To those that have 19" or 20" (or even 18") wheels and care about comfort and road noise, have you ever wanted to go back to your stock wheels and tires because you couldn't stand the noise or harshness?

I've been reading about users' experiences, but I'm not satisfied with what I've found yet. I know losing rubber equates to increased noise, but I'm wondering if I can just turn the stereo louder or just get used to it. The inverse is also probably true. If I make my car super quiet, I'll just get used to it, and it will be no big deal, which defeats the purpose of making the car quieter unless it has other effects such as making me calmer and more relaxed. What I want to know is if the increased noise or harshness has driven anyone to long for their stock wheels or wish they never went to bigger wheels, even for a short time.

 

i had Tein Flex and 19's on my Lexus SC
It wasn't "loud"....just stiff as hell.

But it wasn't a daily...and it sure looked good =)

 

I used to have 20" all around and was 2" off the ground. yea it looked good but my ride was too stiff and the droning slowly got to me. And since I was cambered with lo-pro's the tire wear was crazy. now im back to stock height and wheels

 

I have had 18s and currently 19s on my TL and yes harshness comes into play but noise I found was contingent on tread pattern and wear rating and the first set I had on the 19s cupped due to a bad alignment and got noisy fast. Current set is actually quiet.


I just put the 17s from my TL on my 2013 with a cheap set of hard wear rated 225s and they are a lot noisier than the stock 15s.

 

I have 18" oem acura A spec wheels, and they ride smooth, I don't have any problem with them - I think it surely is because they are OEM.

 

tires make a huge difference in road noise. try some softer tires