bpbenda

I am a prospective buyer of a 2014 Cayenne and would upgrade from the stock 18" wheel. I am considering either the 19" Cayenne Design II wheel or the 21" 911 Turbo II wheel. Aesthetically, I prefer the 21" wheel, which is also about $3,000 more, but I am curious about the tire wear and affect on comfort of ride. I currently own a Mercedes ML350 with 19" wheels, so am familiar with the type of tires available for that size wheel and the wear that can be expected from them (given our driving habits). Generally speaking, how will the wear on a 21" tire compare to a 19" tire?

I understand that there are different kinds of tires and driving style will affect the usable life of the tire, but if you set that to the side and assume the same tire and driving style for both tire sizes, will they last about the same? Lastly, will the ride be appreciably less comfortable on 21's as opposed to 19's? Never owned a car with 21" wheels, so please excuse my ignorance here. Thank you in advance.

blackland

I think comfort depends a lot on whether you have air suspension. We have 22" wheels on one of our vehicles with P Zero tires, the rear tires lasted about 13K, the front tires probably have a few thousand miles left on them.

20" and 21" tires cost a lot more than 22" or 19" tires because they are less common I was told by the guy at my tire shop.

Frank 993 C4S

I agree with the air suspension comment. The roads are pretty bad where we live and my 21s are pretty harsh unless you have them on the comfort suspension setting. The 21s also tend to wear on the inside in the rear and they definitely don't do well with pot holes. Nevertheless, they look the best and I switch to 18s for the winter.

Dennis C

I think 20" wheels are the best compromise between aesthetics and ride quality.

Jochy

My .02:

I went from 19" to 20" with my MY06 CS Tit. Ed. (no air suspension) and I definedtly noticed the ride comfort change, of course 19" was better ride. About tire cost, I wouldn't worry much about it here in south TX where you can easily find the best cost effective tire vs performance for 20" wheels... Yokohama Parada spec...paid $136 per tire and I'm expecting a longer thread life compared to prior Michelin Lat Sport.

FYI, I put some new shoes to my piglet (Turbo II wheels) and it looks awesome with the Titanium Ed exterior trim. I just cant get enough of it, really stand out more than ever

kosmo

Me too.
To the op try the 20s

f4 plt

Had 21" on our '08 GTS and the ride was harsh and the tire wear poor as in less than 20K . Our 2011 Cayenne S now with just at 40K on 19" and the OEM tires is much more comfortable, better mileage, still handles well and we are still on the OEM Michelins with at least 5K more tread before the wear bars. To make more of a case over 10K of those miles were towing an enclosed car trailer,My vote goes to 19" so much so that we ordered 19" on my wife's diesel Cayenne. I am also very impressed with the Michelin Latitude tires.

modifier

I can't speak to wear because my car is new, but I just switched out they 21" summer tires to a set of 20" winter snow tires and I noticed an immediate ride difference. More cush. But it could have more to do with the tires than then size since it is so slightly different. The 21s do look more right and I saw a new Cayenne with what were probably 22s on it yesterday and that looked even better.

CarreraCup03

Yoko Prada ... best tire for the money around. I have 275-45-20.

leek

I have 21" summers and 19" winter. Difference is significantly harsher in ride quality for the 21". I don't really push the car to the limit so I don't notice the difference in handling. In fact I have gone to all seasons on the 19's which works fine for the northwest.

amfp

I think your decision should be based on the quality of roads were you live, and the driving you plan doing. For me, I can tell the difference of ride quality with air suspension between 18s, 19s and clearly 21's".

I personally chose the 18" standard wheels with air suspension and towing package for ride comfort, and wheel endurance. The roads by me can be bumpy with lots of potholes. I trailered about 5,000 miles to date, have a total 28K mile on the S, and still have original Goodyear tires. I rotate them every 5K miles and vigilant with tire pressures.

endless_corners

19" offers less tire options. I think 20's are the best compromise size. Is there no 20" option?

JFR-

Consider...

Purchase with the stock 18s to keep as winter / off road wheels. Search this forum for some tire examples and pics. Buy aftermarket 20'' with the money you'd spend on the 21'' upgrade (but don't cheap out on crap wheels, cayenne's are too heavy for BS ebay wheels and performance driving).

I think you'll find more tire options for 20'' vs. 21'', and the consensus seems to be 20'' is the perfect compromise. Personally I can only offer feedback for 18'' vs 20'', which had minimal ride difference in my opinion comparing Mich Latittude 255 55 and Yoko Parada 275 45.

I really wish I had kept my 18s.