Just bought a 2013 pilot with 22 inch wheels & skinny/low profile tires. The wheels are bent, so dealership is going to replace wheels. I think the “too large” wheels may be affecting the performance; SUV hesitates & bogs down when trying to shift at 40 to 50 mph & sometimes bogs down when punching the accelerator. Should I ask them to return the vehicle to the factory 18" wheels or can I do 20 " wheels? Most significantly, does anyone know if the oversized wheels are causing my performance problem due to the vehicle’s programming being set to 18" wheels?
That’s an interesting question. My guess, the 22 inch wheels aren’t really much bigger in diameter than the 18 inchers, when measuring to the outside surface of the tire. The wheels are bigger diameter, but the tire is skinnier, so it sort of equalizes out. If the outside diameter including the tire is significantly bigger dimension, then yes, it would seem this sort of symptom could occur. Personally I’d prefer the ride quality of a thicker tire, more air cushion, and I’d switch back to the 18 inchers just for that reason.
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The wheels have nothing at all with the poor running of the vehicle. If they will put the standard wheels on that would be good but you may have to buy the tires to fit the 18 inch wheels. It sounds like a transmission problem so make them aware of the bogging and shift problems.
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Larger wheels hurt performance because wheel is heavier than tire, so you have heavy wheel farther out than stock.
But it also sounds like the car is running poorly. I’m worried you might have been dazzled by the dubs and bought yourself a wallet-buster.
Thanks. That makes sense. I will ask the dealer’s tire professional that question; regarding an actual height difference between current wheels/tires & stock wheels/tires.
No, not dazzled by the eye candy tires. I do like them but my first question, upon seeing them the first time, was “the wheels/rims are going to be damaged when that tire hits a pot hole”. They never appeared practical. Bought vehicle because of low mileage, good price, & excellent condition. Thanks
Thanks. I already made them aware & have appointment with service department.
If the car is bogging down when shifting then you either have a misfire or a transmission issue, so the car is not really in as good a condition as you thought.
I will ask them to fix this ASAP because later they will claim it is a new problem.
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Low profile tire are for folks that do no care about ride characteristics.
The ride is very bumpy and has an increased risk of flats, etc.
Their frame is close to touching the road, so they have to travel at a speed less than the speed limit.
Low profile tires and modified suspension are 2 different issues. I bet $10 your pilot has stock suspension.
runs poorly=great condition? Not so much
The wheels and the hesitation you have are two different issues. Take it back for the tires, and hope that they will fix the hesitation issue. Used cars are often sold as is, and you may have no recourse against them unless you got a warranty with the Pilot.
Andrew, that is nonsense.
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I have to agree with @VOLVO_V70 here. You put on larger wheels and you are going to raise the vehicles clearance.
That is the purpose of the skinny low profile tires.
Any time you increase the wheel diameter…you will raise the frames clearance from the ground. The lower profile tire is there to then lower the frame back to factory clearance…or close to that.
The only way you would lower the frame clearance is to use an even lower profile tire than recommended, or to actually lower the vehicle with a lowering kit. Which the OP did not say was installed.
Yosemite
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The 22 inch rims are bent because they are wrapped with very low profile tires. Go back to the stock 18 inch size. It will ride better, hadle better and be safer than the Dubs. The sluggishness problem will either go away with new wheels or it won’t. Try and see, but it likely won’t go away.
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Agreed. Which is why I reported all the issues within 24 hours of having the vehicle. I have a 3 month warranty, but still did not want them to say any of this could be my fault. Husband did test drive, first time. I had test drove all the other vehicles we looked at. Therefore, I didn’t know about any of these issues until I drove it to work the next morning. I am very cognizant of how a vehicle performs & would have caught these issues prior to purchase had I taken it for a good spin. Very frustrating!
I have appointment with their service department tomorrow morning for occasional hesitation & transmission shifting hesitation at 40 to 50 mph. This will be looked at before new wheels & tires are installed. Thanks
My frame is farther away from the road because the wheels are 22".
The outside diameter of the tire is what counts.
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What is tire size?
Look at sidewall. Bend over
245/50/22?
That is not quite correct. The wheel size increase will result in a lower profile tire and the diameter of wheel and tire together will be almost the same. example: stock was about 235-65-17 and the ones you have may be 235-35-22.