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22-inch wheels? good or bad?


Wheeling

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Those 22" wheels certainly look very nice on the Aviator. However, there are draw backs, harsh ride, road noise, and high costs associated with potential replacement. I want to ask the owners what your experience with the large wheels? I know the dynamic handling package will take care of the harsh ride, but I don't want that for durability concerns. Any ideals? 20 inches are already big enough.

 

For Reserve, you can either go to the reserve II with the 22 wheels, or stay with Reserve I and add Luxury and Illumination packages and keep the 20 wheels. You can also add the tow hatch. The prices are almost identical. Any suggestion? 

 

Edited by Wheeling
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I have 21" wheels on my 2020 Aviator GT and am very happy with them, the air suspension gives an amazing ride so if you're getting air suspension as well so if you went up to 22" it may not make much of a difference. 

 

I had 21" wheels on my last two vehicles: 2017 and 2013 MKX's (which did not have air suspension) and was happy with them never had any issues with ride quality.  The only problem I had on my 2017 MKX with the 21" polished aluminum rims were the gaps between the spokes were huge which sometimes in the winter got snow and ice trapped on the inside of the rim which if you didn't clean it out throws the wheel off balance and cause vibration while driving.

 

Bear in mind it is not just the size of the wheels that will affect the ride but the make and quality of the tires.  I'm not sure what tires come on the Aviator with 22" wheels, but the 21s on mine have Pirelli Scorpion Zero which I find are excellent, hardly any noise and great traction + handling.

 

My previous 2017 MKX had Pirelli Scorpion Verde also great tires, but now on the Nautilus they switched the tires on the 21" wheels from Pirellis to Continentals which I'm not crazy about myself.  My boss drives a 2019 Nautilus with 21's and Continentals, she only has about 15,000km so far and you can tell they are already wearing in quite a bit.  I'd be shocked if she makes it to the end of her lease (48,000km) and doesn't have to put a new set of tires on.

 

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1 hour ago, rampagex7 said:

I have 21" wheels on my 2020 Aviator GT and am very happy with them, the air suspension gives an amazing ride so if you're getting air suspension as well so if you went up to 22" it may not make much of a difference. 

 

I had 21" wheels on my last two vehicles: 2017 and 2013 MKX's (which did not have air suspension) and was happy with them never had any issues with ride quality.  The only problem I had on my 2017 MKX with the 21" polished aluminum rims were the gaps between the spokes were huge which sometimes in the winter got snow and ice trapped on the inside of the rim which if you didn't clean it out throws the wheel off balance and cause vibration while driving.

 

Bear in mind it is not just the size of the wheels that will affect the ride but the make and quality of the tires.  I'm not sure what tires come on the Aviator with 22" wheels, but the 21s on mine have Pirelli Scorpion Zero which I find are excellent, hardly any noise and great traction + handling.

 

My previous 2017 MKX had Pirelli Scorpion Verde also great tires, but now on the Nautilus they switched the tires on the 21" wheels from Pirellis to Continentals which I'm not crazy about myself.  My boss drives a 2019 Nautilus with 21's and Continentals, she only has about 15,000km so far and you can tell they are already wearing in quite a bit.  I'd be shocked if she makes it to the end of her lease (48,000km) and doesn't have to put a new set of tires on.

 

The bigger size must also have some draw backs, otherwise there is no reason the GT not using the 22-inch wheels. They look really nice. 

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1 hour ago, Wheeling said:

The bigger size must also have some draw backs, otherwise there is no reason the GT not using the 22-inch wheels. They look really nice. 

 

Hi Wheeling. The drawbacks of larger diameter wheels are the same as always (all comparisons naturally being "apples to apples"): The necessarily shorter tire sidewall for a larger diameter wheel means a harsher ride and more chances of bent/damaged wheels. The heavier weight of a larger wheel means more unsprung weight, which equals ride and handling penalties. Lower profile/sidewall tires are more expensive than their higher sidewall ratio counterparts, etc. etc. And larger wheels are more expensive. Again, all comparisons being "apples to apples".

 

Some people don't notice or mind the ride, handling differences. Some do. Some people drive in areas where bent wheels are less common. Some do not. It all comes down to personal preference, since larger wheels are an aesthetic choice.

 

Good luck.

Edited by bbf2530
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We picked up our 2020 aviator about 2 weeks ago and just went on a road trip with the family. It is buttery smooth. We have the reserve ll with the dynamic handling package. 

Previously, we had a 2019 atlas with 21” wheels, a 2017 Ford Explorer platinum with 20” wheels, and a 2017 Lincoln MKC with 19” wheels and adaptive suspension.

The MKC was definitely the most comfortable out of the three and perhaps slightly less stiff than the Aviator.

In my opinion, the look of the 22’s are phenomenal and worth the slightly stiffer ride to get better handling.

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My 2020 Aviator RII with 22’s is going back to the dealer on Monday for hard harsh ride conditions.  One tire out of the 4 could not be road force balanced to anywhere near specs. Replaced under warranty.  2 of the tires are under 5 lbs of road force.  The other 2 are 6 lbs and 10 lbs.  The ride is not luxurious and quiet!  The ride is more like....this sucks.

The new tire took away the vibrations, but the ride still remains hard and the road noise is irritating.  Feeling every crack and uneven road surfaces.

