twister

I remember awhile back "lbeal" posted about his car and tire/wheel upgrade done by the original owner who traded that car in: from ES350 original 215/55/17" to 225/45/18". Just curious, has anybody else upgraded their wheels/tires to bigger/wider? If so, can you please post the new spec and pics?

As much as I love my ES350, after two month of driving it I really feel that handling could be better. I know, its not exactly a performance car, but more of a luxury cruiser with some serious power under the hood I will never go for any mechanical upgrades, but going with a wider tire and a bigger wheels sounds to me like the most logical step. Would really like to know if anybody else thought of going to bigger wheels and what is the maximum width we could have on ES350?

Thanks!

amf1932

I opted not to change from the original tire size. My reasoning is because of the possible different tire circumference. This will make your speedometer and navigation system inaccurate, plus any other parameters that this change could affect.

twister

Alan, I was told that every tire in our Lexus has a small microprocessor sensor which has to be re-assembled when switching to a new tire. So, as long as the width/depth ratio kept correctly, it should not affect any other parameters. In case of going from 17" to 18", depth also was decreased from 55 to 45 to keep the same radius. I just not sure how to determine the max width. Also, going to 19" will decrease the depth as well, probably to 35, and that will most likely affect the softnest of the ride.

I'm kind of a new to this whole tire/wheel geometry, trying to figure it out myself now...

amf1932

Just as you, I'm a little mixed up about making a tire size change especially after reading about the tradeoffs involved. Read here a couple of dialogs and you'll see why:
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.c...=102250&page=1

http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=1977

toneman

That's a new one to me (sensor built into the tire)--not that I don't believe you, but that's the first I've heard of a manufacturer incorporating a sensor into a tire. I mean, if true...why would this fact not be mentioned in the owner's manual? After all, eventually tires do need to be replaced...and if one didn't know about this sensor and had elected to purchase tires at his/her local tire shop, the new tires would obviously not have the sensor in them...thus probably setting off error messages.

FWIW--a 225-45-18 tire is not a perfect match, circumference-wise, for the stock 215-55-17 tire; its' overall circumference is 1.1" shorter, thus resulting in a 1.3% speedometer error--meaning, a displayed 60 mph translates to an actual 59.2 mph. Supposedly the navigation can adjust for that (in the nav adjustment menu), but whether the speedometer (and possibly the odometer, although I doubt this since it would be too easy to trick the odometer by mounting larger-circumference tires in order to slow the incrementation of the odometer) can automatically adjust for the tire size change is a different story. At the same time, some folks might be willing to live with a < 1 mph difference in the speedometer; one could also argue that theoretically, it wouldn't be much of a difference anyway since a near-worn tire will have a smaller circumference than a brand-new tire.

dreyfus

Try this simple tire calculator to judge the odometer/speedometer impact of using different sized tires.

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

You can play around with the sizes until you find something equivalent to the stock tires, at least as far as the rotation goes.

tnfan

For the tire pressure monitor to work, Lexus uses a special valve stem. I assume this is the sensor being referred to. New sensors must be purchased from Lexus when new tires are installed. This is covered in the owners manual.

twister

The info about tire sensor I got from the place where I did my tinting. They told me about changing tires/wheels on other Lexus cars, than when people sell their car and put original tires/wheels back, they forget about the sensor. Would like to confirm this. Anybody? *edit* sounds like tnfan already explained this above

BTW, talked to a few of my buddies at work who are "car experts", they all agree that going to a bigger/wider tire will not improve performance/handling dramatically. Will have to do the whole strut bar changes and lowering springs for a stiffer handling. Of course, all that will affect the soft ride which I really enjoy with Lexus!!! Might have to re-think the whole tire upgrade strategy, might not even worth wasting $2k for all that...

D2-AUTOSPORT

That is correct, and when changing to aftermarket wheels you can actually unscrew the sensor from the OEM wheel and screw it into the new wheel. (The key is to buy a wheel that accepts the sensor). Some have also had them drilled into their new wheels.

D2-AUTOSPORT

Thats not entirely correct, you will feel a substantial improvement in handling with a set of springs and new wheels. While it may not be the "on rails" feeling of a BMW M3 with coilovers, it will firm things up. Also if youuse the right components, the ride will not be too harsh at all.

tnfan

Agree with D2 on this and sounds like he is the expert. On my previous ride (BMW 740iL) I upgraded wheels and tires from 16 inch to 18 inch. Also added Eibach sport springs. Did not make any additional suspension mods. Ride was noticeably firmer. Not harsh just firmer. Still a very comfortable ride.

jeffofla

I wouldn't worry about tire changes affecting the navigation. As long as you re-calibrate, which is required any time you change tires, you should be okay. Your manual will show you how, but it's an easy - but necessary - process.

twister

Thank you for the reply and your expert advice. What kind of springs can you recommend? Are those supposed to be a shorter version of what we have already in ES350 or just a stiffer kind? What about tire/wheel size, can you give any recommendations please? How would you determine the maximum allowable width? From what I've seen on TireRack site, 19" will make tire depth way too low. I would think 18" be an ideal upgrade in here?

toneman

I figured you were referring to the TPM sensor...but from what I've read, your typical TPM sensor mounts to the inner (underside) surface of the wheel; that Lexus uses a special valve stem (your statement) more or less validates what I just stated (sensor mounts to wheel)...I mean, I don't know of any standard automobile valve stem that attaches/mounts to a tire (we're talking tubeless tires, of course). If the TPM sensor is required to be replaced every time a new tire is installed...that would be a somewhat-expensive undertaking; not only that, one can't really have the tires replaced unless/until one has the new sensors in hand, from a practical standpoint. In any case, Lexus' requirement (if indeed true) that new sensors be purchased/installed every time new tires are installed is ridiculous IMHO; heck--GM does not offer such a requirement on their vehicles; I know 'cuz I was able to relocate/reinstall the TPM sensors from the OEM wheels on my GMC SUV onto my aftermarket large wheels (w/ new tires) and the GM TPM system didn't complain one bit (after I reprogrammed them). Am I to believe that Lexus can't engineer the TPM sensors so that they can be reused when installing new tires? Sorry if I'm coming across a bit harsh but...un-friggin'-believable...

toneman

Technically tnfan was partially correct; he had stated that new sensors must be purchased when buy new/replacement tires...which I said in a previous post was a bit hard to accept. I can see buying new sensors if you choose to buy another set of wheels/tires and don't want to go through the trouble of swapping out the sensors from your original wheels, but I can't see the requirement of buying new sensors solely because you're having new tires installed.