Just HOW much does 'plus-sizing' wheels/tires affect the ride?

[KeepItSimple]

Hello,
I'm thinking of replacing the 15" stock alloy wheels that came on the '95 Avalon XL I just bought with 16". It would be for purely cosmetic reasons. It doesn't look like a 'Grandpa Car' to me, it just seems plain and I want to spice it up with wheels and tinting.

My question is how much will the ride be affected? I bought an Avalon for it's smooth quiet ride and I don't want to compromise that for some cool looking larger rims. I could find some cool 15" ones.

According to Consumer Reports the "ride comfort" goes WAY down even with 1" plus-sizing but I'm hoping to hear some experiences from you folks here.

I really like the stock 16" rims that came on my sister's 2001 Camry V6 LE but I'm not sure if they would fit on a '95 Avalon. Does anyone know?

THE TIRES: right now the tires are Bridgestone Potenza RE950's that are "high performance all-season tires that were developed to meet the needs of the drivers of sports cars, coupes and sedans by blending dry, wet and year-round traction, even in light snow." I'm not sure what that means as far as ride comfort but I'm hoping to do better.

I'd like to replace them with either Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's or Michelin X Radial DT's.
They are Consumer Reports' #1 and #2 rated All-Season tires. They are supposed to give the smoothest quietest ride and that's what I want out of this rig!

Anyone's comments on this wheel/plus-sizing/tire stuff would be great.
Thanks!!

[BigBoi]

I have an '06 and went from the stock Mich to 20" and it feels just as nice. I really think that it shouldn't be an issue just going up an inch or two; just my .02

[bill_lee_3]

i went from stock 15s to 17s. it is just a little bit more bumpy, since you loose quite a bit of the tire. i went from 205-65-15 to 225-45-17. you feel the bumps more, but highway driving is improved. also handling is dramatically improved.

[carloi]

Well, you shouldn't feel much of a difference with a 1" difference. You'll have to use an on-line calculator though to figure out the right tyre size for you.

You may also want to look at touring tires so as not to affect your ride and noise levels that much.