On Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 9:53:42 AM UTC-4, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 7/7/20 9:35 AM, badgolferman wrote:
Wade Garrett wrote:

I love my 2016 Toyota Avalon Limited....except for the rough ride.
You can feel most every bump, expansion joint, pavement crack and
manhole cover on the road. Even shallow potholes slam and are a
teeth-jarring experience! The tires are inflated to the door sticker
pressure and there's nothing wrong with the suspension.

I know Toyota gave this trim model a "sportier" suspension with
225/18/45 skinny tires on 18 inch wheels to improve handling- rather
than go with the fatter 215/17/55 on 17 inch wheels on the lower trim
models.

It's getting to be tire time and I wonder if it might be worth buying
a tire/wheel package in the smaller size.

Would the taller 55 sidewalls absorb road bumps better? Any problems
with transmission shift points, speedo readings, any of the
electronics/gauge stuff, etc.?


When I bought my 2013 Lexus RX350 it came with 19" wheels. I made the
dealership switch the wheels with another vehicle to the 18" wheels. I
knew 19" tires are expensive and I wanted more air in them for a softer
ride.

Does your Avalon come with suspension settings you can change? My 2004
Avalon was a very comfortable ride and we loved it. An Avalon is
basically a Lexus ES and it should be a softer ride.

Nope, no changeable suspension settings- though the transmission has the
three shift point setting buttons.

I had looked at the Lexus ES 350 and best I could tell, the main
difference between it and the Avalon Limited was its auto swing-away
steering wheel at engine shut off,

Things like that are OK if you buy it new or only a couple years old with
warranty and only intend to keep the car during the
warranty period or maybe a few years after. Outside that, those added
complexities just become expensive things to fix when they break,
unless you're DIY. Even then it can get pricey. Some are OK I guess
because you don't necessarily need to use that part anymore if it goes kaput.