Aluminum 16" Wheels with P205/55R16 Tires vs. 17" with P215/50R17 Tires

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Bud H - 04 Sep 2005 21:21 GMT

I am going to be ordering/purchasing a 2006 Toyota Matrix XR FWD or XR AWD
within the next month.

I still have not yet decided whether 3 mpg less, 7 horsepower less, and 1.3
gallons of fuel tank capacity less are worth the all wheel drive.

If I get the AWD version, I MUST get 16" wheels/tires.

But, if I decide on the FWD version, then I have two choices of wheels if I
decide to go with aluminum wheels:

(1) 16" Aluminum Wheels with P205/55R16 Tires
(2) 17" Aluminum Wheels with P215/50R17 Tires

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two sizes? (Note - price
is not much of a factor, and quietness, ease of ride, and fuel efficiency
are more important to me than handling characteristics.)

Bud H

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HachiRoku - 04 Sep 2005 21:51 GMT

> I am going to be ordering/purchasing a 2006 Toyota Matrix XR FWD or XR AWD
> within the next month.
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Bud H

The 17" will give you slightly better handling at not much of a hit on
economy. What I would look at is the cost of replacing the tires when the
time comes. 17" are becoming more of the standard and may be priced lower
than 16"

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Mark - 05 Sep 2005 00:52 GMT

I have Enkei alloys with 16s (came from the dealer like that) on my 2WD
Matrix. I don't think the 17s are that much different, they might look
a little better.

If you're looking for better handling, replacing the rear sway bar with
a heavy duty aftermarket unit made a huge difference, and it was only a
little over $100 three years ago.

Unless you really need AWD, I wouldn't bother. It's just something
else to go wrong and there is a weight, power and performance penalty
as you have noted.

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Bud H - 05 Sep 2005 01:50 GMT

>I have Enkei alloys with 16s (came from the dealer like that) on my 2WD
> Matrix. I don't think the 17s are that much different, they might look
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> else to go wrong and there is a weight, power and performance penalty
> as you have noted.

One other thing I learned - to get Vehicle Stability Control , you have to
have 2WD. And, you have to have the 16-inch wheels!

(Unlike my 2002 Highlander, you can't get VSC plus ABS brakes on an AWD
model.

So, it seems my decision has been made for me......

Bud H

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