be sure your 16 inch rims will clear all 4 brake calipers

I was promised by tire rack the rims I got would clear, and they did not
so got my money back and was pretty steamed about the huge hassle due to incorrect info

 

Oh damn, that sucks. Sorry to hear that. What wheels were you trying to get and what did you end up getting

 

Going from a 17 to a 16 inch wheel will absolutely provide a smoother ride, assuming you're maintaining the proper tire size - meaning you'll have more sidewall. The additional sidewall you'll gain will be much appreciated

 

Only changes the diameter slightly but keeps the width

 

2nd question: I know that ride comfort is subjective however, I Asking for anyone's opinion that has made a similar swap if you felt any ride differents. I under understand that major deviations in the road has to do with suspension but I don't know if the 1 inch of more tire will have the desired smoothing effect I'm looking for.

The Defenders are noted for being a better ride than most other tires, so you should see an improvement just with the change of tires. The added side walls will help, too, so you should see significant improvement.

What were your original tires? Some are noted for being harsher, especially Dunlops. I also has a set (OEM) of Yokohamas that were hard riding, and when I changed to Michelin, the ride was much better.

Personally, I believe that the tire is the biggest factor in ride quality and the aspect ratio (sidewall) is secondary.

Another factor in ride quality is the load rating (SL, XL, LT) and speed rating (H, V, W, Z). The higher the load rating and speed rating, the stiffer the sidewalls, thus the harsher the ride. That is not always true, for one of the best tires I have ever had for ride quality were Michelin Pilot A/S 4, probably the highest performance all season tire you can buy (Z speed rating, AA traction rating).

 

I completely agree, I will never go cheap on tires.

 

The OEM crap that I have now are the Bridgestone or firststone destination something. Stiff as hell and horrible tread life. Crap in rain as well. It should be against the law to install something like that OEM.

 

I wonder if they're runflat tires.... those always suck.

 

I have the OEM Michelin tires on my Adventure trim. It rides more harsh on 19" wheels, but performs more like a car.

 

On my 4.3 RAV, it came stock with 225/65r17s. I was in need of a new set of winter tires and a practically new set of blizzaks showed up in FB marketplace mounted on 16", 225/70r16. I like OE wheels but the price was right for this set. I test fitted the wheels in the seller's driveway to make sure they cleared the brakes. Close but cleared. The thing with wheels, is that the inside clearance is not a set specification. They will vary wheel to wheel based on the spoke design and thickness. The other thing about going non OE wheels you need to consider is center bore diameter. These wheels required additional hub centric rings to match the hub. PITA when swapping out wheels as the rings often get stuck on the hub, and you need to pry them off. More non OE wheel shenanigans (assuming correct width, offset, bolt pattern) include lug nut hole clearance (can not use stock lug wrench).

As far as the extra sidewall height. It did make slightly noticeable difference in softness. Both in the ability to absorb impact, and flex when cornering. The difference is not very dramatic. If you are simply replacing tires I would not go through the effort to get 16" aftermarket wheels to gain the 1" of tire sidewall.

 

Our 21 rav came with 19" Toyo's with 300 tredware & A, A
We have 40,000 miles on them. I can't believe they have tred left.
We have been happy with them so far.

 

For winter tires I downsized the rims on the XSE from 18” to 16”. The ride is smoother and better handles winter pot holes and crappy ski area parking lots. I did get the a tire rack package the the rims cleared the brakes just fine unlike crisps post. As mentioned they do come with hub centric rings, I use some anti seize compound on the inner lip of the ring to prevent it from getting stuck to the hub, works every time. Also you need to carry 5 Toyota lug nuts for the spare since and after market wheel will most likely have a different lug nut.

 

Sorry it took so long to reply, hurricanes and all. I'm not understand yall when you say it's a centric ring issue for clearance. The ring comes off? If you can please clarify. CRISPS post saud that it didn't fit cause of the ring but yours did? I would love a set of 16s for the look and added proformance, so all the information I can get the better. Thank you for the post.