TL with the option rim package. (i like the look i just wanted to know if i was sacraficing too much ride quality and if the cost of tires and how often u had to change them would get too costly)

5th question .... are the 18" rims by 8" or 8.5"?

P.S. i live in Sunny So. Cal so if that makes a difference let me know.....thanx ahead of time guys i appreciate it.

George.

 

Get them

They wont sacrifice your ride that much.

 

Well, it all depends on what color you are planning to get...personally, I wouldn't get them because they aren't all that great looking, I would rather buy after market 18"...if you are going to pay extra for those rims from the dealer, they are definitely getting some "extra" money from you...so i would recommend that you go look at other sites and try to see if you like other rims and just get it standard with ur car and then change them...becuase sometimes you can get great deals on after market rims...from what i understand, the bigger the size of tire, does make the right bumpier and probably more noise from the tires...like i am getting satin silver metallic color and the 18"'s wouldn't look good on that..so that's why i am getting stock rims and then i am planning on buying some new rims once i get the car...that way, i have more of a variety to choose from and i know there will be someone out there willing to give me a good deal on some nice rims...so just look around before u place that order....

 

so how about prices between the two (concerning tire replacement) and also how long do the tires on the 18"s ususally last?

 

Another question, if you go with a different aftermarket wheel size, does this affect the speedometor/odometer? Do they somehow need to be recalibrated?

 

The only way your odometer/speedometer will be affected and will need calibration is if you start going with non-standard tire size. Meaning, if for some reason you decide you want more narrow or wider tires, that will affect your speedometer/odometer settings. If am correct at this the change will be miniscule because majority of instruments take the diameter and not the width of the tire to be the measure.

Basicly when you go with aftermarket rims and tires the overall diameter will be the same as when going with stock stuff. Why? because your rim is growing in size and your tire is shrinking. Together they make up the stock diameter of the overall tire/rim assembly.

To summarize in two words: unlikely that your tire/rim swapping will affect your speedometer/odometer settings.

 

The main difference is 1"!

 

Actually its the overall diameter of the wheel and tire combo. The car is calibrated to a specific diameter and thus circumference of the wheel/tire combo. Do a search and you'll find some good info on this here. Basically when you look at a tire size (225-18-40) a combination of those numbers needs to equal whatever the stock circumference is. The formula I believe is ([225*40]*2 + 18*[MM per inch])

 

Tire size calculator:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Anywhere you can buy tires, they can give the tire diameter. Many web sites for tire brands will have this info too. I believe the stock tires on the car have a diameter of 25.4" So you'll want something close to that. Many sites will also give what the width of wheel was that was used to perform the measurement.