Ride Quality with 22" or 20" Wheels

[Simans82]

Originally Posted by p8nman-n

But what I find wild is, its from one extreme to another. Some people said with 22s there is no problem with anything and then some people said its like driving a jeep wrangler on boulders!! Geeeshh..

The opinion ranges so widely based on past experience. If no one has ever ridden on aftermarket wheels (or not gone more than +1 on the wheel/tire combo), then you often will get the most harsh responses from them.

If you've ridden on larger wheel and tire setups in the past, you're not as likely to be so surprised by the stiffer and more rigid ride. This is just my opinion, but this same type of scenario can be seen from forum to forum no matter the platform.

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by thehoodster

I have a 2005 300c AWD and have been driving stock wheels for 2 years now. I really want to upgrade to 20" or 22" wheels, however, i read a post that the AWD 300c requires a different lug configuration. What type of wheels should i be looking at? Any recomendations? should i consider any other potential problems with upgrading my AWD wheels?

Thanks

Welcome. The AWD uses the same lug configuration aka bolt pattern as the RWD. The bolt patter is 5x115. However, the wheel 'offset' is different for the RWD and AWD models. Offset is expressed as et24 for the RWD and et55 for the AWD - both use a 18x7.5 rim size. The offset determines how far in or out the wheel goes. The higher the offset the more the rim goes inward. A reputable wheel and tire dealer should recommend and sale you the correct bolt pattern. There are not many rims designed to fit the RWD and there are even less for the AWD. Check out:

The Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels

Home - Discount Tire Direct

[cnote05300]

its not really that bad a ride with 22s. yes theyre gonna vibrate a little during some highway speeds, but its not teeth shattering. its almost unnoticeable. and i have the dreaded 114.3 lug pattern *shriek in fear!* and no. it actually rides better than factory if you wanna know the truth. yes. better than factory. with the 114.3, 22s, and spinners, on mississippi roads. The unprecidented verdict is in. it can be done. the suspension on these cars is so plush, its not like putting wheels on a viper.

just my .04

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by cnote05300

its not really that bad a ride with 22s. yes theyre gonna vibrate a little during some highway speeds, but its not teeth shattering. its almost unnoticeable. and i have the dreaded 114.3 lug pattern *shriek in fear!* and no. it actually rides better than factory if you wanna know the truth. yes. better than factory. with the 114.3, 22s, and spinners, on mississippi roads. The unprecidented verdict is in. it can be done. the suspension on these cars is so plush, its not like putting wheels on a viper.

just my .04

Yo! If your rims "vibrate a little during some highway speeds" your rims may not be balanced properly or worse you don't have a hub centering ring? Normally vibration would not be caused by using the 5x11.4 bolt pattern, but by not being centered on improper balance.

[cnote05300]

Originally Posted by E55 KEV

Yo! If your rims "vibrate a little during some highway speeds" your rims may not be balanced properly or worse you don't have a hub centering ring? Normally vibration would not be caused by using the 5x11.4 bolt pattern, but by not being centered on improper balance.

its usually from about 75-80 and just enough where you notice it and its gone. like i said, its really barely noticable at all. keep in mind i also have spinners, which add unsprung weight to the tire after its balanced which im sure is most if not all of it. ive ridden in several vehicles with 22s or better, and this is nothing new. wheels of that diameter are hard to balance, and most of the time the stick on wheels weights are used.. which arent as reliable as the standard ones. basically if youre ridin rims, your gonna have some shakes. when i just had 20s on my s10 it shook worse than my 300.

[bobbysworld]

Originally Posted by K Hamlet

I am running 22"s. Dunlop 285/30/22 Super Sport 9000's on Bazo 22" x 8.5" rims.
The only difference I notice are when hitting rapid changing road heights such as an asphault patch. The tire leaves the road for a split second instead of the tire just absorbing the hit. So when in a long high speed curve the wheel twitches for a instant. Nothing scary but you do notice it. The rest of the time all you notice is the increase handling and increased looks. I have always had nice rides (an H2 just before this) but have never had this amount of interest in a vehicle.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

swwweeet

[300c4u]

nice thread!

[JeDiHemi]

New questions!!!

One was about the difference in speedometer readings from switching from stock 18"s to 20's or 22's... I know flashpaq allows for you to put the tire size change in there to allow for more accurate reading, but what size is too big a size when your speedometer readout is innaccurate? or can our cars handle all that up to 22"s? anyone with any knowledge on this, holla back... thx in advance...

My other question is how do 22"s since they have such little tire do in or slick areas? is it just how good a tire u get or does it hydroplane more b/c of the base and usually larger lip inside wheel?

i'm about ready to buy my summer wheel set... i know what i want, just having a tough tough time deciding between 20"s and 22"s... i've been on this thread since day one tho... so, it's been very helpful... i'm leaning towards 22"s...

[NotYet]

Wahooooo. I've been waiting for the day where I could finally contribute to this thread!!!

I just got my 22s mounted yesterday and Thursday I'm getting the KWs added. So I'll be able to comment twice.

After 100 or so miles driving on my 22s w/ no suspension changes, the only difference I notice is a slight increase in road noise. And its not a constant humming of the road or anything like that. Its mainly when driving on concrete roads at slow to medium speeds, I can hear the expansion joints of the road a little more than I could previously. As far as feeling every little pebble in the road - yea, not so much. The ride is as smooth as it was before. Sure, I've gotta avoid potholes now w/ the 265/30/22s but I was avoiding potholes w/ the stock 225/60/18 - so my driving habits really haven't had to change either!

I am a believer that the tires make a huge difference. If you go cheap, my guess is thats when you start hearing and feeling everything! So far I love the Nitto iNVO tires. Drove in the rain to work this morning and it felt nice and solid w/ plenty of grip.

Best part is - everything passed the wife test!!! It didn't matter what my opinion was. If she didn't like it, I was in deep trouble. She loved it!!!!

[Black Angus]

Newbie! Jusr got a 2006 SRT8 that has 20's on it now. My son is trying to convince me to go with 22's since I want to take the car all black and get new rims. Looks are nice but I want a good ride. 20's or 22's