Hyundai Alcazar: Does it make sense to downsize the wheels?

Regarding the tyre themselves, planning either the Michelin XM2 or Yokohama C drive 2.

BHPian herculesksp recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi Folks,

I am buying a Hyundai Alcazar 2.0 (P) AT and I was thinking about upgrading the tyres on it.

In the past, I've always wanted to upsize tyres on my cars, but I've usually had leased cars and hence did not do it upon buying. By the time the lease was coming to an end, I would like some other car on the market and switch to it. The upgrade dream would restart with the new car.

This time I'm getting the Alcazar at my own cost and I was thinking about what should I do to make it better.

With age, I've come to realize that a comfortable and silent ride and better road grip is more important than large rims. So I'm thinking the better upgrade option for Alcazar is to actually downsize.

Now the lower variants get a 17" allow vs the higher trims that get an 18". I think the alloy's design/quality is the same, so I'm going to ask the dealer for a downsize swap.

Q1: Do you think it's a good idea to swap down the alloy tires? Can I get it done for free or will they ask me to shell out the cash? Would it make sense to see if other customers getting delivery at the same time would like an upsize?

Assuming that the forum convinces me to downsize, I was thinking of getting a 235 width tire for better grip / cornering. With the base size of 215/60 R17, the fatter option is 235/55 R17.

Q2: Will the 2.0 NA Petrol be able to handle a 235 section tire? Given it has only 191NM torque, will the car feel underpowered and sluggish to drive?

Q3: 235 sections goes back to a 55 profile. Will the ride comfort be impacted, or is this still ok since profile height should still be more than 215/55.

Finally regarding the tires themselves. I've seen on this forum feedback about Michelin XM2, Yoko C drive 2 etc. Some have even said that their 215/55 R18s are much better than the stock 215/55 R18. How much of this is a placebo and how much of this is the truth?

Q4: How do I decide which tire (make / model) I should go for, for good ride comfort, less road noise, and moderate-ish highway speeds (100-120 kmph). Is there a stack rank of good tires models in India?

Thanks for the help / advice.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:

In my observation Hyundai always gets their wheels and tyres correct, It would be a waste of money to downsize or upsize. In most of their vehicles, you could do only 1 size up without having to hack through the fender lining\ bumper etc.

There would be some harshness on rough roads with an 18-inch wheel in comparison to a 17 inch but overall it's not something drastic to warrant a change. 215 section width is like that of a Duster \ Bolero - as in very competent at doing its job on Alcazar, 235 would be similar to Scorpio \ Sumo etc, it would be an overkill and most likely it would make things worse, be it traction \ acceleration \ braking \ fuel economy \ suspension wear to name a few.

Vehicles like this that are fully loaded from the factory need nothing more than just fuel, the Petrol AT is a pretty fast car though, enjoy it.

Here's what BHPian supertinu had to say on the matter:

Regarding tire upgrade, my recommendation would be to not change the size in itself but just switch to better Michelin rubber on purchase. Hyundai doesn't undertyre their cars.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

Appreciate your thought of downsizing from R18 to R17. Has benefits, and no downsides.

If you can get the dealer to agree to swap to the R17 setup, that’s the best option. Even if you have to make a little extra expense.

The potential problems with 235/55R17 will be the added unsprung weight and the extra load on the steering rack and power steering motor. The added risk is not worth the reward here. 215 is wide enough of this kind of vehicle and the power at hand.

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