Sounds great and loos good. I already decided that when my crappy Bridgestone's are ready to be replaced I am going with 55's.

 

Hi, Den49:

You did so much contribution for new generation Avalon owners. Thank you.
I have 2014 touring (V6). 18" wheels make me so uncomfortable even tires are Primacy MMX4. I would like to replace them when they reach 20,000 miles. There are two options for me : 225/50R18 or 235/45R18. Could you advice me which size relatively better for my Avalon.

Thank you again!

Larry

 

I think someone in this forum has installed the 225/50-18, but I am not aware of anyone installing the 235/45-18. The 235 is about a 1.5% increase in diameter and the 225/50-18 is about 3.6% increased diameter. I chose the smaller increase in diameter by going with the 225/55-17 instead of 215/60-17 and it worked well but that may not translate to the 18" wheels.


Suggest you search this forum for the two sizes you are considering and see if you can get feedback from people with actual experience. Also, below is a website where you can compare one tire size to another.


http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

 

I use this one and there are many others.
As long as the circumference stays close to the same there won't be any difference in speedo readout.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=150-80r17-140-75r17

 

Hi, Den49 and pjsmithres:

Thank for your guide . After forum research I found PGIINC installed 225/50R18 primacy MMV4 with 18" wheels on his 2013 TAH limited ( get rid of bridgestones and 17" wheels) . He felt comfortable and quiet. I think new installation made sidewall (215x.55=118.5mm vs 225x.50=112.5mm) a little bit smaller. But the reason good ride is Michelin MMV4's quality much much better than Bridgestones. I believe that braking and cornering should be improved as well.

But no one posted 235/45R18 vs. 225/45R18.

Den49, your choice of tires replacement not only increased sidewall and wider tire made braking and cornering better also.

My mechanic said if I choose 235/45R18, he will check 7.5" wheel clearance against surrounding parts, before installation. PGIINC 's installation told us that 225/50R18 is OK for Avalon.

Thank PGIINC.






Thank you again!

Larry

 

Hi, Den49 and pjsmithres:

Thank for your guide . After forum research I found PGIINC installed 225/50R18 primacy MMV4 with 18" wheels on his 2013 TAH limited ( get rid of bridgestones and 17" wheels) . He felt comfortable and quiet. I think new installation made sidewall (215x.55=118.5mm vs 225x.50=112.5mm) a little bit smaller. But the reason good ride is Michelin MMV4's quality much much better than Bridgestones. I believe that braking and cornering should be improved as well.

But no one posted 235/45R18 vs. 225/45R18.

Den49, your choice of tires replacement not only increased sidewall and wider tire made braking and cornering better also.

My mechanic said if I choose 235/45R18, he will check 7.5" wheel clearance against surrounding parts, before installation. PGIINC 's installation told us that 225/50R18 is OK for Avalon.

Thank PGIINC.


Thank you again!

Larry

I felt comfortable going from 215 to 225 since 225 is already a stock width on the Avalon. 235 is not a stock width and could adversely affect steering and fuel economy. It may also have clearance issues. I would go with the 225/50-18.

 

Den49:

I will go with 225/50R18.

Thanks

 

Please give your opinion on the change. I'm about to do the same...
My 14Touring is @13.5Kmiles. The Bridgestones still have good threads (another 20K at least). But one has a sidewall crack and I couldn't get anyone to honor the warranty. Thinking about dumping them.

 

Update:

Based on the tread width footprint pattern on my 225/55-17 T-rated tires, it appeared that 30 psi was good for the rear tires but not enough psi for the front tires. I have been experimenting with different tire pressures and have found that 32 psi front and 30 psi rear results in a good ride and good front and rear tread width footprints. By tread width footprint I mean the marginal wear that you see on the outside tread indicating how flat the tire sits and how far the tire rolls over in turns. This may not be the correct technical term but it is the best descriptor I can think of. Two psi more in the front tires is also recommended on my Prius and other FWD cars. I am really loving the way this car rides and handles with these larger T-rated tires.

 

When I type General Altimax RT43 225/55-17 T into the Amazon search box the results tell me : This does not fit your 2015 Toyota Avalon. Although the General Altimax RT43 Radial Tire - 225/55R17 97V and General Tire Altimax RT43 Touring Radial Tire - 225/55R17 97H that also come up in the search results do not give me that warning.
So which tires should I order? I live in Hawaii so I'll only be driving in Summer conditions.

 

All three of the above tires will "fit" your 2015 Avalon. The Avalon has an OEM "V" specification for the speed rating which is why Amazon says the RT43 225/55-17 T speed rating (technically) does not fit the OEM specification. Speed rating is a marketing scheme invented by tire manufacturers to raise the price of tires. T-rated tires are what we used for decades on passenger cars like the Avalon prior to this scheme. The T-rate RT43 is what I have on my Avalon which I have driven cross-country at sustained high speeds as well as locally for about 11,000 miles. They have performed very well as far as handling and ride comfort. The T-rated R43 should do well in Hawaii.

