Scarcity also not a concern these days in anything but exotic sized.

Tirerack shows that car only with 19s, and lists 10 all season and 6 truck tires, in addition to 3 dedicated winters and 3 summers. Price ranges from $130-$235.

And they don't even carry every brand.

My car, a Mazda 6 has 19" wheels. They drive fine, and the tires aren't so low that they have a harsh feel, but the tires are noticeably more expensive than for 17" or 18" wheels. They just do it for looks - people like bigger wheels.

No way would I replace them though, just for a different size. The cost would make that a losing proposition.

Unless you can trade them to a guy looking for some sweet rims on his minivan.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
...but the lighter the wheel, the less unsprung weight, the better the ride and handling.)

Well said.

Go with the 18’s. Plenty of rim/tire calculators so speedo stays the same. More sidewall and 18’s are less expensive. Also OEM wheels are heavy as hell so prime opportunity to drop unsprung weight, increase handling and have a better ride. 19’s were put on there for looks only.

I think you will easily spend $800 on aftermarket 18 wheels and $800 or more on tires. Resale on your new takeoffs will be low. Brake caliper clearance must be checked carefully and 18 may not fit.

Is there a downside. yes money. is there an upside probably not. I can't think of any reason to do it on that particular vehicle.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
I think you will easily spend $800 on aftermarket 18 wheels and $800 or more on tires. Resale on your new takeoffs will be low. Brake caliper clearance must be checked carefully and 18 may not fit.

My newest car came with 19” 235/35/19’s. I sold the 19” wheels for 1k. Sold the tires for $600. Wheels/tires had 1190 miles on them when I sold. 18” aftermarket wheels weighed 7 lbs less, bought for $170 each. Profit $320. Tires were a wash. So I made money doing the swap. Took the profit and bought a second set of wheels and tires for winters. The trick is to sell them early. Don’t rack up 10k miles and expect to get much of anything. They are worth something when new. I went to 235/40/18’s, speedo is exactly the same. Suspension more compliant, and dropped 8 lbs per corner of unsprung mass for free basically.

Why change them? The 19's will ride just as nice as the 18's and handle a little better. I'd leave it well enough alone. My 2018 Expedition came with 20" on it from the factory and rides and handles a hell of a lot better than my 2008 did with 17" wheels. Technology in tire design and ride have come a very long way.

Vehicle engineers put a lot of thought into designing suspensions, brakes, and what tire size they pair with them. Also, 18" wheels might not clear the brakes on this model and that's why they went to 19's.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jimmy123x,

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
My Yukon came with 22s. Rides and handles just fine.

Same here.

if it ain't broke, don't fix it

According to the Ford FLEET vehicle website

https://www.fleet.ford.com/res...2019/2019_Escape.pdf

18" wheels are available.

That may mean the fleet ones have downgraded brakes, but they are out there, apparently.

It is funny the trending that wheels have taken over the years. My 1998 Mercedes e430 has 16" wheels!

A few folks have told me I should seek a larger wheel and use a smaller sidewall tire to equalize. No thanks. It rides great, and handles very well (not BMW 335i well, but well enough). The MB e class is a highway cruiser, so hard sidewalls and handling weren't necessary I guess. Though I'm sure they've caved to the "big wheel" trend on the newer stuff and added thousands of dollars with of active suspension to adjust the ride.

Brings up a question about my Ford Flex which has 19" wheels.. I wonder if I down sized to 18" if a real 18" wheel would fit in the space for the spare in the back. The designers at Ford for this car only made that space large enough for one of those stupid donut things... ever tried to drive an all wheel drive vehicle with one donut? Computer goes crazy and the car drives terrible.. then if you have ripped the side off the 19" tire you have to buy at least two new ones....

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Brings up a question about my Ford Flex which has 19" wheels.. I wonder if I down sized to 18" if a real 18" wheel would fit in the space for the spare in the back. The designers at Ford for this car only made that space large enough for one of those stupid donut things... ever tried to drive an all wheel drive vehicle with one donut? Computer goes crazy and the car drives terrible.. then if you have ripped the side off the 19" tire you have to buy at least two new ones....

For it to be proper, you'd have to go with a higher aspect ratio on the 18s for the speedometer to be accurate.
And, you'd likely have to go with a pretty low profile 'spare' for it to fit in the spare tire well.

Been a while since I've checked the spare in our Flex, will have to do that tonight.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Brings up a question about my Ford Flex which has 19" wheels.. I wonder if I down sized to 18" if a real 18" wheel would fit in the space for the spare in the back. The designers at Ford for this car only made that space large enough for one of those stupid donut things... ever tried to drive an all wheel drive vehicle with one donut? Computer goes crazy and the car drives terrible.. then if you have ripped the side off the 19" tire you have to buy at least two new ones....

The circumference is already going to fit I suspect. The issue you'll have is width. Those space-savers are super-skinny, real tires not.

Just ask the dealer to swap the 19's with some 18's on a 2018 on the lot.

You get the 18's for no additional cost and whoever buys the 2018 gets a free upgrade to the 19's.

quote:

19 inch wheels that came on an Audi Quarto S-5 and the rims were regularly destroyed by pot holes

One day I had a Krystal burger which sucked, and no longer eat steak because of that.

Seriously, the tires on an S5 have as much relation to what the OP is discussing as this. If you drove an S5 you are presumably tire-savvy enough to know this.

Actual experience between the two here...

We have an Escape Titanium with the 18s. MIL got the Escape Sport package with the 19s. Same suspension, same engine.

I find with vigorous driving, the 19s seems a bit more responsive. Maybe it's the stiffer sidewall, maybe it was me... but there was a difference.
On the flip side, I prefer the 18s on ours for everyday driving. Just a little more comfortable, more forgiving you could say.

This is my experience, but my wife feels similar. She originally wanted the rims the MIL got, but after driving the two, she's glad hers came with the 18s.