Edited by hotrodlincoln
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11 hours ago, hotrodlincoln said:

My 2020 Aviator RII with 22’s is going back to the dealer on Monday for hard harsh ride conditions.  One tire out of the 4 could not be road force balanced to anywhere near specs. Replaced under warranty.  2 of the tires are under 5 lbs of road force.  The other 2 are 6 lbs and 10 lbs.  The ride is not luxurious and quiet!  The ride is more like....this sucks.

The new tire took away the vibrations, but the ride still remains hard and the road noise is irritating.  Feeling every crack and uneven road surfaces.

I guess you don't have the dynamic handling package. Otherwise, it should be very smooth. I don't want the package. That thing, with all the advantages, is built to fail, and when it fails, leaking air from rubber chambers, you probably can't drive it, no matter where you are. It is not just Lincoln, it is all the air glider set ups for all the brands. 

Plan to order a R1 with all the options for R2, prices will be almost identical, but get the 20" wheels. It  is already big enough  and should have all the benefits of plus-size wheels, but providing a much smoother ride. 

 

Best wishes!

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My 2020 Aviator RII with 22’s is going back to the dealer on Monday for hard harsh ride conditions.  One tire out of the 4 could not be road force balanced to anywhere near specs. Replaced under warranty.  2 of the tires are under 5 lbs of road force.  The other 2 are 6 lbs and 10 lbs.  The ride is not luxurious and quiet!  The ride is more like....this sucks.

 

I have the dynamic handling package and the ride setting is set on Normal.  If you select Excite it just makes the ride harder.

 

I have owned 3 Escalades and 2 Denali’s all with 22’s and their ride was luxurious for sure.

 

My last 3 previous vehicles were 2 Durango SRT’s and a Jeep SRT.  Again they rode much better than this Aviator.  Hopefully the dealer can figure it out.

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I have the 22” wheels on my Rll, the ride is great, handling is awesome and I do not get any road noise or vibration. A month after taking delivery of it I experienced a catastrophic sidewall blowout to the inside sidewall of the front passenger side tire. The purchase price for a new Goodyear Eagle Touring was $374, thankfully I took the wheel/tire insurance offered by my dealership at delivery hence it was replaced at no charge. I live in northeast Pennsylvania and the road conditions are not the best. Bent and cracked rims are common. Prices for a 20 or 21” tires aren’t that much cheaper. Good luck with your ride ??

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I just got the Aviator back from the dealer explaining to them the ride complaint.  The short answer is after they took it for a ride: Its designed to ride like that due to the low profile tires.  The tech also added that he drives a pickup truck and my Aviator rides much better than his truck.  IMHO, it should not ride hard with alot of road noise.  Hell, my Durango SRT set on Track Mode rode better with zero road or tire noise than the Aviator.

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57 minutes ago, hotrodlincoln said:

I just got the Aviator back from the dealer explaining to them the ride complaint.  The short answer is after they took it for a ride: Its designed to ride like that due to the low profile tires.  The tech also added that he drives a pickup truck and my Aviator rides much better than his truck.  IMHO, it should not ride hard with alot of road noise.  Hell, my Durango SRT set on Track Mode rode better with zero road or tire noise than the Aviator.

Drive another Aviator with 22" wheels on the dealer lot and compare with yours. If they are all the same, then he is probably right. If not, something wrong with yours. 

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I just got a black label that comes with 22s without the dynamic handling package for the same reason you don't want the air suspension, durability concerns. But before doing so I test drove an Aviator with and without it. I honestly didn't notice a big difference in ride quality,  but we do have decent roads here in AZ. The ride quality is far from harsh with the 22s. So the user who is claiming their aviator has excessive road noise and harsh ride quality definitely has more underlying issues going on.

 

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  • 2 months later...

22's are great, decent ride, great handling.  The issue is that they completely suck in deeper snow.  Last snowstorm which dumped about 20 inches, it was stuck in the driveway after I dug out the front.  Wasn't impressed with the traction after I dug it out and got underway.....I was thinking this would be the drawback but i love the look

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15 hours ago, carsandboats said:

22's are great, decent ride, great handling.  The issue is that they completely suck in deeper snow.  Last snowstorm which dumped about 20 inches, it was stuck in the driveway after I dug out the front.  Wasn't impressed with the traction after I dug it out and got underway.....I was thinking this would be the drawback but i love the look


Have you ever considered getting a set of dedicated winter tires? All seasons are generally pretty bad in the snow. I have Pirelli Scorpion Winters (same size as the OEM 22s) on my Aviator and it’s a tank in the snow. I live in a semi-rural area in Wisconsin and it isn’t uncommon to have side streets that go some time without a plow. I grew up in Québec where it’s the law to have them but I really am surprised more people in the Northern US don’t run winters. The difference is astounding...

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1 hour ago, twintornados said:

 

My favorite phrase is that I call all season tires "three season" tires....lol


Too true!

 

The expression “jack of all trades, master of none” comes to mind with all seasons. I work in insurance and the amount of claims I see pour in this time of year that could be either completely avoided or substantially reduced in severity if people would only equip their car with winters would blow your mind...

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No ride issues with my 22" rims on my Reserve II, and have a couple of long road trips on it.  

 

I am extremely happy I bought the wheel / tire warranty, as I have had 2 nails in sidewalls they couldn't repair.  The tires have some kind of foam in them, and had to be ordered by Lincoln.  Made money off this deal already. 

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