My pickup was available with drastically different outer diameter tire and wheel combos as OEM Stock, a truck that came with the LT tires had a different setting for the Speedo so you were stuck with it.
How would one adjust the spring and damper settings without getting new aftermarket springs and dampers? Are the OEM dampers adjustable at all? And how would such adjustments be arrived at? Would Toyota be able to give advice on this?
Assuming the ride in the new model is going to be much the same as past ones, you would only need to adjust the suspension if you change the wheels. Even then, that would only happen if find the new ride comfort unacceptable. With harsher riding tires, the factory suspension settings will be softer. The factory parts very likely aren't adjustable. Depending on what you want to change, you may not need to change the springs or struts/shocks. If the ride is too soft after going to wider profile tires, just increasing the tire pressure could fix it.
I was thinking that the manufacturer would adjust those settings when they designed the car with work with those wheel/tire combinations.
Toyota suspensions have very little adjustability for the most part. Almost none on the back wheels. TheCarCareNut did a video a couple weeks ago about how to identify different types of common noises. About half of the video was on the importance of using the stock tire diameters because of the lack of suspension adjustability for alignment. Toe can be moderately adjusted, camber very little(none in the rear), castor not at all. Now alignment isn't exactly what is being discussed here, but any changes to spring and/or damping would have ripple effects that would probably not be able to be countered.
Just want to make sure I understand this. So, when changing wheels from 19" to 18", one would have to ensure that the diameter of the 18" tire is as close as possible to the diameter of the 19" tire so as to minimize or even eliminate any need to adjust springs and dampers. We're assuming that Toyota has designed the Gen 5's suspension system to be at least as comfortable with those low profile 19" tires as previous generations on higher profile tires, so higher profile tires on 18" wheels should be even more comfy than the 19-inchers, although the handling might be a little less taut, crisp, sharp. Have I got it?
That feels reasonably true, but you might just be better off searching for a quality tire that favors ride comfort over other factors like wear. You'll probably get a larger increase in comfort for a whole lot less money. But if you really want an 18", it looks like a 215/50R18 is the closest tire size that is commonly sold in NA. 18"x8.5" wheel. 10.5% increase in sidewall thickness: 3.8" -> 4.2". Only 0.7% smaller in diameter/circumference. But this 18" would be 20mm wider and I don't know how/if that would affect suspension. Or you could do the much, much easier thing and just get the 17" wheels from the base trim and put some really good tires on them.
Thanks, Hammersmith. I'm keen to see what the 17" wheel looks like and how it fits in the wheel well. I put 16" Wedsports on my 2013 Plug-in (see below) and although they looked much better than the stock wheels (and were lighter, better handling etc.), I think 17" would have looked better, but I wanted to make sure I didn't spoil the fuel consumption figures so went with 16". If the only 18" width available is 8.5", I reckon that's much too wide (too much friction) for good fuel consumption, so perhaps I'll just have to give up on the idea of 18" altogether and go with 17".
Michelin CrossClimate 2's are available in 215/50/r18 which have essentially the same diameter as the OEM tires. However they are .8 inches wider. They have more sidewall so a better ride, but will create more aerodynamic drag. The tires aren't cheap but are the best tires i have ever used. No-one will want the OEM tires and rims as a trade-in.
Thanks for the info MIchael. Actually, a whole bunch of test drives have just arrived online and one of them says the ride is very good, so maybe those low profile 19" tires won't be so bad for ride comfort after all [but — uh oh! — Motor Trend's test says "...just-alright ride quality of the 19-inch wheels." So, I guess the jury is still out and I'll be reading more of those online road tests to see what other testers think.] And you might already have seen it, but here's a video about the Michelin CrossClimate 2. Looks like a great tire and maybe I won't have to get snows as well for my next car. Thanks for telling us about it.
Would it be feasible to put these 15 inch wheels on a 2023 Prime? I prefer purchasing affordable tires from Costco and have concerns about the new dimensions 2021 Toyota Prius Prime 15 10-spoke alloy wheels - PT94547160 - Genuine Toyota Accessory
Too early to tell. Need to know the new model's bolt pattern and offset. Then there is the consideration of actual bolts. I expect the bZ4X using wheel bolts instead of nuts wasn't just for BEVs thing at Toyota. Heard the Crown uses them. The new Prius might. Not sure how that matters to replacement wheels though.
There are other options. Those are kinda glitzy, and there's been a few reports of the chrome flaking off. Still the $64 question: would a 15" rim fit? I've got a set of 2012~2015 PIP rims waiting for "something", not sure yet. They're quite presentable.
Of course, but if a car has two different pairs of wheels, it is more likely the sets are placed on the sides. So the better looking ones can face the street.
11.1" front, 11.0" rear for the Prius FWD 12.0" front, 11.0" rear for the Prius AWD. No idea which spec the Prime will take.
Hammersmith: Hope you've been able to purchase your 'Dream Prius', especially with such limited deliveries/inventory. Totally concur with you deserving the upgrade to Gen-5 Styling/Features. I was in a similar circumstance with our 2016 Prius Gen-3 'Touring'; wanted to step into 21st Century Features/Style. As you may have seen from my recent posting about 'Michelin Primacy vs. Toyo Extensa A/S' tires, my quandary is a bit different. Having driven the 2024 XLE just over 100mi., have found the Toyo tires to not do well with cornering, as well as tires easily 'breaking loose' on wet roads, especially when starting from a dead stop. Also, finding the Toyos having a 'much harder ride' when compared to the 215s I had on our 2016.
I've decided to entirely ditch the OEM 19's w/Toyos. Getting TireRack 17's with a 225/55/17 Conti DWS 06.
