GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Does a vibe ride really rough with 18 inch wheels on it or is it just a little bit more of a rough ride? I was wanting to get 17's but i was just curious about the ride difference with either wheel size. Thanks

Excellent question. I'm wondering, too. I was reading somewhere else about somebody who bought the new GT, but had them exchange the 18" wheels for 17 inchers, because the ride was much better. I'd like to see more opinions on this.

there's a couple of threads on this subject. don't be afraid to use the search function.here's my take on it. the stock 16s give you the 'smoothest' ride, because the rim is smaller; there's more air that the rim floats on. more cushion when encountering bumps. the concept is as you go up in rim size, you still have to keep the overall diameter of your tire consistent, so the speedo and odometer stay as accurate as possible. 17" and the same diameter=less air cushion. 18" and the same diameter=even less air to ride on. so barring the quality of suspension, you'll get a rougher ride on 18s. then again, its all personal preference! some of the guys on the forum swear by their 18s, just like those of us w/17" rims love them, and there's even guys who've upgraded their stock 16s to nicer 16sgood luck

I have 18s on my Vibe and Eibach lowering springs... I think it rides "rougher" than the stock springs and wheels, but at the same time it lets me feel the road better. I actually really like the ride and it looks really good too... The best of both worlds in my opinion.

i absolutely have no problems w/ it. of course it isnt as smooth as the 16's, but to me its no where near rough as i thought it woulda been. i agree with toasted7...18's all the way

I have 19's and it rides a lil rough. its only because i have really low profile tires on it, and anything and everything makes it feel different. personally i don't get bothered by it. im actually use to it.

Go by the roads you drive. If they are mostly smoooooth, then you'll be ok with a set of 18s. If the roads are generally rough... like the ones I travel on daily, then your gonna get shaken, and you'll definitely feel pretty stirred after a drive, too.I went with a 17 inch summer wheel and tire, but I cheated a bit, too. The normal 17 incher on the vibe came with a 215 50 tire and I bumped it up to a slightly wider and taller 225 50 tire. The tire is also made specifically for a quiet and smooth ride. I wish I had gone with a 225 55 tire that is even taller, but I didn't want to be the guinea pig to see if that tire would fit in the wheel well. Probably would have, but I chickened out.

I have a 2009 GT with 18's and over the winter months, I have 16" wheels and snows. Yes the ride is significantly different as you are giving up 2 inches of cushion. You do however gain a feeling of sharper handling in the corners at speed.

Quote, originally posted by JetBlack09VibeGT »I have a 2009 GT with 18's and over the winter months, I have 16" wheels and snows. Yes the ride is significantly different as you are giving up 2 inches of cushion. You do however gain a feeling of sharper handling in the corners at speed. Do you have any pics of your car with the 16" rims on? I'm kinda interested to see what the car will look like with smaller rims lol

Nothing like bringing a thread back from the dead. Contrary to what I said earlier in the thread, I would not put on 18s if the car is your daily driver. After spending a lot of time driving with 18s and lowering springs on my Vibe, I would go the 17" route for ride quality. I just put 17s on my xB for that specific purpose. 18s look awesome sitting still, but will make the ride significantly rougher.Ride quality or looks? That's a question you have to ask yourself.

Quote, originally posted by JetBlack09VibeGT »I have a 2009 GT with 18's and over the winter months, I have 16" wheels and snows. Yes the ride is significantly different as you are giving up 2 inches of cushion. You do however gain a feeling of sharper handling in the corners at speed. I'm going to be doing this EXACT tire swap this upcoming winter. I'll go with a different style rim (5 spoke mag style of some sort) and maybe the identical rubber as you My Vibe was spared last years winter (wasn't that bad on the Ohio/Michigan border) but I do not want to chance it destroying my original GT 18" rims! Oh, in keeping with this post, I drive a commercial work van all day, so when I get into the Vibe, the feel of the road is like heaven to me no matter what size tires are on the car. The few bumps I encounter don't bother me!

I have an 09 GT with the stock 18's.. I feel every bump on the road..

I have no idea how this varies from car to car, so I can only comment on my experience with a '97 Civic EX Sedan. I went from all stock suspension with 14" steel wheels to Eibach Pro-Kit springs (1.5" drop) and Tokico adjustable shocks and 16" wheels and then dropped back to 15" wheels. There was a noticeable difference there but not as much as I'd have thought. If I were to put it on some kind of scale , say with a cushy late 60's Cadillac at "0" and my 16" wheels as a "20", I'd say the stock configuration would have been about a "16" on the scale, and the 15' wheels w/the suspension were about an "18". In my experience, with that other vehicle, the difference was not that stark.

