My experince putting 20s on new 09 Accord sedan
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My experience putting 20s on new 09 Accord sedan
Not sure if this will help anyone out in deciding which way to go on wheels and tires for 08/09 Accord sedans, but here's my experience with putting 20s on a new 09 4-door I just picked up last weekend.
The OEM wheels and tires on my Accord were 16's with 215/60-16 tires. I picked up the LX model with this wheel and tire setup specifically because I knew I was going to upgrade to 19s or 20s. I am doing this thing on a budget. After doing a lot of research before and after I got the car I was ready. I selected my wheel style and went with 20x8.5 with 245/35-20s front and back. I didn't go with 19s because the cost was much higher and the style I wanted wasn't as easy to get for the price range I was looking at. So I went 20s. I was worried about all sorts of conflicting info I read on this forum and others about 20s on anything, the "rough ride" on the new Accords, rubbing issues, huge wheel gap, the TPMS issues, etc etc.
What I can tell you is that I totally made the right call in going with 20s, and the car looks amazing at stock height. Here were some of the issues I was concerned about:
1) Ride quality -- I noticed absolutely no difference in ride quality at all. Bumps and dips in the road felt exactly the same, if not better, as they did in the week I drove on the stock wheels. I was amazed to say the least. One thing I made sure I tested after I got the new wheels on were road reflectors and street dots. I noticed that with the stock wheels and tires, rolling over these you could feel them pretty good, which was my main concern in going with 20s. With 20s would you really feel every little bump in the road? Hardly. Rolling over reflectors and dots on the 20s, I actually feel them less -- no lie. I guess you can say the ride quality actually improved with the 20s.
2) TPMS -- This turned out to be a total non-issue. The shop took the sensors out of the stock tires and placed them inside the new 20s for FREE. I tested this out immediately and they work as they are supposed to. The new tire pressure is 38 psi, not a huge difference from stock.
3) Handling -- The car handles much better than it did with the stocks. Nuff said here. I wasn't too concerned about this and it was expected.
4) Rubbing issues -- this was another big concern for me. I had to have the 245/35s. When I picked up the car last weekend at the dealer I saw a slick 09 coupe with custom 20s and 245/35's on display. They looked perfect on the car. I was pleasantly surprised when absolutely no rubbing occurred when I turned the wheels all the way, both directions, while the vehicle was in motion. A total non-issue here. I did notice that while on the freeway on the way home from the wheel shop the tires did rub very lightly under the fenderwells when I went fast over some dips along the way -- understood considering I had two other people in the car plus all four stock wheels and tires in the back seat and trunk. So far I have not experienced any further rubbing since then.
5) Road noise -- another issue I was worried about. The car was a little noisy off the lot on the stock set up. Would it get noisier? I didn't notice any difference at all. Non-issue.
6) Wheel well gap -- this was a biggie. I hate gap. I live by the strict rule of thumb that gap height cannot be more than sidewall height (rim to top of tire). I'm glad I went with the 245/35s because at stock height on a level surface there is only 1.75" of wheel well gap over the 3.3" of sidewall height on the tires. Which works fine because the 9.65" tires on 8.5" rims line up perfectly flush with the outside fenders, front and back -- allowing just enough room to take on the big dips. I compared the gap to the wheels and tires on my IS250, which has OEM 18s with 225/40-18 tires...less gap on the Accord!
7) Acceleration/mileage -- this was huge, especially with the car being the 4-cylinder. Taking off from the wheel shop I was too concerned about ride quality difference to notice anything with the acceleration. Which I think says a lot because there really is no discernable difference. The wheel shop located in Los Angeles was a good 45-minute drive from my home in Anaheim Hills. Driving home on the 110-105-605-91 on a Sunday afternoon, I noticed no major acceleration differences, even with the payload I had on board! Even when I got close to home, no major differences. I live in a very hilly area with some decent uphill climbs, and the car didn’t break a sweat, even with all the extra weight on board.
The wheels and tires do weigh a little more than the stock setup. Also, they aren't a whole lot higher off the ground (26.2" stock vs 26.8" overall diameter for the 245/35s) so I am not anticipating much impact to the odometer/speedometer. It's too early to tell how much I’ll take a hit, if any, on mileage at this point, but I will be watching it to see.
Overall, I am very glad I went with the 20s. I like the look, and the solid, more stable feeling on the ground. The new Accords are large vehicles. I went from a Passat to an Accord and the Accord outsizes it significantly. Plus I have been in and out of previous models and this 8th gen. sedan just seems bigger. The 20s seem to fit it perfectly, and I couldn't be happier.
