I sold my Audi A8 today, so I'm getting ready to hunt for a 2004-2005 LS430. I certainly like the way 18s look more, but I wonder how much different the 18's will feel compared to the 17s.

I'm not looking at the sport version.

I'd be very grateful for any feedback...

- Kent

 

before i bought my car I drove a few cars with the 17's I really need a soft ride, I have a condition that makes me sick all the time, so rough ride is not for me. With that said, i got an 05 cpo with the 18" wheels and regular (non sport) suspension. i honestly couldn't tell a ride difference. Now, the guys on here who really study this will tell you that, based on air volume, and because the 18 has to be lower profile, that there is a huge difference from going to a 17 to 18, while the difference from going with a 16 to a 17 is not nearly as bad. You know, you can put 16's on your car and still clear the breaks. I would say get the 18s, its much cheaper to buy some used stock 17's than it is to buy used stock 18's. trust me, I need a soft car, and mine is perfect.

 

I loved My oem 18's

 

Thanks guys!

Before I had my Audi A8, I had a 1998 LS400, which felt a little floaty to me in comparison. I'd love something a bit firmer, although I think the 98 LS400 had 16" wheels.

 

I am actually trying to pick up a nice set of OEM 18s, wanting to trade my current OEM 17s for them. If you end up buying one with 18s, but would prefer a softer ride, hit me up

 

There is a definite difference in ride quality from 17 to 18, in my opinion. If you want the best ride possible, get the 17's and a really good set of luxury tires. Sounds like CarGuy has you covered with a trade, so you really don't have to worry about it while you are looking for a car.

 

The best solution to this frequent 17 vs 18 debate is to go try them both out. Some members seem to feel a significant difference but others do not. And yes, I got you covered for a trade should you decide 18s are too much

 

Drove both. Thought the 18's where a bit sportier handling but not a huge deal but I liked em just a bit better than my 17's. The car is such a boat I will take every bit of better handling I can get.

 

Tire choice will make a significant difference in ride and handling. My car came w/ 17s and a set of Michelin Primacys. I'm presently on 18s w/ UHP summer tires carefully selected via Tirerack ratings/tests and other online sources. The ride w/ the 18s are no less comfortable or quiet than what came w/ the car. Actually the 18s are less jiggly on the small stuff than the 17s and this was at similar psi. On top of that the handling has noticeably improved.

 

My impression of 18s versus 17s is that the overall ride isn't that different but there is a difference. With the 18's I felt the small sharper impacts (like from small pavement imperfections) more than with 17s. I think that because there is a little less sidewall on the 18" tire to absorb and diffuse the small sharp impacts.

So overall 18s vs 17s is not a huge difference by any means but it was noticeable to me. Per previous poster I would agree that type and brand of tire would also make a significant difference, maybe more than wheel size.

Certainly a 18" wheel with a stiff sidewall performance tire is likely to feel way harder that 17s with a soft tire.


So here's a contrary piece of anecdotal data, albeit from a different vehicle - when we went from an 06 Highlander with 16s to a 07 highlander with 17s, the ride quality with larger 17" wheels seems significantly smoother.

 

Thanks everyone!

I want my turning to be as tight as possible for a 430, so I'm leaning towards 18"s. Wish I wasn't afraid to death of an Ultra Luxury Model, as there are a few that are priced well with 18's.

 

I find it hard to believe 1" makes such a difference. Tire pressure makes as much as a difference as the tire make. I went from 31" Bridgestone Dueler HT (highway SUV tires) to 32" Michelin LTX2's (M+S) on my LX and it feels the same, granted the new tires are being run at 38 psi rather than 32 for the previous. Now that I've been driving my wife's LX on weekdays, when I drive the LS w/ 18's on weekends (and these are cheapo Bridgestone Turanza EL's the dealer installed for CPO), it feels pretty cushy w/ the air suspension, and the tires are at 38psi (sensor kept going off w/ tires at 33psi). If you drive a car w/ traditional coil springs, you'll find the coils rebound quicker, but you'll still feel seams in the road. The UL is more floaty. BTW, the 18's have a larger tire patch size, which generally means more traction vs. the 17's (0.5" wider). This also means it probably won't cut through snow as well as 17's, since on snow, narrower means the tires cut through the snow and touch the pavement.

I miss my LS. I'm driving the LX to work right now since my son is attending a school 15 miles away right now for the next month until we move (bought a house near the school, but can't move until late May). So two trips per day is 60 miles x 4 days/week=240 miles. In the LX, that's 16 gallons x $4/gal=$64 in gas. OTOH, the LS is pretty darn efficient for a V8 and can do the 240 miles of rural driving on 9 gallons=$36...a difference of $28 per week! Last weekend, we drove to Santa Fe, then half way up Santa Fe Baldy (about 150 mi total), max speed was 90mph on I-25 (climbing, headwind), average speed was around 75-80mph, headwind. Still, I got 26mpg! On the flats, the LS can get 27mpg going 75-80mph. I rented a new Ford Focus on a biz trip and could only get 27mpg going 70-75mph, and that thing was dangerous to drive...steering was overly sensitive, so if the left wheel hit a bump of asphalt (and I-15 between LA and Vegas was all bumpy), the car would veer to the right into the next lane if I didn't correct! The LS is hard to beat...excellent fuel economy, comfort, performance (corners almost like a sports sedan on the 18's).

 

I know this is off topic but I find that the LS does get better gas mileage when going faster than speed limit also. It seems to settle in great at about 70mph. I think traditionally, 50mph is the best speed but the LS's coefficient is pretty slippery.

 

I think that's because when you get to about 50-55mph, it goes into 6th gear. The engine turns at about 300 rpm slower than the 5spd tranny on my LX (same engine design, 2UZ instead of 3UZ). We used to drive my wife's LX between Tucson and Phoenix (about 110 mi, flat, 75mph). The LX would get around 15.5-16mpg at 75mph, cruise on, fr/rr A/C on. The LS would get 27mpg at 75-80mph, cruise on, fr/rr A/C on. Same gas (chevron 91), and the flat terrain means the weight isn't a major variable (like climbing up hills). The only difference, in this case, is wind resistance, but that alone results in nearly a factor of TWO in fuel economy!!

As far as winter wheels go, I plan to get a set of silver 18's and run michelin x-ice2's on them. They do salt a little here in NM, but it's so dry up here at 5500 ft in the city (< 10% rh) that during the winter, I just see cars w/ dried white salt and red volcanic pumice dust caked on them, no rust at all.

 

Jim - interesting mpg comparison between LS and LX on same drive, same roads..makes sense that the lower cod LS would do well on level high speed drives.

Maybe on related tangent, I have noticed the LS430 coasts forever, unlike any other car I have ever driven. In fact I think it is why I got my first speeding ticket in 20 years. The LS not only coasts for a long way, it also seems to pick up speed on any decline very easily : ) like a giant soap box derby car, maybe helped by the low cod.