Hi All, I'm new to GenVibe and new to Pontiac. My '09 GT with 18" factory rims and Goodyear F1 A/SC 's has had a droning noise (like a WWII bomber in those old movies) at highway speeds and a noticeable periodic vibration at 40MPH. Mr. Goodwrench and I don't think anything is wrong with wheel bearings, but they thought one tire (15K on car) was out-of-round (lack of rotation, or other abuse?). Definitely a wheel/tire issue because the sound doesn't change when I throw the transmission into neutral. Replacing the worst tire with the donut for a couple days was inconclusive as the donut has its own problems above 50 MPH. Instead of putting more money into the same F1 AS/C tires, I would like to get something a good bit softer. I would love to put on the factory 19184107 16" steel wheels (for 2.4L) with plastic wheel covers, but the GM parts guys tell me this isn't a match for my GT, which has a 5X114 (4.5") bolt circle. The P/N above has the same size bolt circle, and definitely has a larger hub diameter than the 1.4L wheel. Does anyone know if the P/N above will clear my GT brake calipers? Or if there are other non-compatibility issues (Offset, width)? The parts counter guys don't get a lot of customers who downsize on the rims, and a set of winter snows on cheap rims aren't that common where I live in Connecticut. I think my cast-Toyota factory rims have a 39mm offset and they're 7" wide.Will the 18" Goodyear Eagles provide a much smoother ride than the 18" Goodyear F1 AS/C s? I have 15" rims on my old Sonoma and 14" rims on my '65 Buick. The move to 18" may have been too aggressive but I can't help thinking the vibration is more than just tire profile. Thanks.

Mine have tons of road noise.. especially at highway speed. My 09 GT also has around 55,000 miles with the stock tires. So I've gotten good life out of them..

My stock 18's had horrible droning noise on hwy too. Changed to some yokohama yk520's and it's so much more quieter and ride got smoother too. I got slightly wider tires so it can have more air to give it more cushion I guess. I still feel bumps but it's more cushier now lol

Kin,Thanks for the post last year on the Yokohama replacements for the Goodyear F1 tires - I wish I had remembered your post today. Most of my Goodyears are in surprisingly good shape after 30,000 miles. 09vGT, thank you as well. For posterity I put another related post on a different thread tonight, subject Momo Winter Pro S.http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...46775-Bill

Data point for noisy Goodyear F1 AS/C tires: Last week I removed the left front F1 and installed the winter wheel with Michelin X-Ice. Drove a couple of miles and determined the vibrations at 20-25 MPH were GONE. So that vibration was due to one tire only. Had the car at the GM dealership a bit earlier and they couldn't find anything wrong, but suggested the tires may be cupping with age (about 30K). I also had one of the other F1 tires replaced about a year ago due to a road hazard.

I have the stock 16in wheels and this car beats me up every day on my commute. I do have rough roads here in Wisconsin but this is the worst riding car I have ever owned or driven.

crashbandit wrote:I have the stock 16in wheels and this car beats me up every day on my commute. I do have rough roads here in Wisconsin but this is the worst riding car I have ever owned or driven.

What tires do you have? They do make a difference, not just the size. I had the 18" wheels with Bridgestone tires on my 10 GT and it did ride hard, but it cornered well. Now on the 03 GT, it has 17" Michelin tires and the ride is much softer. The same bumps I barely feel vs the 10 GT, but it does not handle quite as well. I'm torn on the replacements I'll have to get next year as a result of the ride differences. Softer ride or better performance?

I just went from the stock 205/55/16 to 235/40/18 on some new 18x8 wheels. It is a firmer ride, but I wouldn't say rough. I really like the feel and the ride.
09 base 5spd

99viberunner wrote:I just went from the stock 205/55/16 to 235/40/18 on some new 18x8 wheels. It is a firmer ride, but I wouldn't say rough. I really like the feel and the ride.

I got new tires for the OEM 18" wheels for both our 2009 Vibe GTs a few months ago and I ended up going with a 235/40/18 to get a little bit more cushion. I am really happy I did this. The ride is noticeably smoother and less harsh, but they still handle really well. I personally enjoy the ride our 2009 GTs provide. It's sporty, but not too crazy. I spent a lot of money on aftermarket parts trying to get my former Sunfires to ride like our 2009 Vibe GTs do from the factory !

vibenvy wrote:

99viberunner wrote:I just went from the stock 205/55/16 to 235/40/18 on some new 18x8 wheels. It is a firmer ride, but I wouldn't say rough. I really like the feel and the ride.

I got new tires for the OEM 18" wheels for both our 2009 Vibe GTs a few months ago and I ended up going with a 235/40/18 to get a little bit more cushion. I am really happy I did this. The ride is noticeably smoother and less harsh, but they still handle really well. I personally enjoy the ride our 2009 GTs provide. It's sporty, but not too crazy. I spent a lot of money on aftermarket parts trying to get my former Sunfires to ride like our 2009 Vibe GTs do from the factory !

Did you have any rubbing or clearance issues with this size? I would like to do the same.

No clearance issue at all. Next time I think I'll look into 235/45/18s . just a little bigger yet.

gmgaga wrote:Did you have any rubbing or clearance issues with this size?

99viberunner wrote:No clearance issue at all.

None here either.

Actually, when backing out of my driveway with the steering wheel turned almost all the way to the right, I would get some minor rubbing between the OEM 215/45/18 tire and the front passenger side wheel well liner. Since getting the 235/40/18 tires, I've noticed I no longer hear any rubbing. I believe it was trb (the one who I got the idea of getting 235/40/18 tires from) who said in a post somewhere on here that the overall diameter of the 235/40/18 is actually a tad smaller than that of the 215/45/18, which probably explains the lack of rubbing.

I have the 245/45/18 OEM size tires on my GT. I hat them. They are noisy, ride rough, and don't last very long unless I rotate the every oil change. I was thinking wider and taller, or at least taller, to get more side wall height. Maybe a 225/50/18, just one size taller and wider, and all season touring vs. a performance tire. Choices are very limited in this size range. Will this size clear the wheel well on the front when turning? The tire dealer it could cause tranny damage. Really? Any suggestions?