Do 20” wheels = firmer ride?

10354 Views 21 Replies 13 Participants Last post by SoundsGood, Apr 7, 2019

CGM66047

Discussion Starter · Apr 4, 2019

The 2017 Pilot EXL with 18” wheels I traded had a pretty soft ride that I liked. The only thing I dislike about my Passport Touring is it seems like the ride is significantly more firm.

Has to be the 20” wheels?

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Passporter

· #2 · Apr 4, 2019

I heard the suspension is a little firmer but yes. The more rubber between you and the pavement will give a better ride. I’ve got 35s on my trucks 17” rims just for that reason. Low profile tires will handle better.
Never understand why Honda put 20s on a supposed off-road vehicle. Only rational is bait for the younger crowd

CGM66047

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 4, 2019

Agree, the 20” stock wheels & tires are not aligned with off-roading in any way which is fine by me, did not buy it to go off road. Love the look of the gray Touring rims, wish the ride was more like the Pilot around town.

Visa

· #4 · Apr 4, 2019 (Edited)

Agreed, agreed, agreed.
I think Honda went overboard with the 20" wheels as a standard item. Honda is projecting the Passport as an 'off road' vehicle trying to imitate the Jeep products but failed by making the vehicle to look too 'sporty'. Honda's adds display the vehicle going thru mud, mountainous rocks, river streams, three feet of ice & snow, etc. I believe it is called 'cognitive dissonance' or just plain brain-farting.

I expect there to be a future thread subject devoted to advice & comment on how best to replace the 20' wheels & tires. Sad.
One consolation to keep in mind is that the standard tires are 245/50R20. but on the Touring and Elite models the tire size is 265/45R20.

cevwvu

· #5 · Apr 4, 2019

Visa said:
Agreed, agreed, agreed.
I think Honda went overboard with the 20" wheels as a standard item. Honda is projecting the Passport as an 'off road' vehicle trying to imitate the Jeep products but failed by making the vehicle to look too 'sporty'. Honda's adds display the vehicle going thru mud, mountainous rocks, river streams, three feet of ice & snow, etc. I believe it is called 'cognitive dissonance' or just plain brain-farting.

I expect there to be a future thread subject devoted to advice & comment on how best to replace the 20' wheels & tires. Sad.
One consolation to keep in mind is that the standard tires are 245/50R20. but on the Touring and Elite models the tire size is 265/45R20.

The different tire size is due the the Touring and Elite have 8.5" wide wheels, the other trims have 8"

Also, if you look at most trims of the Grand Cherokee the 20" wheel is standard...

inbred

· #6 · Apr 4, 2019 (Edited)

Having 20" rims is what's known as having a pimped out ride. Taller the rim usually means less the rubber. Less the rubber equals less the shock absorption. Think mountain biking. Try riding a rough trail on a mountain bike with no suspension. Then try it on a fat bike with no suspension. You'll find the fat bike absorbs a ton of the trail shock. Same is true for comparing 20" rims and short tires versus 18 inch rims and tall tires. Of course the driver is going to get a better road feel through the steering wheel with 20" rims and they're going to notice less flex driving hard into corners. There are certain advantages for smooth surface driving. But on fluctuating roads with the common bumps and so- forth, and off road, the 18" rims are going to be preferred.

As I mentioned, I bought my Elite for the wife as it's an optimum chick vehicle for her. In summer I'll keep the 20's on and in the winter the car will be toughened up with 18's and BF Goodrich All Terrains. That's the plan at least. I want the lady to ride in comfort while in her glorified mall cruiser. But when winter hits, Old Inbred will put it through some tough-man paces while on ski trips when 18" of powder hits the ground.

See less See more

Reactions: 2

Passporter

· #7 · Apr 4, 2019 (Edited)

Wtf is with you and a chick car

Reactions: 2

cevwvu

· #8 · Apr 4, 2019

Passporter said:
Wtf is with you and a chick car

I was going to say the same thing.

Probably has a lifted Ram diesel with the towing mirrors extended without a trailer in tow.

Reactions: 2

CantDrive55

· #9 · Apr 4, 2019

I love my PP like a 3rd child. It's my precious. So easy and enjoyable to drive. My #1 disappointment is that road lumps, bumps, holes, ridges are way too jarring. Thought this would be an improvement over CR-V. It's not. I've heard many times that tires and suspension have been changed for more "sportiness" vs. Pilot. It's probably a material difference vs. Pilot and I don't agree with it. (Many things are much better than CR-V though

).

DaveG

· #10 · Apr 5, 2019

I was concerned with the 20in tires and would never have gotten them if they were an "option" but after having the car for a few weeks I have no complaints and the ride, especially on the freeway, is smooth as silk. And it handles great on some of the backroads I take to get to my house. No complaints from me although I will probably cringe at the price when it's time to replace them.

Reactions: 3

Visa

· #11 · Apr 5, 2019

cevwvu said:
The different tire size is due the the Touring and Elite have 8.5" wide wheels, the other trims have 8"

Also, if you look at most trims of the grand cherokee the 20" wheel is standard...

Depends upon Trim level and options. On the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4 X 4, for instance, the standard tire size is a 265/60R18. A 20" wheel size is optional. I believe that even some trim levels have 17" wheels but I might be wrong.
A '60' aspect ratio is what I would prefer on the Limited or the Passport.

darksky

· #12 · Apr 5, 2019

I have no problems or complaints with the ride comfort. I think the ride is very good. I like a firm ride, but it's not jarring by any means.

