Advantages/disadvanteges to going with 17" rims/tires over 16" rims/tires on 07 XLE

[Lkdog]

Mew member here.
New owner of used 2007 V6 XLE black Camry (previous owner of 2000 XLE V6 Camry, and 93 LE V6 Camry). 17 years and counting of Camrys.
I like Camrys.

Have done a lot of searches here on my question in various ways. Hope it is Ok to just throw it out there for comments. I know this topic is covered a lot in different ways, but I am pretty much a stock guy and only thinking of smaller change. A lot of threads are about moving to 18" and 19" setups and changing suspension,lowering the body, etc.

Great forum by the way. Learning a lot.



My question is pretty straightforward and I am a little unclear after doing a lot of reading.

Is it generally a good thing or not to go from 16" rims/tires setup to 17" rims/tires setup on an XLE with all stock setup/suspension?

I presently have the stock alloy rims and the OEM Michelin Energy MXV4 215/60/16 tires.

I do want to swap out the stock alloy rims at a minimum for something with better looks (at least to me).

Not sure if I should stay with the 16" rim/tire setup or completely change it all out to 17" rims/tires.

My biggest priorities are like a lot of folks I guess-
ride comfort, low noise, good handling, and looks.

Any comments pro and con from those who have changed from 16" setups is welcome.

Thanks.

[njerald]

Disadvantage - $$$

Advantage - A little stiffer ride.

[Schuy]

If you go to a 215/55/17 you will be as close to the original outside diameter as you can get. They say for every inch of sidewall lost is a 15% gain in handling, the opposite side of that is you lose ride comfort with a smaller sidewall. Toyota offers a 17" package for that body style. So yes they will fit and look nice. Hope the info helps.

[Lkdog]

Originally Posted by Schuy

If you go to a 215/55/17 you will be as close to the original outside diameter as you can get. They say for every inch of sidewall lost is a 15% gain in handling, the opposite side of that is you lose ride comfort with a smaller sidewall. Toyota offers a 17" package for that body style. So yes they will fit and look nice. Hope the info helps.

Did not know that correlation between sidewall and handling. Interesting. Thanks.
Would not mind a little snappier handling on turns.

I see the ES350 comes stock with 17" 215/55/17 tires I think which has to be similar to the XLE in some ways in technology and engineering approach.

[njerald]

Originally Posted by Lkdog

Would not mind a little snappier handling on turns.

Get the 19mm RSB instead of the tires.

[Lkdog]

Originally Posted by njerald

Get the 19mm RSB instead of the tires.

I had to look up WTF a RSB was.
Would love to drive a modded ride like yours sometime-I bet it is a an entirely different animal.

[eyezack87]

I'm on 3GS wheels with Nexen 3000 tires. Its comfy and my speedo is off by like 1.6% so I don't lose much. My grip on the road is much much better though. Also helps that I lowered her on Teins

[Lkdog]

Originally Posted by eyezack87

I'm on 3GS wheels with Nexen 3000 tires. Its comfy and my speedo is off by like 1.6% so I don't lose much. My grip on the road is much much better though. Also helps that I lowered her on Teins

3GS are some nice looking wheels.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

As Schuy mentioned, the best tire size to go with for the 17's would be 215/55's. This way the speedo would remain almost perfectly calibrated. So when your speedo reads 70mph, you'd actually be going 70.41mph. As a bonus, the ride would be nice and comfortable due to the large sidewall of the tire. An improvement in handling wouldn't really be noticeable due to the small difference in sidewall size compared to your stock wheels, unless you went with 215/40's or 215/45's (although then your comfort level would decrease quite a lot and your speedo would be inaccurate). As an example of how much difference it would make with a thinner sidewall, a 215/50 tire would be 2mph off, so when your speedo is showing 70mph you'd actually be travelling 68mph (although this is a good way to avoid speeding tickets, lol).

[molson.david]

I got 17" Avalon wheels with 215/60/17 front and 225/55/17 rear.
tires are all season pirelli, I keep 35 PSI.
I got 17" Avalon wheels with 215/60/17 front and 225/55/17 rear.
tires are all season pirelli, I keep 35 PSI.
my wheels 1.5" taller than stock-measured myself.car seats higher-I like it.
it rides stiffer and feels like corners little better to.
if you'll go with quiet tires you want loose comfort.

[Lkdog]

Originally Posted by molson.david

I got 17" Avalon wheels with 215/60/17 front and 225/55/17 rear.
tires are all season pirelli, I keep 35 PSI.
I got 17" Avalon wheels with 215/60/17 front and 225/55/17 rear.
tires are all season pirelli, I keep 35 PSI.
my wheels 1.5" taller than stock-measured myself.car seats higher-I like it.
it rides stiffer and feels like corners little better to.
if you'll go with quiet tires you want loose comfort.

David- Any pics?
Learning a lot here.
Thanks.

[molson.david]

David- Any pics?

page 4.

Gold/Beige Camry Thread!

[Lkdog]

Originally Posted by molson.david

page 4.

Gold/Beige Camry Thread!

Nice.

[molson.david]

Thanks.
I was looking to lift car on 1", but stock wheels would look small any way,so i put bigger wheels and tires.maybe I'll lift it later.And put 4x4 and mud tires on it!

[ImJustMe55]

215/55/17 would be good and comfortable IMHO.

If you're worried about the speedometer you can you this tire size calculator that someone created and I found a few years ago. That what I use when I want to find out the speedometer differences with different size tires.

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