Will an 18 improve much ride quality over 20?

koliadang

Member
:
mazda cx5 GT
Will an 18 improve much ride quality over 20?

Hello all

I picked up a 2015 GT a week ago, and thinking abt swapping the current 20 for an 18 one, as the road condition here in Asia is bad, full of pot holes and cracks.

Will the ride quality really improve on 18 245/60?
Thank you for your advise!
 
Assuming that it is only the size of the sidewall that changes (ie. same brand and model, and same width), the 18" tire should ride more smoothly than the 20" tire.

My CX-9 came with 20" wheels. I drove a loaner CX-9 with 18" wheels for a day, and the ride was noticeably softer, but the handling didn't feel as tight.
 
Last edited:
We did the same when we bought our 4runner. Swapped out the 20" Limited wheels and tires for 17" Trail Editions. The ride is much more smooth and IMO, any SUV looks better with some sidewall.

Plus tires are cheaper.
 
We did the same when we bought our 4runner. Swapped out the 20" Limited wheels and tires for 17" Trail Editions. The ride is much more smooth and IMO, any SUV looks better with some sidewall.

Plus tires are cheaper.

How do you swap out wheel size from 20 to 18? Is it as simple as unbolting the 20s and bolting on the 18s?
As I am obviously clueless, would I take it to a mechanic or go somewhere else? (I know the dealer would be expensive.)
Thanks!
 
How do you swap out wheel size from 20 to 18? Is it as simple as unbolting the 20s and bolting on the 18s?
As I am obviously clueless, would I take it to a mechanic or go somewhere else? (I know the dealer would be expensive.)
Thanks!

Go to Tirerack and pretend to be buying tires and wheels, and they should give you all options that will work out of the box, including if you want to step down to 18s.
 
Yep, it's as simple as unbolting the old ones and putting on the new. Just make sure you've got the right size wheels. Center bore, offset, wheel width and lug pattern will be your 1st concerns when wheel shopping.

I'm not really sure about the CX-5, whether upper end models have bigger brakes or not, but for us in the 4runner, we simply bought some stock wheels that were for a lesser model and we were good to go.
What I mean is, if you have the top end CX-5, make sure your brake discs will fit inside a set of 18" wheels. I'm 99% sure all of that info is here if you search the site.
 

Latest posts

Back