A lot people feel that they can judge the performance of cars they've never driven...The I4 stick is a very nice car to drive, and I've owned over a dozen sticks and driven nearly a million miles in them so I have a lot to compare it to...
I read this article a long time ago which is why I went with the 17s....16s were the other option. The 2005 LE-stick came with only the 15s, but the same body with only minor OEM suspension modifications came with 16s for the 4-banger AND 17s with the V-6 as the SE and XLE...
I've driven the 2005 I4/LE with an AT. It rides pretty much the same as the stick but the AT upshifts too quickly (economy over power) for my liking, and a Solara with the 6 that has plenty of power, but I have read many who've lost fuel economy with the six (from as little as 10% on the highway to as much as 33% in town)...
As I indicated above regarding the new rims, there is a loss of "jack-rabbit" feeling under acceleration, but it's not the worst feeling to give up in favor of a more stable ride. Many people add stabilizers and beefier anti-sway bars to the Camry for better cornering and to firm up the LE's inherent soft ride...but those options add weight too...
I knew there would be some compromises. The article does talk about lost power and economy but in numbers considerably less than going from a 4 cylinder engine to a 6. I feel the advantages immediately....we'll see if the new tires/wheels "outweigh" the disadvantages that come with them...I still have the 15s if I decide to go back...The 15+tire weighs 41.6 lbs...when I get the new tires I'll weigh them on the rim...
From the article:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...d-tires-tested
"Subjectively, both the 17-inch and 18-inch wheels and tires were in the sweet spot of grip, braking performance, ride comfort, and steering feel. Moving from 17-inchers to 18s barely degrades ride quality, and the additional grip is welcome. We’d guess that a W-rated Eagle GT in the 17-inch size would come close to matching the grip of the W-rated 18, but we can’t say for certain without testing. Even with V-rated rubber, the performance of the 17s felt similar to that of the 18s. But since the 18-inch setup costs only $112 more than the 17-inch package, we’d probably opt for the 18s if we lived in a region with smooth roads and looks were a priority."
And in the end there's aesthetics...I hated looking at the cheap wheel covers...and I wanted an alloy wheel that wasn't found on most other Toyos...quite coincidentally, these look VERY much like the ones in the article...I like these and how they work with the Camry...
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