I'm seriously interested in the 2018 Touring Accord, mostly because of the heads-up display. I am not especially interested in the 19" wheels/tires that come on it. Is there any reason that the 17" wheels/tires can't be swapped by the dealer? I do know that the front disc brakes are a bit larger on the touring model.

What would I lose by going down to the smaller wheels? I am more interested in fuel economy than performance, and in paying less for tires in the future.

Thanks!

Okay

 

Go to TireRack.com and go through the motions of picking a set of wheels. If you put in your car's information and the website allows you to pick some 17" wheels, then they should fit over the brakes. Then look at the wheels offered, and see the range of offset values (ET40 or ET45 or whatever).

 

Thanks!!

I tried that based on an earlier search of this forum and it does show that the 225/50VR17 tires should fit just fine. I'm not sure I can talk a dealer into making this change, though. I'm sure that the car will drive a little differently too.

 

Relative to the difference in how the car will drive, you may lose a slight bit of crispness in steering response due to the taller side wall, however, you will actually improve your fuel economy, acceleration, and braking if you move to 17" wheels from 19" wheels but keep the same outer diameter of tire.

 

If the dealer has any sense they'd make the swap for you in a heartbeat. They sell you your car at regular price and put the 19's on the donor EX-L and raise the price $1500 and make an extra $1500 profit on the two deals.