I am giving my 2017 Escape Titanium with 18in wheels to my oldest daughter and am ordering a 2019 Escape Titanium.

Unfortunately, the 2019 Escape Titaniums only come with 19in wheels.

I am thinking of putting 18s on when it arrives.

Other than looks, is there any reason to keep the 19s?
Everything I read tells me the 18s are better on the road than the 19s.
Opinions?

Speedometer / odometer error of about 5%.

I heard long ago that ABS, traction control, etc depended on having the right tires at the proper inflation, but I'll defer to the experts for that. This may have been for those who have larger tires on the back, e.g. Scooby Doo style.

Circa 1998 the shorter sidewall on large wheels introduced so much stiffness that it made many rides uncomfortable.

In my experience, and what I see/read that is no longer even remotely the case, especially in the realm of small crossover-sized tires. If you need more proof, look at the sizes that some luxury SUVs and crossovers come with to know that they aren't mounting up uncomfortable tires.

You don't define what "are better on the road" means to you. In my experience, the 19's would handle a little better, especially in emergent moves, and be almost indistinguishable in ride comfort. The marginal cost in tires will be nominal.

There is no way in hell I'd incur the expense to replace them. I'm driving an SUV on 255/50/19 tires and it is the smoothest, quietest most comfortable ride I've had ever. The same vehicle also comes in a optional 265/45/20, I've driven that and it's just as nice.

eta- radioman's post is irrelevant. Smaller wheels would necessitate larger sidewall height yielding the same or very close total rolling circumference.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
Speedometer / odometer error of about 5%.

I heard long ago that ABS, traction control, etc depended on having the right tires at the proper inflation, but I'll defer to the experts for that. This may have been for those who have larger tires on the back, e.g. Scooby Doo style.

Only if you go with the same aspect ratio on the 18s as were on the 19s. Usually if a vehicle has a 40 series 18 it will go to a 35 series 19. that keeps the total tire diameter much closer to original. Also depends on the width.

My car came with 285/30-19s and I upgraded to a 305/25-20. So overall the speedo is still correct as the overall tire diameter is the same. More wheel, less sidewall.

The biggest benefit to going from 19s to 18s is that you will have more sidewall to protect the wheel from larger potholes, etc, thereby also increasing the ride somewhat, making it softer.

I think handling is a function of diameter and width (influences size of contact patch) as well as profile (sidewall flex during cornering).

In the past, on cars, low profile, larger rims meant very thin profiles - great for cornering but bad for bumps and bad for rims (some encounters with bumps may lead to damaged rims).

But on trucks, given some of the widths (ie - mine is 285), even 55 profile gives a lot of buffer for the rim. So, 20" on my truck is different in my mind that 20" on a car (that may come stock with 17 or 18).

Generally, I'd keep the stock wheels depending on the specifics and driving style.

The Ford website shows that vehicle with 18" wheels as base, optional 19" for another $650. Not sure if that's wrong, or you've been given bad info.

My Yukon came with 22s. Rides and handles just fine.

IF..it has upgraded brakes they may not fit inside 18" wheels.

If it's just lower profile tires on 19"rims then like others have suggested it is a subtle trade off between handling and ride comfort. Somewhat less selection of 19" replacement tires is possible.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
Speedometer / odometer error of about 5%.

I heard long ago that ABS, traction control, etc depended on having the right tires at the proper inflation, but I'll defer to the experts for that. This may have been for those who have larger tires on the back, e.g. Scooby Doo style.

As long as the tire diameter matches, it doesn't matter what size the wheels are.

A lot of the perceived ride quality depends on the roads you drive on and it would be speculative for anyone here to tell you otherwise.

In my neck of the woods the roads are full of bumps and dips. A couple of years ago my wife cracked two of the magnesium wheels on her car..Now we go with smaller wheels on her car with a taller tire profile. Although I will admit that manufacturers seem to be putting larger wheels on their vehicles.

Unless you're driving a Porsche or some other truly high performance car larger wheel are nothing but bling...and larger diameter tires are usually more expensive...

Of course, if you're driving a minivan...go for it!

Generally, as long as all the tirea are the same diameter, it will have little effect on ABS or yaw sensons. It’s when tire diameters are different between the 4 tires on the vehicle; that’s trouble. If the tire diameters are very close to OEM, it should have a negligible effect on braking and bearing load.

The roads are rough where I live.

As for as the Ford website, the 2018 Escape Titaniums had yhe option of 18s or 19s.
The 2019 Titanuim is 19 only... so they tell me.

We do have snow days so I am thinking the 18s would do better in that.

Always go with the smallest tires that will fit over your brakes. (There's some, slight, improvement in efficiency when cruising on larger tires, but the lighter the wheel, the less unsprung weight, the better the ride and handling.)

Keep the wheel tire circumference as close to OEM as possible and you should be good to go. In other words, 1" smaller wheel + 1" larger sidewall = OEM setup.

Until you get into needing spacers for offset (drastically changing width), you should be fine.

Will try to dig up tire calculator for you...

Edited to add:

I believe this is the one I used to use.

quote:

The 2019 Titanuim is 19 only... so they tell me.

My mistake - I missed the '19 part.

I'm not sure the diameter makes a single difference in snow, other than being able to source full snow tires if that is your plan. If it is, I'd be certain I could. Or just plan for the second set to be on snows and swap out as needed.

quote:

I believe this is the one I used to use.

You can also go to TireRack.com, put in your car and select the plus-1 and plus-2 sizes to see recommended size. Or just specify the 18" wheel when prompted and the size will be right there.

My Mercedes had the option of 18 or 19 inch wheels.
The one I bought has the 19" but I did test drive a couple with 18s.

IMO, there wasn't a huge comfort difference between them, but that could be partially down to the Continental runflats that are OE on them.

Overall, the majority of Houston roads I travel are in decent to good shape, so issues with the thinner sidewalls is less of a concern to me.

As I haven't yet seen the formula listed here; determine the circumference of your OEM tire by first determining the diameter(s):

(width x aspect ratio x 2) + wheel diameter = D

Determine the circumference of D and compare the two tires

Note: where your tire size might be 345/45-19 Width is the first number (in this case 345 millimeters - it can also be in inches) multiplied aspect ratio - the height of the tire which is a percentage of the tire, in this case 45%) multiplied by 2 (top half and bottom half) plus the wheel's diameter.

(345 x .45 x 2) + 18 = tire's diameter.

try here to compare: https://tiresize.com/comparison/

You will have more tire options in 18” tires and will generally be cheaper.

Our Highlander has 19s and it is a beast in the snow.
Tires were about $200 more per set than the comparable 18s if I remember correctly.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
You will have more tire options in 18” tires and will generally be cheaper.

Our Highlander has 19s and it is a beast in the snow.
Tires were about $200 more per set than the comparable 18s if I remember correctly.

The last time I was looking at a vehicle with 19" wheels I was told that the 19's are kind of an oddball size which makes the tires not only more expensive than the 18's but also more expensive than the very common 20's. I'm not sure if that's still the case as it was 4 years ago but worth looking into.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
You will have more tire options in 18” tires and will generally be cheaper.

Our Highlander has 19s and it is a beast in the snow.
Tires were about $200 more per set than the comparable 18s if I remember correctly.

The last time I was looking at a vehicle with 19" wheels I was told that the 19's are kind of an oddball size which makes the tires not only more expensive than the 18's but also more expensive than the very common 20's. I'm not sure if that's still the case as it was 4 years ago but worth looking into.

On mine, the 19" Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ (staggered setup) that I'll likely put on once the Conti runflats are done, cost about the same as they do for the same tire in 20" for our Ford Flex.