The OEM wheels and tires on my Accord were 16's with 215/60-16 tires. I picked up the LX model with this wheel and tire setup specifically because I knew I was going to upgrade to 19s or 20s. I am doing this thing on a budget. After doing a lot of research before and after I got the car I was ready. I selected my wheel style and went with 20x8.5 with 245/35-20s front and back. I didn't go with 19s because the cost was much higher and the style I wanted wasn't as easy to get for the price range I was looking at. So I went 20s. I was worried about all sorts of conflicting info I read on this forum and others about 20s on anything, the "rough ride" on the new Accords, rubbing issues, huge wheel gap, the TPMS issues, etc etc.
What I can tell you is that I totally made the right call in going with 20s, and the car looks amazing at stock height. Here were some of the issues I was concerned about:
1) Ride quality -- I noticed absolutely no difference in ride quality at all. Bumps and dips in the road felt exactly the same, if not better, as they did in the week I drove on the stock wheels. I was amazed to say the least. One thing I made sure I tested after I got the new wheels on were road reflectors and street dots. I noticed that with the stock wheels and tires, rolling over these you could feel them pretty good, which was my main concern in going with 20s. With 20s would you really feel every little bump in the road? Hardly. Rolling over reflectors and dots on the 20s, I actually feel them less -- no lie. I guess you can say the ride quality actually improved with the 20s.
2) TPMS -- This turned out to be a total non-issue. The shop took the sensors out of the stock tires and placed them inside the new 20s for FREE. I tested this out immediately and they work as they are supposed to. The new tire pressure is 38 psi, not a huge difference from stock.
3) Handling -- The car handles much better than it did with the stocks. Nuff said here. I wasn't too concerned about this and it was expected.
4) Rubbing issues -- this was another big concern for me. I had to have the 245/35s. When I picked up the car last weekend at the dealer I saw a slick 09 coupe with custom 20s and 245/35's on display. They looked perfect on the car. I was pleasantly surprised when absolutely no rubbing occurred when I turned the wheels all the way, both directions, while the vehicle was in motion. A total non-issue here. I did notice that while on the freeway on the way home from the wheel shop the tires did rub very lightly under the fenderwells when I went fast over some dips along the way -- understood considering I had two other people in the car plus all four stock wheels and tires in the back seat and trunk. So far I have not experienced any further rubbing since then.
5) Road noise -- another issue I was worried about. The car was a little noisy off the lot on the stock set up. Would it get noisier? I didn't notice any difference at all. Non-issue.
6) Wheel well gap -- this was a biggie. I hate gap. I live by the strict rule of thumb that gap height cannot be more than sidewall height (rim to top of tire). I'm glad I went with the 245/35s because at stock height on a level surface there is only 1.75" of wheel well gap over the 3.3" of sidewall height on the tires. Which works fine because the 9.65" tires on 8.5" rims line up perfectly flush with the outside fenders, front and back -- allowing just enough room to take on the big dips. I compared the gap to the wheels and tires on my IS250, which has OEM 18s with 225/40-18 tires...less gap on the Accord!
7) Acceleration/mileage -- this was huge, especially with the car being the 4-cylinder. Taking off from the wheel shop I was too concerned about ride quality difference to notice anything with the acceleration. Which I think says a lot because there really is no discernable difference. The wheel shop located in Los Angeles was a good 45-minute drive from my home in Anaheim Hills. Driving home on the 110-105-605-91 on a Sunday afternoon, I noticed no major acceleration differences, even with the payload I had on board! Even when I got close to home, no major differences. I live in a very hilly area with some decent uphill climbs, and the car didn’t break a sweat, even with all the extra weight on board.
The wheels and tires do weigh a little more than the stock setup. Also, they aren't a whole lot higher off the ground (26.2" stock vs 26.8" overall diameter for the 245/35s) so I am not anticipating much impact to the odometer/speedometer. It's too early to tell how much I’ll take a hit, if any, on mileage at this point, but I will be watching it to see.
Overall, I am very glad I went with the 20s. I like the look, and the solid, more stable feeling on the ground. The new Accords are large vehicles. I went from a Passat to an Accord and the Accord outsizes it significantly. Plus I have been in and out of previous models and this 8th gen. sedan just seems bigger. The 20s seem to fit it perfectly, and I couldn't be happier.
Last edited by toddshogun; Jun 7, 2009 at 06:44 PM.
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 413
From: M.I.A.M.I.
Nice little write up man. Glad to have you here. It's good to see 20's on an Accord...done the right way of course and these are not too flashy, which is good. IMHO, from 6th gen accords up, 20's look very good and fit the body of the car well.
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I have some real estate in Bagdahd that is much more tranquil than Malibu.
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