eeny

I've been interested in hearing of others' experiences re 16in wheels and still want to change. However, I'm waiting till I've had a little more wear from my 17in tyres. It appears that 16in wheels are preferred to 15in ones so I wonder, challenger179, if you could tell me which make of 16in wheel you've used and which width 16in tyre you've fitted? Many thanks.

Many thanks for your contributions above, been away in France hence delay in replying. The roads there are definitely in a better state of repair as we experienced very few harsh bumps unlike here in Hants/Dorset. Ian103 I take your point about the complexity of the car and keeping it beyond its warranty, perhaps I'm being somewhat naive in assuming that Lexus build quality and quality control will give me a longer life than that but I believe the Prius has seen some long life and high mileages. The suggestion I should look for someone wanting to do the opposite and change small wheels for larger wheels has occurred to me, but no joy on ebay, what other forums can anyone suggest?

Inside the car the bumps themselves aren't too bad, more annoying, but I am concerned about the long term effect of the frequent jarring on loosening "things", under the dash etc, (I like to keep my cars for around 8-10 years) and the increased vulnerability of these low profile wheel/tyre combinations to wheel damage from kerbing. The large number of alloy wheel rapairers on the internet is testament to this.

Many thanks to you all so far for your advice and information. I'm still waiting for Lexus to tell me whether or not the remaining warranty would be affected in any way, obviously non-Lexus wheels would not be covered. I notice that the new S uses 195x65x15 tyres/wheels, I was going to use 205x65x15 but would it be better to use the narrower tyres given, as pointed out, that they are lighter etc? I have an Audi A4 with 195x65x15 tyres and the road holding etc on that is quite satisfactory. With reference to any effect on speedo readings, as these different sizes of wheels/tyres are available as an option, I assumed they cancel each other out ie reduced wheel diameter compensated by increased tyre diameter and vice versa, though from some earlier comments on the forum there could be a difference of up to 2mph. The big downside for changing is cost - Lexus quoted me £1,500 for a set of wheels with tyres whereas Wheelbasealloys quote £634 for an equivelant set.

I've had my "62" reg CT200 SE-L for 7 weeks and find the ride quite harsh and would like to change the 17" 45 profile wheels/tyres for 15" 65 profile wheels/tyres - has anyone tried this yet? This solution would also reduce kerb damage. Apart from that, I really enjoy driving the car.