I 'downgraded' the 18's to 17's on my new Accord

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I have a 2015 Accord Sport that came with 18" wheels and 235/45-18 tires. While I have no issues with (and generally prefer) a stiffer-handling car, I was never real happy with how much road noise these Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS generated, how hard they made every crack in the pavement feel, and certainly how terrible they were in the cold wet months.

So I bought a set of 17" wheels from an Accord LX V6 off Craigslist in the spring that came with a set of still-good 215/55-17 Michelin Primacy MXV4 that I was planning on just straight-up replacing for some real winter tires. Well I got them on the other day and I'm impressed. The car rides so much better, the road noise has been reduced considerably, and while we haven't seen any rain or bad weather yet, by all accounts the Michelins should be far superior to the Bridgestones. All for a small (albeit noticeable) decrease in turning sharpness and outright cornering grip. Not a bad compromise at all for how I drive the car and what I use it for. And being genuine Honda Accord wheels they look good, too. I even like the style of the 17's a little better than the 18's. And thanks to Honda's passive TPMS, I didn't have to deal with any sensor issues. The new plan is to run these Michelins through at least one winter here and all through next year just to get my money's worth out of them then we'll see if I'll replace them with a dedicated winter tire. But then I'll have to put the 18's back on in the springtime, so...

This makes me curious how the newer Accord Sport rides and handles bad weather with the 19" wheels it now comes with. No thanks!
 
Were the RE97AS run flats by any chance?

I have the RE970AS on my car (235/45/17). Granted, they are in a different performance category (UHP AS), but I find they give a rather compliant ride without much road noise. Going over pavement strips does generate some noise though. But my previous tires were max perf. summers, so I suppose I have a different point of reference.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I have a 2015 Accord Sport that came with 18" wheels and 235/45-18 tires. While I have no issues with (and generally prefer) a stiffer-handling car, I was never real happy with how much road noise these Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS generated, how hard they made every crack in the pavement feel, and certainly how terrible they were in the cold wet months.

So I bought a set of 17" wheels from an Accord LX V6 off Craigslist in the spring that came with a set of still-good 215/55-17 Michelin Primacy MXV4 that I was planning on just straight-up replacing for some real winter tires. Well I got them on the other day and I'm impressed. The car rides so much better, the road noise has been reduced considerably, and while we haven't seen any rain or bad weather yet, by all accounts the Michelins should be far superior to the Bridgestones. All for a small (albeit noticeable) decrease in turning sharpness and outright cornering grip. Not a bad compromise at all for how I drive the car and what I use it for. And being genuine Honda Accord wheels they look good, too. I even like the style of the 17's a little better than the 18's. And thanks to Honda's passive TPMS, I didn't have to deal with any sensor issues. The new plan is to run these Michelins through at least one winter here and all through next year just to get my money's worth out of them then we'll see if I'll replace them with a dedicated winter tire. But then I'll have to put the 18's back on in the springtime, so...

This makes me curious how the newer Accord Sport rides and handles bad weather with the 19" wheels it now comes with. No thanks!


Probably an EXL V6?
 
Good move.
My 2013 Sport was harsh and on concrete interstates the booming was horrific.
I know exactly what you were dealing with.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Were the RE97AS run flats by any chance?

I have the RE970AS on my car (235/45/17). Granted, they are in a different performance category (UHP AS), but I find they give a rather compliant ride without much road noise. Going over pavement strips does generate some noise though. But my previous tires were max perf. summers, so I suppose I have a different point of reference.

Nope, the stock Bridgestones aren't run-flats.

I distinctly remember my '01 Impreza (that the Accord replaced) being a very loud car, especially wind noise. Getting in the Accord was like sitting in an insulated sound booth by comparison. But either I got used to it or the tires got louder because the noise really started to irritate me. Even the guy who I bought the 17's from who had replaced them on his own V6 Accord with the exact same tires and wheels I had on my Sport said he hated how loud and non-compliant they were.
 
Originally Posted By: Bill_G
Probably an EXL V6?

Sounds right but I'm not sure. I just know it was a V6 model. I think they all used the same 17" wheel except for the 4 cylinder non-Sports.
 
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Good move.
My 2013 Sport was harsh and on concrete interstates the booming was horrific.
I know exactly what you were dealing with.

Which tires were OEM on yours? Bridgestones, Michelins or Goodyears?
 
Michelin Primacy MXV4 18"
BTW in two years my rims start to peel- then it had only 9,000 miles on them.
frown.gif



Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Good move.
My 2013 Sport was harsh and on concrete interstates the booming was horrific.
I know exactly what you were dealing with.

Which tires were OEM on yours? Bridgestones, Michelins or Goodyears?
 
I've ungraded several Camrys with 14s to 15 inch wheels, but my latest Camry, an V6 came with 16 inch steel wheels and 215 60 16s. I will get some alloys for it at some point, probably Borbet, but I'm sticking with 16. I've driven another V6 with 17s and it just isn't enough sidewall for the lousy state of the local roads. I don't think what you did is a downgrade.
 
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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Are you selling the OE wheels?

I'm very tempted to but no. I'm sure I would regret doing so in the future if I did.
 
I noticed the same thing test driving an Acura TSX. The sport version had an excessively harsh (I'd call it 'nervous') ride and more road noise compared to the standard model. I passed on it - and ended up not buying anything.

I have 17" wheels on both my cars and don't think I'll go any higher.
 
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Good move.
My 2013 Sport was harsh and on concrete interstates the booming was horrific.
I know exactly what you were dealing with.

Which tires were OEM on yours? Bridgestones, Michelins or Goodyears?

Michelin Primacy MXV4 18"
BTW in two years my rims start to peel- then it had only 9,000 miles on them.
frown.gif


I wish mine came with those Michelins in 18" but it was the luck of the draw. I like Bridgestone as a brand but these tires let the car down.

No peeling issues on mine after 18k+ miles, knock on wood.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Are you selling the OE wheels?


There are some on the Accord site that were posted the other day that look nice.

Sport Rims
 
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No need for such big wheels on such a low performance car. The 2016 Accord Sport has 19 inch wheels that look great, but very poor riding and expensive to replace.

Corvette, AMG Benz or BMW M5 should have 19 inch wheels due to the performance of car.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
No need for such big wheels on such a low performance car. The 2016 Accord Sport has 19 inch wheels that look great, but very poor riding and expensive to replace.

Corvette, AMG Benz or BMW M5 should have 19 inch wheels due to the performance of car.

Well 'need' doesn't have much to do with it. It's more about style nowadays. The original 18's would probably be perfectly fine with the right tire.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I have a 2015 Accord Sport that came with 18" wheels and 235/45-18 tires. While I have no issues with (and generally prefer) a stiffer-handling car, I was never real happy with how much road noise these Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS generated, how hard they made every crack in the pavement feel, and certainly how terrible they were in the cold wet months.


My 2016 Altima that came with 18" tires, After settling on the price and trade in value, I told the salesman that I would only buy the Altima if they put 17" wheels and tires on it. He went and talked to his boss and came back 2 minutes later and said no problem. I did get one year old wheels but with new tires of my choice.
 
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