 

The Bridgestones are horrible tires. Their ride is brittle stiff, the handling is terrible with complaining at even the slightest turn. They get horribly noisy at about 12-14k in my case. I'm very easy on tires so there is no excuse for the noise. The dealer estimated they would last near 50k before needing replacement based on the tread wear. So the treadwear was good, however I could not fathom driving on such poor tires so I replaced them at 16k with Pirelli P7 A/S tires and couldn't be happier. It rides so much better, are so quiet I could hear my radio again at reasonable volume. The handling is light years better than the Bridgestones. Oh, and for you MPG folks, I'm running 52.5 mpg on this tank on the Pirellis (they are LRR tires). I'll see when I check the mileage when I fill up, it's usually 1.5 to 2 mpg less than the dash mpg reading. (update, 51.3 mpg today when I filled up when light went on. Just over 700 miles on this tank. Record mpg passing my previous 50 mpg w/Bridgestones at the same time last year. Really liking the Pirellis even from a mpg performance standpoint, great tires.):grin:

I originally test drove the Avalon with Michelins and the ride was much better. I bought at the end of 2014 and had my Dealer locate to get the color & model I was looking for. Unfortunately my Avalon came with the Bridgestones and I really got sick of them after a year. I wasn't sure if it was the Avalon or the Bridgetones. After changing to the Pirellis (rated #1 in the OEM tire size by Tire Rack and highly recommended by the reputable tire dealer near my home that installed and nearly matched Tire Rack's Price). And of course Toyota doesn't stand behind these garbage tires. They offerred to sell me a 4 for the price of 3 Michelin Primacy for much $$ more than I could have just bought 4 for from a tire dealer. Don't buy tires from a Dealer if you can avoid it. High price.


Avoid the Bridgestones if at all possible.

 

As far as avoiding the Bridgestone tires, when I bought our Avalon Premium Hybrid a couple of weeks ago, the dealer had to have the color I wanted transferred from their Pasadena site. I almost forgot to ask if it had Michelin tires, so as the car was being driven to us I asked the fleet manager what tires were on the car and he didn't know. He chuckled at my question but the Blizzard Pearl Premium Hybrid with gray interior had the Michelin tires and the deal was completed.
I had made my mind up that if it had Bridgestone tires that would reduce the price I would give by at least $500. I have never replaced the factory tires on a new car, but was convinced that I would not put up with garbage tires on a car that I drooled over and wanted since the '13 redesign.
I figured that I would put on the Pirelli P7's for under $800 and hoped I could sell the new stones for maybe $50 to $60 each. But I lucked out and got the Michelins and I hope they last 40 to 50,000 miles, then it it will be the Pirelli P7's.

 

Just a tire update. I got rid of the horrible Bridgestone Turanzas on our 2014 Avalon XLE Touring Hybrid. They were noisy and wore out fast and uneven even with 5k rotations. 17k miles bye bye could not stand them any longer. Went with Pirelli P7s and they were OK but got very noisy and wore out quickly also. The Pirelli's at least started with a good ride and handling. I was going to go with Michelins but had a flat on one Pirelli that could not be repaired. I went to a tire store that is very trusted and they recommended Goodyear Assurance Comfort tread tires. I was not real hot on Goodyear tires but this tire dealer highly recommended them. So now after about 15k miles I really like these tires. It softened my ride, they are quiet tires, and something I never considered; after the colder weather started I realized I hadn't checked my tire pressure for about 3 months (usually check monthly. They were all exactly at 35psi where I had set them. I also went with Goodyear Assurance Tires on my wife's Honda CRV AWD last Winter. I checked them and they were all at 35psi all around also. I never had that kind of PSI retention on my Avalon or previous Camry with Bridgestone tires. I checked my 2020 Tundra also after about 3 months (which has crap Bridgestone Duelers on it. Only tires you could get) and they were at 26 (I also set them at 35psi). The TPMS system was warning me. So, another crappy feature of Bridgestone tires (Air Pressure loss). The Pirellis lost psi too. I can recommend the Goodyear tires. Good overall tire. Handling had been much better than I expected also. MPG for the Hybrid seemed to match the 2 previous LRR tires.

 

Wow. I had forgotten about this old thread. Since it has been revived, I am offering this update. Although the General Altimax RT43 tires were good when new, at about 7/32" of tread depth wet traction became poor so I traded them for Michelin Defenders T&H which have performed much better IMHO. YMMV.

 

I have always had good luck with Michelin tires. You get what you pay for and you do pay. Thanks for the review on them. My 2010 Tundra had Michelin Tires and they were great all around truck tires. The only trouble I had with them is dry rot since I kept them so long. I only drive the truck 3-5k per year so they die of old age before wearing out. Even in Mud not too bad for tires that leaned more highway tread. I put some Generals on my son's Honda fit and they wore poorly, otherwise good. I might be suspicious of my son's driving habits, but he drives mostly highway and they were shot with only about 25k on them. +

 

running Primacy 4 and the ride is good.

 

I’m running Michelin Defenders right now on my Avalon. I have at least 40,000 miles on them and they still operate basically like they did when new (in terms of handling and noise). They wear very well, I can’t seem to kill these things. They look like they could go another 20,000 miles, easy. And that’s something I’m not used to, my previous vehicle (a 2018 Silverado) couldn’t keep a set of tires going beyond 35,000 miles, and my Lexus LS460 would burn through any tire in 25,000 miles (so expensive and annoying).

The Avalon is easy on tires, but these Defenders are the best wearing tire that I’ve personally ever owned. I’m nit sure I’ll go with them again, as I have a free set of Generals laying around that someone gave me - they actually look like the ones in the original post - and I’ll go with those after the winter.