Reactions: 1

CAJack42

· #13 · Apr 5, 2019

CantDrive55 said:
Thought this would be an improvement over CR-V. It's not.

I had just the opposite experience from my '17 CR-V (Bridgestone tires) to the PP. Far better ride, even though it's on the firm side. The CR-V was jarring and annoying. Felt every little bump.
Of course, neither can compare to my '06 Pilot with 235/70-16 tires. Ride is great now, but wasn't with the original GY tires.

Igotsoul4u

· #14 · Apr 5, 2019

I'm worried my back is not enjoying the car as much as the rest of me. The suspension isn't noticeably jarring but it can build up on my back pain over the drive. I didn't really notice during the test drives but I'm hoping its also because I had a physical week. Still, have a small concern that it's a little too stiff of a ride for me in the Northeast Corridor. My old Ridgeline was nothing but comfortable but it had 17" rims and slightly bigger tires.

Red Suns

· #15 · Apr 6, 2019 (Edited)

Igotsoul4u said:
I'm worried my back is not enjoying the car as much as the rest of me. The suspension isn't noticeably jarring but it can build up on my back pain over the drive. I didn't really notice during the test drives but I'm hoping its also because I had a physical week. Still, have a small concern that it's a little too stiff of a ride for me in the Northeast Corridor. My old Ridgeline was nothing but comfortable but it had 17" rims and slightly bigger tires.

A couple things to keep in mind, the struts/shocks and suspension bushings are still breaking in to a degree. Also as you get more miles and heat on the tires, the sidewalls will start to become a little more pliable.

As a stop-gap, tweaking the air pressure in the tires can make all the difference in the world of the ride characteristics of a vehicle. When I recently took a peek at the tire pressure on my Passport, it was something higher than I expected (44 PSI warm reading via TPMS sensors) if I recall correctly. It appears that the specified max air pressure on the stock Continental Cross Contact LX Sport tires 265/45 R20 is 51 PSI.

With only having less than 1000 miles on these tires at the moment for myself, I can only speculate that 44 PSI may be the sweet spot for this particular tire in terms even tread wear, comfort and rolling resistance (MPG). However if the ride is a bit on the snappy side for you to the point of constantly noticing it, perhaps reducing tire pressures by 2-4 PSI may be something you can experiment with.

*edit for context of the 44 PSI tire pressure reading*

See less See more

Reactions: 1

darksky

· #16 · Apr 6, 2019

I believe the spec tag on the door jamb recommends 37psi for the Continental tires.

Red Suns

· #17 · Apr 6, 2019

darksky said:
I believe the spec tag on the door jamb recommends 37psi for the Continental tires.

Thanks for the heads up. Got a little worried and literally just ran outside to check the tire pressure using an external gauge and got 38 PSI. My initial 44 PSI read was taken from the onboard TPMS sensors via gauge cluster after about 30 min of hwy driving. To which I'm guessing is a warmish reading vs cold.

darksky

· #18 · Apr 6, 2019

Red Suns said:
Thanks for the heads up. Got a little worried and literally just ran outside to check the tire pressure using an external gauge and got 38 PSI. My initial 44 PSI read was taken from the onboard TPMS sensors via gauge cluster after about 30 min of hwy driving. To which I'm guessing is a warmish reading vs cold.

Were the tires at 37psi when cold? So far in a couple of weeks driving my new Passport, I'll see 39psi readings on the gauge cluster after highway driving.

Red Suns

· #19 · Apr 6, 2019

darksky said:
Were the tires at 37psi when cold? So far in a couple of weeks driving my new Passport, I'll see 39psi readings on the gauge cluster after highway driving.

I would say that my tires from factory are currently reading 37 PSI +/- 1 PSI cold and it's 50F outside at the moment.

It would be normal for me to see +3 PSI after 12 miles of driving in 65F ish sunny weather in my other vehicle that also has fancy shmancy tire PSI info. However my 2006 4runner that got replaced by the Passport had a low TPMS warning but nothing more than that.

Treihing

· #20 · Apr 6, 2019

inbred said:
Having 20" rims is what's known as having a pimped out ride. Taller the rim usually means less the rubber. Less the rubber equals less the shock absorption. Think mountain biking. Try riding a rough trail on a mountain bike with no suspension. Then try it on a fat bike with no suspension. You'll find the fat bike absorbs a ton of the trail shock. Same is true for comparing 20" rims and short tires versus 18 inch rims and tall tires. Of course the driver is going to get a better road feel through the steering wheel with 20" rims and they're going to notice less flex driving hard into corners. There are certain advantages for smooth surface driving. But on fluctuating roads with the common bumps and so- forth, and off road, the 18" rims are going to be preferred.

As I mentioned, I bought my Elite for the wife as it's an optimum chick vehicle for her. In summer I'll keep the 20's on and in the winter the car will be toughened up with 18's and BF Goodrich All Terrains. That's the plan at least. I want the lady to ride in comfort while in her glorified mall cruiser. But when winter hits, Old Inbred will put it through some tough-man paces while on ski trips when 18" of powder hits the ground.

Lol, stock 20 inch wheels are nothing ‘pimped out’ since the general public will have the same set up. If you were throwing $2k at some 20 inch chrome wheels, then you would receive the illustrious ‘Pimped Out’ status...

I have taken my PP off-road several times and it handles very well and very comparable to my 4Runner Limited, which also had 20in wheels. The only trouble I had was rolling through a mud pit that was 16 inches of yuck. The only ride that made it through without issue was a raised Dodge Ram. It took me some maneuvering but I made it through.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.